You may remember from this recent post , I said that a lack of expectation would be damaging to the morale of the England squad. However, after tonight's performance, I must either admit that I was wrong, or praise Gareth Southgate's man-management skills to muster up the determination we saw against Tunisia.  I haven't decided which that is, but either way, Gareth Southgate should be very proud of his squad after they beat Tunisia 2-1.  In doing so, they secured only the third opening-day England victory in the history of the World Cup, a feat that even the 1966 tournament-winning squad failed to achieve. He surprised no-one in his team selection, starting with Pickford in goal, Harry Maguire alongside Stones and Walker and giving Lingard another go up front, but it was what happened after the first whistle that seemed to astonish. The urgency and intensity of England’s play, especially during the blistering first 20 minutes, seemed to be a direct respo...

The World Cup may well be the grandest stage of them all (at least in footballing terms) but you don’t usually find yourself glued to the screen on only the second day of the tournament. After Uruguay and Iran secured respectable victories earlier in the day, Spain and Portugal both now look like two of the best sides in the tournament after their Group B clash will likely be looked back on as one of the best games of the tournament. After Julen Lopetegui’s sacking a mere 48 hours earlier, the media was always going to be looking at Spain’s performance with great interest and uncertainty. It almost seemed that the worst was about to unfold as Portugal dominated the Spaniards in the early stages, going 1-0 up after 3 minutes thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s well taken (albeit generously awarded) penalty. After suffering that initial shock, Spain managed to bring themselves back to their best, much to the delight of their quickfire replacement coach Fernando Hierro. The virtua...

Despite the result finishing in England’s favour, Saturday’s win over Nigeria was nowhere near as complimentary to the Three Lions as the 2-1 score line suggests. While England had a respectable first half, during which they scored both their goals, Nigeria totally commanded the second 45 minutes, as England’s tenacity seemed to dissolve like a wet tissue. The incessant need to faff around with the ball on the halfway line exemplifies how any urgency to put the ball into dangerous areas is stretched far too thinly across Gareth Southgate’s squad. England completely dominated the passing statistics, but that is not a statement full of praise. Their best passers were their back three, with Stones, Cahill and Walker completing more passes than any other player on the pitch. Of the 554 passes England attempted, over half were aimed at the midfield and only 170 of them were aimed at the final third. That is worryingly low.  Compare this to Nigeria’s best pass...