England’s manager has not had the easiest of weeks but he sent out an unbalanced side in Copenhagen and the end result was no real surprise
How many holding midfielders is enough holding midfielders? If one holding midfielder is holding the space, can a second holding midfielder hold the same space if there is, technically, no space left to hold? And while we’re at it, how much more of this is there left?
To their credit Gareth Southgate’s England team made an impressively committed attempt to answer these questions on a mild, crisp, occasionally hypnotic night in Copenhagen. This has not been an easy period for the national team. England came here depleted by injury, team-hotel-idiocy and an unavoidable lack of fitness. Still, though, this was deathly stuff, as Southgate once again sent out a team with a deep double-pivot in midfield, this time married up with three central defenders just behind.
Related: Experimental England fail to click in Nations League draw with Denmark
Related: Denmark 0-0 England: Uefa Nations League – as it happened
Continue reading...