England may revert to a back three and must stymie Italy’s menacing left flank – but set pieces could hold the keyBefore every game, the biggest question has been whether Gareth Southgate should go with a back three or a back four. Block in the opposing wing-/full-backs or give them a defensive problem? There is no definitive answer. Related: Gareth Southgate’s special qualities can be lost amid political squabbles | Barney Ronay Related: England’s origin stories: this is where football came home from Continue reading...
England’s World Cup-winning coach changed team and tactics as he alone saw fit, and his successor at Euro 2020 does likewiseAlf Ramsey was not a man much given to drama, but when he read out the team for England’s final warm-up friendly before the 1966 World Cup, away to Poland in Chorzow, the players noted a distinct pause before he delivered the 11th name.Alan Ball was in on the right, so everybody assumed that meant a conventional winger on the left, probably Terry Paine. But Ramsey’s grand reveal was a genuine surprise: Martin Peters. As he had against Spain the previous December, Ramsey was going without wingers. For only the second time in history, England would play 4-4-2. Related: Gareth...
Italy are formidable foes but like Southgate’s side and his captain Kane, they lack established trophy-hogging stars – the Euro 2020 final is a thrilling prospectEngland expects. But what exactly? As Gareth Southgate’s England team prepare for the biggest game of their lives, on Sunday night, kick-off 8pm, there is something a little different about the tides of energy and noise, the sense of all-or-nothing tournament jeopardy.The usual pageantry is present, the bunting and big screens, the pub garden flags, the feeling of some shared village fete in train. Look down the match-ups, study the tactical breakdowns, re-jig with a Gareth-esque frown your own pencilled front three, and that old stab of excitement is there. Related: On pitch and off,...
Nation has fallen back in love with the Azzurri’s attacking style but it will mean nothing if they fall at the final hurdleRoberto Mancini has achieved the goal he set out at the start of Euro 2020. In an open letter on the eve of the tournament, Italy’s manager promised that his team would throw themselves at this opportunity with the enthusiasm of kids in the playground, offering their country “moments of joy that, just for a second, will let us forget about the year we’ve just gone through”.That much had been delivered by the end of the curtain-raiser against Turkey. Italy won 3-0, but more than that they attacked with relentless commitment, pouring forward to the end. Ciro Immobile...
Excellent Euros is no accident, but rather the realisation of FA’s steady progress, planning and sound foundationsThe Football Association, a national fixture since 1863, sustains energetic batterings when mired in its periodic crises, so it is only right that credit should be given at a time such as now, when its good work is luminously coming to fruition.The success of Gareth Southgate’s England team, and of the manager himself, in reaching Sunday’s European Championship final is not a miraculous accident, but the realisation of steady progress, planning and the building of sound foundations. The England team are somehow viewed separately from perceptions of the FA, but the governing body runs the whole setup and this pinnacle has been reached after...