#18 - My Thoughts on England's World Cup Exit
England's 2-1 defeat to France on Saturday saw the Three Lions return home from Qatar at the quarter-final stage.
Every tournament elimination heartbreak is different, but each time it's just as painful as the last. It was again a penalty which was the difference between despair and elation, as well as a chance to face history-makers Morocco in the World Cup semi-final. Instead, it was the holders who progressed as the French have the opportunity to become the first nation to retain their world champion status since Brazil did it in 1962.
So, where did it all go wrong for Gareth Southgate and his men? I took some time to reflect on a decisive game in Qatar.
Going into the game, I was debating whether a four or five at the back would be the best approach for how to nullify the threat France possess going forward. Having Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier doubling up on in-form Kylian Mbappe seemed smart, but using a five at the back meant losing a man in the middle of the pitch. Our midfield which usually consisted of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson was a crucial reason as to why we had so much success in previous games, and to change the shape against France would seem to me almost like an acceptance that the French are a better side than us and would dictate how the game would be played.
When I saw we named an unchanged side from the team that faced Senegal, I was delighted as it felt like a mental barrier had been broken just through the shape we were setting up with. We were prepared to be brave and go toe-to-toe with one of the best. I also realised that whilst the threat of Mbappe and Ousmanne Dembele still remained, our midfield individually and collectively is arguably stronger than France's, so dominating the game through the middle of the pitch was bound to be important if we were to have any success.
France's first goal is frustrating from an English perspective in many different ways. It was the first and one of the only times Walker went beyond his winger all evening, and Henderson filling in for him meant that whilst a potential counter-attack was prevented, the space in the middle of the pitch allowed a swift switch of play to force France into the final-third, which eventually led to Aurelien Tchouameni blasting a shot into the bottom corner of Jordan Pickford's net. Not one particular England player was at fault for this goal, but it was one where the threat of Mbappe perhaps drew us out of position, as well as a slight lack of concentration to deal with the next phase of play once the French counter-attack had been halted. Whilst it was ridiculous that no free-kick was given on Bukayo Saka earlier in the move, you have to give credit to Tchouameni for a great strike which 9/10 times causes Pickford no problems at all. These are the minute details which just didn't go in our favour on the night.
Our reaction to going behind was spot on, and we arguably should've had our first penalty of the night when Harry Kane spun Dayot Upamencano and was bundled to the ground. Whether it was inside the area or not, I'm still baffled as to how the referee and the linesman had such a clear view of the incident, yet still didn't award a foul.
At the break I wasn't majorly disappointed with the first-half performance, but I was worried that we hadn't really taken the game by the scruff of the neck when it appeared that we could. I didn't want the game to pass us by and come the end, wish we had done more. Saka was imperative in getting us back into the game. His assertive running with the ball caused French full-back Theo Hernandez problems all night, and it was Saka's directness which won England their first penalty of the game. A lightning quick start to the second half was only enhanced by Kane's clinical penalty to get us level, and it was encouraging to see how we controlled large parts of the game and unsettled the world champions.
Again, it was small details at both ends of the pitch within a short space of time which cost us dearly. Olivier Giroud's goal was simply too easy. Similarly to their first goal, a slight lapse of concentration was the issue as Giroud managed to dart in between John Stones, Harry Maguire and Declan Rice relatively unchallenged to head past Pickford from six-yards out. It may be harsh to pick out some of these fine details, as throughout the game we collectively limited the amount clear opportunities France were able to create. I thought we actually defended very well for the most part, and it's just two separate phases of play where we lacked a bit of concentration and authority in which the quality of the French attackers punished us. But that's tournament football and something we have to improve if we ever want to make that final step and lift our first major trophy since 1966.
Onto Kane's missed penalty and I've seen loads of comments saying someone else should have taken the second penalty or even the first penalty as Kane shouldn't have been facing his club teammate in Hugo Lloris. Honestly, it's nonsense. Kane is one of the best penalty takers in the world and has consistently scored them in high pressure situations. These two were another example of that, and it's just unfortunate he's blazed the second one over the bar. Perhaps he was trying to be too precise in smashing it into the top corner again, but that's his style so we can't knock him for what's worked so often in the past. Hypothetically, if someone else had stepped up to take the second penalty ahead of Kane after he had just scored the previous one as well as being our main penalty taker and then missed, I guarantee everyone would've been slating Southgate and the players for not letting Kane take it. In the grand scheme of things, maybe we didn't deserve to go through if we had to rely on two penalties just to send us to extra-time.
One criticism of Southgate which I do understand is his timing and choice of substitutions. Usually, I think he waits 10/15 minutes too long to make a change (like in the USA game), but I actually thought holding back until the 79th minute with his first change was a smart move due to us having a dominant period of the game from the start of the second-half up until Giroud's goal. Saying this, bringing Saka off for an understandably distracted Raheem Sterling was definitely the wrong choice. The Arsenal winger was making things happen and was arguably our man of the match on the night. I think Jack Grealish on for Phil Foden would've been the more logical substitution to make once we went behind due to Grealish's ability to draw fouls and carry the ball up the pitch for us. France were sat relatively deep in the final stages of the game so it suited Grealish more than it did Sterling or even Marcus Rashford, who likes to use his blistering pace and take advantage of space in behind defenders.
Overall, I thought there were some really impressive performances across the England side. Rice proved he can thrive in a single pivot as he covered the space vacated by the high press of Bellingham and Henderson really well whilst also being more positive on the ball than he had been in the previous games. Stones kept us on the front foot constantly as he broke France's midfield line very often. Walker managed to keep Mbappe fairly quiet with help from the midfield, and Saka and Bellingham showed great bravery and positivity to take the game to France and not be overwhelmed by the challenge. It's easy to pick out a good individual performance in the side that faced France, but ultimately, it wasn't enough to get us over the line. It's deeply disappointing to know we missed out on such a great opportunity to win the World Cup, one that we might not get again for a long time. However, I am proud of how we played throughout the tournament and I believe Southgate has done more than enough to earn the chance to lead us in Euro 2024 where he will now truly believe we can take on and defeat any nation put in front of us.
But for now, we sulk as a nation and dream about what could have been...
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