Why Southgate's Tactics Don't Work

[@jodyruben5452]

Southgate masterclass

[@GazV1]

😂

[@vs6300]

Disasterclass

[@fatcatpatdat]

masterclass in Clownery

[@themaker9152]

😂 I'm not English and i could see how gates tactics/decisions are pure mastercunts

[@ItsWazzza]

It’s why I named my Euros Fantasy team “sOUThgate”, really get the point across

[@Daniboi971]

Exactly. TAA is wasted because he needs runners in behind to find with his long passes. Our wide players are ball-to-feet players

[@Sci1211]

Need to play Gordon LW and Bowen as striker. Won’t happen because they aren’t the big names though.

[@Football_X_cookz]

Yeah but if you see the match at some point he was in the half space with saka on the right which made a front 5 with kane foden trippier and saka and trent Also we saw Bellingham drop quite often and the thing which wasn't good was that Rice was left as a single pivot

[@striipey]

The problem is everyone wants to play from midfield; Kane dropping deep to get the ball, foden coming inside to the 10, even Bellingham was coming back to the defensive midfielders. The central area is too congested and easy to defend so the only outlet is the wings - one of which isn't manned because foden is dropping infield - so we attack down the right through saka. It's predictable and slow. I'm not saying the players individually are a problem, but as a team they don't work. I reckon we need to play less of those players together so there's more space and variety of play. Swap out foden while playing Bellingham, they're practically on top of eachother. If Kane is getting shut out of the game and being forced to come towards midfield bring on Watkins or Bowen instead to try running in behind.

[@Kristian-u7e]

@@striipey Agreed when they played the ball through Saka at the start it worked but he was the only danger which Serbia neutralised. Gareth should have bought on Ezefor Foden to bring a different type of attaker in.

[@gr3saeyend]

@@striipeyjust put bellingham behind foden and foden at the 10 bellingham practically played as an 8 this game and had a crazy performance

[@fairboy5349]

So what this meant that England lacked balance. They chose to use players they thought they were the best and never considered whether they had the same profiles or not

[@heinkle1]

Yes - trying to hope that individual skill somehow saves the day. What Mark Goldbridge would term “Moments FC”.

[@pandax5359]

Yea I mean looking at the starting 11 it's incredibly star studded. But it's as if a chef dumped all the delicious foods he could think of into a stew and expected it to taste good

[@DeanRTaylor]

Or the manager is picking a system that doesn't match the player profiles? Why do we have to be so risk averse and stick long balls up to kane when you've got bellingham foden, kane and saka as the attacking four. Back to pickford from a corner, up to kane to win a header against the tallest defensive line in the tournament.

[@iwantgoals1566]

That’s Southgate for you. Reminds me of the days under Sven Goran Eriksen. He wasn’t a bad manager but we kept on trying to just cram all the best players into the starting lineup and just hope for the best. It’s why we kept playing Scholes on the left. The result was just going long into Crouch or Rooney and hoping the ball doesn’t rebound back to us which it always did. I see shades of that in how Southgate keeps going long into Kane and it’s like stepping into a Time Machine.

[@carlosmedrano6868]

Works for The Real Madrid

[@dreameroldsoul]

England parked the bus after 20 minutes. Exactly the reason they lost the final to Italy last time. Southgate tactics is limited.

[@QuotidianStupidity]

Not after 20 mins, more for the duration of the second half. But otherwise yes, been saying the same thing on every forum. GS is weak and learned nothing after throwing away the Euros

[@danielisflying]

No one wants to say it but Watkins is way better for this set than Kane. He's a lot more traditional in his striker playstyle and will open up space for Jude, Phil and Bukayo.

[@Kazeys]

Agreed or even foden as a false 9. Harry Kane will score a pen and get a motm and everyone will praise him. But when’s the last time he’s scored a real game changing goal towards the business end of a tournament? He’s not on the level of Benzema or Suarez for me

[@matthewdobson100]

there isnt' the space in behind teams for Watkins at international level, he's not going to do anything.

[@xenonsnedden4052]

@@matthewdobson100the run he made today against Denmark proves this point invalid

[@bensmith5581]

@@Kazeys Not true at all, hes let down by a poor manager who doesnt know how to build a team.

[@Kazeys]

@@bensmith5581 kane is a good player but he’s a serial choker. I just don’t see any reality where he leads his team or club to a big trophy as the best player.

[@armyaj]

Gregg Berthalter and Gareth Southgate are true brothers and it fits that the Anglosphere have coaches who make structures for uninspiring attacks!

[@ilikeboringthings9]

I reckon we should try Trent at right-back, Eze on the left wing and Wharton alongside Rice.

