Currently there are no outstanding teams in international football. In part this is down to concentration of money in the club game, which has led to the world’s best players converging at fewer clubs than ever before. But to look at the winners of the last World Cup and European Championship, and to look at the South American giants, is to look at a fallow period across the board. Which is to say that it has never been easier to succeed, which is to say that England stand on the verge of opportunity. Though they do not have top-level players in every position and though they do not have any world stars, yet few countries have as deep a selection nor as wide an array of attacking talent.
Related: Ander Herrera: ‘Spain has the best midfield in the world by a long way’ | Sid Lowe
Continue reading...