England, who have been demoted and mediocre in the group stages, are living in anguish and stupor at the insignificance of their great attacking individualities. Jude Bellingham’s attempt to be an all-rounder who doesn’t respect space and also chirps everything, Harry Kane’s weariness with his gestures because there is no one to assist him and Phil Foden’s exacerbated individualism have become a problem that torments Garet Southgate in the run-up to this Saturday’s round of 16 match (18.00, TVE) against Slovakia in the factory-like Gelsenkirchen.
Very dedicated to his top footballers, the English coach tries to take careful steps in making decisions so as not to harm his heroes. It took the man the first two games to consider the experiment, named after him, of playing with Liverpool’s right-back, Trend Alexander-Arnold, as a second midfielder a failure. Southgate is now faced with the dilemma of removing Gallagher from the eleven, to make way for Mainoo, and Bellinghan or Foden to give flight to Gordon or Palmer.
The trio of candidates for the English starting eleven have given proof of their personality. Mainoo, fundamental in the FA Cup final that United beat City and improved England against Slovenia when he came on. Palmer, to whom Southgate gave the first twenty minutes of the tournament, left a string of flashes of the quality of the left leg that Guardiola praised so much before letting him leave for Chelsea. And Gordon, with scratches still on his face from a crash he suffered while riding a bicycle, became emboldened in the press room: “When I play I always do things.” “We have had players who have had a great impact from the bench in every game. We are aware that people are pushing for positions and we need that strength. It is possible that we need five or six changes during the game, it is important that they are ready”, Southgate justified himself in the face of the immobility that he manifests. The tests that Southgate has carried out only point to Mainoo’s entry as a central midfielder as viable.
Brilliant in his debut, including a goal against Serbia, but inconsequential in the next two games, Bellinghamn is untouchable for a coach who this Saturday kept his faith in the Real Madrid player. “When you come off the pitch and you have given everything, you feel a certain way, physically and emotionally. Jude missed a period at the end of the season with an ankle injury and he also didn’t play other games with the Champions League final in mind, so he will have benefited from the games he has played,” declared the English coach. Southgate is clinging to Bellingham, even though he declared after the game against Slovenia (0-0) that he was exhausted. “I am not worried about Jude’s condition, today is a great day for him (he turns 21) and it is a reminder of how well he handles the expectations that surround him at a remarkably young age.” Bellingham’s omnipresent attitude and his repeated protests have inspired an article by Wayne Rooney in The Times who warns him that he sees him very nervous and that this attitude could lead to an expulsion.
“Confidence is growing, the players know that much of the performance against Slovenia was a step in the right direction. We have the players to do it, we will stick to the plan and make sure we show composure to withstand their attacks,” Southgate highlighted in the preview of this Sunday’s game.
Asked about the criticism England have received, he stressed that his team is neither as bad nor as good “as people might think”, so they have to ignore the advice that comes from outside and have confidence in what they do every day. That, so far, has not worked.
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