[@kevoreilly6557]

You mean play the players in their actual positions

[@AyrSpeed]

Why Eze instead of Gordon? Just curious and not too familiar with Eze

[@SparrowHills08]

Eze isn't a natural winger, its like Foden in the LW, Gordon best

[@sitthikorntatawatorn794]

Having good players means nothing if they can't make it perform as a team. it's the problem between stick to a single position (Rigid) or dynamically move to find space (Flexible). but either former or latter, the coach has to be clear on how to fit in the right player which I doubt he could. Hope this England team could reach final stage ;)

[@mariadanielalavia8877]

I feel like england should hire De Zerbi or idk anyone who isn't a bloody english coaching graduate who only knows to throw the ball up in long balls and pray to John Almond and Saint George they win the game.

[@kvdp824]

not gonna work. england needs someone with the balls to put some of the stars on the bench. England has no balance, you just can't play with 4 ballplaying playmakers(foden, TAA, Saka, Bellingham) however good they are. There was no press, no out of possession movement and no one who would progress the ball from defense to attack.

[@uniboio2437]

Done this before with the previous “golden generation” and it didn’t work. Not saying it’s not worth trying, but it’s not as simple as just hiring someone else who isn’t English. That and the FA aren’t exactly the smartest people at the best of times. Lots of people forget that before Southgate we almost had Sam Allardyce as the England manager.

[@JohnJo-qn7wq]

England are Tottenham they ain't winning anything

[@stuckupcurlyguy]

Southgate believe it or not was supposed to be the opposite of this style of play, when he first came in it was all about structures and short passing. Go figure.

[@emmanuelmoore3920]

De zerbi playstyle is not tailored for international football one bit

[@TheMypanther1234]

Spot on analysis

[@thefootballpunnedit]

Felt this pre kickoff its why Gordon is a better option than Foden. Its not about your best 11 players its about your best team.

[@gr3saeyend]

best team is foden jude rice midfieod

[@diskomvort]

front 5 with gordon LW-foden-kane-jude-saka RW would balance in my opinion. trent play it from fb then go invert when the opp doesn't press him high, look at kroos he drop to third cb in poss and dictate from the deep because he's free and stay away from the opp high press. the key is to make trent free from the opp press, and he'll dictate too. guehi-stones-walker at the back is solid.

[@thesnowman6559]

Foden is not good without Rodri

[@diskomvort]

@@thesnowman6559 not sure about that, someone mentioned him to be a "system player," cuz' he's only great for pep system, which is kinda strange, i think is about how southgate maximize the player he got with his clear game plan

[@hebisty4163]

​@iamhimn its not strange at all. Pep overly coaches his player's to a very specific system and style of play. He doesnt encourage freedom of choice hence why foden is useless for england.

[@Thebigaye799]

​@@hebisty4163more like he didn't recieve the ball at all

[@Kazeys]

Foden doesn’t have positional discipline to hold the width from the left. He keeps drifting inside clogging the space where Kane wants to drop deep and Bellingham operates. Fodens best position is as a false 9 where roaming is a benefit. If England wants to win the euros Kane needs to be dropped imo but that will never happen.

[@ojewalesteven8499]

England have always been underwhelming for decades

[@T.E.S.S.]

Always? Or for decades?

[@bread3613]

@T.E.S.S. Both

[@ojewalesteven8499]

@@bread3613 lol. Exactly

[@SandymoorFerrariClub]

Underwhelming if you believed the hype. England had a really good set of players available around 2006-2008, but apart from that for the last 50 years or so England haven't had enough good players to justify anybody expecting them to succeed. Brazil, France, Spain, Italy and Germany have turned up to plenty of tournaments with top players in every position, so it's not surprising they are in a position to win. England might be in that position at the next WC or Euros, given how many of the best English players now are in their early 20s and more seem to be coming through. All they need is a top English youth player to decide he wants to play left-back or goalkeeper for once, and they'll be sorted!

[@intenzityd3181]

England played amazing football in euro 96 and were the best team in the tournament, just unlucky with results. Then England won Le Tournoi against Brazil, France and Italy (that tournament R Carlos scored the wonder goal). So maybe in your lifetime England were terrible but England were a very good side in the 90s unlucky not to win something. England were also the better side against Argentina until the red card, and again were the better side against them in 02. It's only in the modern era that we have so many players that are overhyped.

[@Eatworldhk]

There are times when Arnold drifts wide and it looks like a 5-2-3 which I think suits their strengths much more, but as a two men MF Bellingham and rice must be very disciplined when they lost the ball. Exceptionally quick and quite strong, Walker is perhaps the best in the world in that side cb role, covering Arnold’s weakness

[@Sami_SZN]

They lacked a direct runner down the LHS, and that lead to v poor offensive dynamics down that side. England will keep struggling if they force Foden into their first XI, he's not better on the Right than Saka, and he's not better in the middle than Bellingham, those are the only positions he should play. Foden can't hold the width and isn't a transition threa. Including him in the XI, like you mentioned, means that England has one too many midfield-ish players. I'd recommend Gordon, and state that Rashford or even Sterling should have been called up, as they both offer significantly better offensive dynamics from the left.

