Much like Sven-Göran Eriksson failing to utilise Michael Carrick at the 2006 World Cup, or Roy Hodgson putting Wayne Rooney in his midfield at Euro 2016, Gareth Southgate has fallen into a familiar trap. His tactics are leaden, his starting XI is unbalanced and one of his biggest mistakes - being seduced into fitting too many similar types into a one-paced attack - has made England by far the hardest team to watch at Euro 2024.
The good news, though, is that there is time to fix England before their last-16 tie in Gelsenkirchen. A few tweaks could easily help England to build on their slight improvement in the second half of their draw with Slovenia. The first change is obvious enough: Conor Gallagher out, Kobbie Mainoo in; get the teenager on the ball in midfield and don't worry about his defensive weaknesses. As for the second, Southgate has to address the left-back problem. He needs to recognise that Kieran Trippier is struggling on the ball and is also going to be targeted by better attacks.
This story is from the June 27, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the June 27, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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