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 response to the
criticism of previous squads’ performances in past tournaments. In fact,
several players in the current squad who have never been thought of as forward-thinking
players turned out to be quite the opposite.
Despite having faced much criticism for his unimaginative
style of passing, Jordan Henderson was arguably England’s best playmaker
alongside Trippier and Young.
Even more astounding were the presences of Maguire and
Stones in the final third as England searched for their eventual winning goal. It
even prompted me to consider whether Maguire would work as a holding
midfielder, much like Eric Dier. Based on his performance tonight, I would like
to see what Maguire does further upfield, as Dier sits back and plays in a
position that I personally feel he is much more suited to.
Finally, the one thing I must give Gareth Southgate the
utmost credit for were his perfect substitutions. Despite his post-match comments
suggesting otherwise, he did not seem like a manager content with sharing the
spoils and the introductions of Marcus Rashford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek during
the final half-hour could not have worked better. Both players came on with
instructions to reignite the spark that England had at the start and both
players performed them to the letter. Their fresh contributions brought forth
more quick and forward passes, energetic movement off the ball and a
willingness to take on defenders that England needed to finally nudge themselves
ahead.
Had Southgate made more defensive substitutions, he would
have surely left his side ruing several missed chances during the first-half, as
England should have gone into the break with at least a 2-goal lead.
England have taken three points from probably their only
rival for the remaining qualification spot in their group to qualify alongside inevitable
group leaders, Belgium, and for the most part, the credit must go to Southgate
for instilling the resilience that England would have struggled without for a
large chunk of tonight’s match.
He hasn’t put a foot wrong since he took the job and it
doesn’t look like that’s about to change.
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