[@Alboravin]

Yep you're bang on the money, Foden is the odd one out and at this point probably better used as a super sub replacing one of either Bellingham or Saka depending on the rest of the team's balance, and also as long as Kane isn't on the pitch dropping deep too. Foden is essentially a traditional No. 10 masquerading as a winger/wide player and unless he's suddenly willing to actually run into space behind defenders and onto through balls all game long, then he's just going to clog up that middle while Kane and Bellingham are on the pitch with him and doing their thing in their natural positions. This also affects using TAA as a deep-lying playmaker/Regista, as even though he isn't always as comfortable on the ball and as press-resistant as say Toni Kroos in that position (I know, that's a high bar), it makes his life that much more difficult when 2 of the front 3 are immediately next to him in the midfield thereby leaving only that one consistent long pass option and ball outlet in Saka on the right, which is clearly visible in the video and IMHO much more of an issue vs. say how low or high up the pitch he is compared to his Liverpool performances in that role. England needs that actual winger on the left, that can happily run behind defenders and into space all day long. The fullbacks also need to push up a bit higher, particularly Walker, and especially when you've got a midfield base of Rice and TAA on the pitch that have the endurance and defensive ability to cover any spaces left behind by them.

[@rheza6496]

@@Alboravinbasically southgate need to choose between foden or trent in their current position, can’t have both. If he wants the same composition, he needs to move trent to rb or foden to lw.

[@Alboravin]

@@rheza6496 If Foden keeps drifting into the middle to receive the ball to feet then you've got the same problem regardless of whether TAA is on the pitch or not, as Kane likes to drop into the same areas, and Bellingham is already in that area of the pitch as LCM too. It's just too many bodies in one small area and it hinders TAA as a deep-lying playmaker as it restricts his long passing options and ball outlets. Basically it's a choice between Foden or one of either Kane or Bellingham that needs to sit, and I don't think anyone is choosing the former to start over the latter two. Unless Foden is willing to sit wide and high on the left, and run into space behind defenders to get onto long balls and through balls...then he is just going to continue clogging up the middle and needs to be replaced with a winger that can do that on the left instead. If one of either Kane or Bellingham don't start or are subbed, then you can bring him on, but primarily as a No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 for example.

[@gr3saeyend]

@@Alboravinor bellingham can be the 8…. he’ll play the same game

[@Alboravin]

@@gr3saeyend The key is that we can't have 2 of the front 3 dropping into the middle. Kane dropping deep to link up with the Center mids and provide numerical superiority there is enough. Foden needs to either stay out wide and high on the left or be replaced by another player that is happy to do so...or just not be on the pitch at the same time as both Kane and Bellingham, thereby allowing him to have the space to be the link-up, ball-to-feet No. 10 dropping deep.

[@RMLLcrazy]

Very interesting analysis. I 100% agree. I feel like the major problem England had was that players other than Bellingham and Foden were incredibly non-dynamic. Trippier, Rice and TAA were glued to their positions and very reluctant to overlap. The team also seemed incredibly weak at bypassing pressure having no real pre-thought passing schemes to overcome the Serbian pressure. Having no threats to explore the depth didn't make this task any easier, to be honest. Serbia realized this at half time but if Serbia had started off respecting England a little less the result might very well be different.

[@Lukeeeeo]

TAA at RB. Shaw at LB. Wharton and Rice in the pivot. Gordon on the left.

[@hungotuan4431]

Southgate should play a 4-4-2 with Saka and Gordon spamming crosses and no midfield involvement, that can win him cups 😂

[@RMLLcrazy]

Honestly, ditch trent. Foden and Bellingham mid-field. Gorden and Saka out wide. Go big or go home. Playing double pivot in 2024 is lame as fuck.

[@Malam_NightYoru]

​@@RMLLcrazyEven better than Gorden, put rashford as he is a lil bit more creative. He has options outside the team aswell to invest, he just don't wanna.

[@michaeladamson8109]

simple, Gordon LW, stick him out on that side, play TAA RB supporting Saka or inverting, have Walker / Stones / Guehi as back 3 (walker covers for TAA when hes caught upfield) .... Rice sits with Bellingham box to box, Palmer in the 10, sorted.

[@Naren25]

No left back?

[@michaeladamson8109]

@@Naren25 with a 3 at the back, you dont need one, have Gordon hold the width. England essentially played a 325 or 326 anyway, but if they switched tripper out for gordon they would have a real threat down the left...

