Gareth Southgate is in big trouble ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The person of Gareth Southgate as head coach of the England national team from the very beginning raised questions from the fans. The specialist did not achieve great success in club football, and among the general public, his name was associated primarily with the failure in the semi-finals of the home Euro 1996: being a player, he smeared a penalty, which became fatal for the British.
This skepticism, however, almost dissipated during Euro 2020, in which Southgate participated already as a helmsman. His team, having the most expensive squad in the tournament, played extremely economical and unspectacular football, but managed to reach the final in this way. Gareth failed to win the historical title, but it was quite possible to instill confidence in his bosses and fans: he was given a chance to show himself already at the 2022 World Cup.
After the shameful elimination from the League of Nations, however, the fans again began to doubt the abilities of the coach. It seems that the preparation for Qatar in the national team is not proceeding in the best way.
“A step in the right direction”
On September 23, as part of the 5th round of the League of Nations, the British met with their “favorite” opponent – the Italian national team. The situation in the standings by that time was already for the British, to put it mildly, not the most pleasant. According to the results of the first four matches, the team scored only two points, scoring only one goal in total, and even that one – from the penalty spot (1:1 against Germany). Moreover, the last game ended for the players of Southgate with a uniform shame: the finalists of the Euro on the road were defeated by the modest Hungary (0:4), breaking into the first line in their quartet.
After that, England actually had no right to defeat. For the national team, it meant automatic relegation from the elite division of the League of Nations: with two points in five matches, the British lost even the mathematical chances to cling to the saving third line. A draw suited the team only if the Germans lost to the Hungarians in a parallel match, which, however, was hard to believe.
However, everything happened contrary to expectations. Firstly, Hungary did win over Germany and sensationally entrenched itself in first place in the “death group”. Secondly, this did not help England in any way: the team suffered another dry defeat (0:1) and left League A ahead of schedule – before anyone else in the first division. In terms of performance at the end of the 5th round, the British shared the last place with … San Marino, playing in League D: both teams have not scored from the game so far.
The fans, of course, booed Southgate after the game. But the coach himself unexpectedly announced that, in preparation for the 2022 World Cup, he considers the match to be quite successful:
— I understand the reaction to our results in this tournament. Such a performance cannot be praised. But I personally think it was a step in the right direction,” Gareth said.
“Sucked all the life out of the composition”
Fans and experts, however, largely do not share Southgate’s position. The coach can experiment as much as he wants with the composition and tactics before a trip to Qatar, and it is only natural that the League of Nations is lower in the list of priorities for the national team than the World Cup. The European tournament can be sacrificed – but the British, who always claim the highest prizes, simply should not allow such a public shame. It is, simply put, a matter of honor.
The public is also dissatisfied with the composition that Southgate played in the Nations League, and its use of individual players. In particular, fans were angered by the absence of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford (both Manchester United) in the application for the game with Italy, as well as the decision of the coach to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jack Grealish (Man City) on the bench ) and Fikayo Tomori (Milan), who knows best how to defend against Italian forwards.
It is not surprising that the hashtag #SouthgateOut (Southgate – out) and other calls to change the head coach before a responsible tournament began to spin up again on social networks.
No integrity, no form, no character. But what happened in Milan is not surprising. England have been in decline since Mancini beat Southgate in the second half of the Euro final. England have a whole bunch of good players whose talents Southgate is wasting, according to the chief football columnist for the sports department of the Times.
“I think Southgate’s tactical plan to give us no hope before the World Cup, so as not to kill us later, is working great so far,” says English football legend Gary Lineker ironically.
This England team is shattered under Southgate, he sucked the life out of the brightest squad in a long time. If I made decisions, he would not be entrusted with coaching the team at the World Cup, ”said Curtis Woodhouse, an English healthy lifestyle expert.
“England should sack Southgate before the World Cup, there is no football, tactics are too defensive, substitutions are too impulsive,” reasoned Give Me Sport journalist Terry Flyers.
England is incredibly boring. There are so many creative technical players in the team, and Southgate is trying to play this trademark shitty and dumb football, ”football blogger Stu Howson said harshly.
