Gareth Southgate has built an England team to challenge the old, misguided narrative created by previous failuresWe’re not creative enough. We’re not positive enough. We’ll go on getting bad results, getting bad results, getting bad results.An interesting thing about years of hurt and all those oh-so-nears. When the lyrics to the great and apparently inexhaustible Three Lions were written, England had played only seven proper tournaments since they’d actually won the World Cup. Just one of those had been anything close to a near-miss. Related: Revitalised Harry Kane turns England into powerful attacking machine | Barney Ronay Related: England played like a dream but this is reality for Southgate's assured side | Jonathan Liew Continue reading...
Lightly carrying the weight of expectation, Harry Maguire and his teammates defeated Ukraine with surreal ease in RomeWhen did it start getting weird for you? Perhaps it was the moment when the German referee committed the ultimate act of patronising mercy: ending the game on 90 minutes, without injury time. Perhaps it was when Gareth Southgate executed an effortless triple substitution midway through the second half, thus sealing this game’s noncompetitive exhibition status. Perhaps it was when Jordan Henderson – no, really, Jordan Henderson – scored his first ever international goal to put England 4-0 up in a major tournament quarter-final and celebrated with the impromptu fist-pump of a man who, if we’re going to be brutally honest, hadn’t remotely...
While they are on a long unbeaten run, Italian win over Belgium was their first major tournament win against a ‘big’ teamIf we needed one moment to sum up Italy’s transformation over the past four years, it arrived in the 44th minute at the Allianz Arena. Lorenzo Insigne’s goal was a thing of beauty, cutting in from the left and curling the ball from the edge of the area into the far corner of the net with such precision that Thibaut Courtois had no chance.The forward had started his run from the halfway line. This was Insigne distilled, a goal that he has scored countless times down the years. The finish might not always be so flawless, but the ambitious...
Everton goalkeeper endured a troubled start to last season but has now proved he can thrive when the going gets toughFive months ago, Jordan Pickford walked out at Anfield into the eye of a storm. His form for Everton had been poor for several months. He had been briefly dropped in November by manager Carlo Ancelotti, ending a proud run of 120 consecutive league games. Plenty of Everton fans wanted him gone. Plenty of England fans felt the same way.Plus, it’s fair to say Pickford and Liverpool had history. Back in 2018 his 96th-minute howler had gifted a winning goal to Divock Origi. Earlier on last season, a reckless challenge on Virgil van Dijk at Goodison had brought death threats...
Four clean sheets at Euro 2020 reflect the players’ focus, adaptability and experience – and the coaches’ meticulousnessI have spent the majority of England’s Euro 2020 behind Jordan Pickford’s goal, observing how Gareth Southgate’s revolving and evolving defence has avoided conceding in four consecutive matches. It may be a cliche but goals win games while clean sheets win tournaments, and England’s defensive muscle is the foundation of their success.Southgate has ensured the defenders are well-drilled but what makes the England backline stand out is their communication and desire to play for one another. Five of the back six (including the goalkeeper) who started against Germany were in the side that lost to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, so...