[@Naren25]

@@michaeladamson8109 I think a back 3 with Gordon and TAA protecting the flanks, and Rice and Bellingham in front of them would end up far too exposed. I think you keep Trippier over Palmer, and have him and Trent both invert when in possession. Then Bellingham stays in the number 10 position, you have real width in Saka and Gordon, and you still protect the back 3

[@michaeladamson8109]

@@Naren25 walker as a RCB can cover trent on the right, the LCB can cover the left.... Rice can also drop into a back 4 (as he was doing on the goal kicks from the last match), or, pressure out wide to help the LCB/RCB when needed .... Look at the best teams in the world, they usually use 3-1-6 or 3-2-5 in build up from the halfway line , what im proposing is just having more suited players on the wings over trippier on the left side

[@_Diktator]

If anything, England is just lucky that we are shit. Any decent team would've scored with having so much control in 2nd half. The game should've ended 2 or 3-0, if they hadn't backed off after the first goal. Southgate's tactics are truly something... We were just unable to create anything, and if we played for 90 more minutes, I doubt we would've scored. We had 0 creativity and 0 pace in that starting 11. Even in 2nd half, we did bring on Tadic, but we did sub off Mitro, for whatever reason. The team has 0 pace, and we aren't playing with particularly creative players. SMS is useless, and we should definitely play Tadic or Samardzic instead, for more creativity. Pavlovic is a good player, aggressive, carries the ball forward, we have decent GKs as well, but we just lack quality wide players that have pace. I can easily see us conceding 2-3 goals to Denmark or Slovenia, and we absolutely would've conceded as much, if not more from England, if they had a decent manager.

[@ilikeboringthings9]

Trent cannot be the 'controller' in midfield, he's not got the knowledge

[@swaggzrsa]

Euro is definitely not going to England 😂. Once again

[@cyberturkey77]

it will this is how we play. We get the result then do nothing

[@mariadanielalavia8877]

@@cyberturkey77 if this is how you play france or even Italy will win against you.

[@danchiziofficial2159]

​@@cyberturkey77it will not come home

[@cyberturkey77]

@@mariadanielalavia8877 they wont play the same against a different team. Thats how tactics works.

[@lestwins8114]

Im from portugal and in 2016 i was thinking the same sh!t . There's no way this boring weak ass team is going win. The rest is history ....

[@HishamR89]

Many great points made but imo you overlooked one of the biggest issues and thats Trippiers confused role as a lb. He doesn't really stretch the opposition due to cutting back to his favored foot and he's unable to overlap consistently. I think England should play Wharton or Mainoo and Gordon on the wing. I think Southgate should've gone for Ilang Jr from Juventus.

[@ahmadrunningwild85]

End of day, just have more goals than the opponent and hold on to win. A lot of people forget that this is a tournament.

[@jeewa7114]

Watkins for kane and Gordon for foden. Ideally I'd rather trent played at rb, his defending is not nearly as bad as people pretend it is, walker has also been pretty shit this season. And if trippier is losing all his creativity playing on the left just play gomez instead and be more solid defensively. Then if trents at rb I'd probably say Wharton in midfield

[@kieran9882]

Very interesting analysis, Hope to see Ollie Watkins on the left at some point. His natural game is to run in behind and he's had an amazing season for Villa. Maybe it could be similar to the old Kane/Son combination, who knows

[@GuyJames]

would be interesting but not going to happen this tournament. If Foden gets dropped it will be Eze or Gordon. In fact I expect Foden to be subbed at some point in the next match and his replacement immediately making such a big difference that he becomes undroppable from there on in

[@matthewdobson100]

Foden will make runs in behind, but not for long balls, when the play is controlled in the final third is when he makes the runs into the box but it needs quick short sharp passing. if we're strugling to play out from the back and progress play then he is going to come deep to try and help with possesion, but then several of our players just want to play long in these situations. which is what he was talking about in the video with bypassing players and hitting kane with long passes.

[@theonceandfuturething3999]

How to make England more dangerous? Don't park the bus at 1-0 up when you've had 80% possession.

[@andybarry5315]

Brilliant analysis...

[@vrajpatel3211]

Bellingham in number 8 role and Foden in number 10 role with Gordon in left side can solve much problem

[@the_savva_b]

I feel like having players to make runs Instead of dropping deep will help. Maybe Watkins and Gordon and advancing Trent up the pitch would fair well for them, but they need a better dm in with rice, maybe Wharton/Mainoo because they progress the ball forward and are more press resistant than Trent.

[@SphethoKhwezi-gp3cn]

I don't know why there is no competition in the squad there are players that are always being looked out for... they have natural LW's but chose to play a left footed player there

[@dakapro2273]

Its called traditional winger, it's role is to deliver crosses in the box

[@z0mbp1g67]

@@dakapro2273 Well, it could be called traditional winger IF the winger wouldn't be Foden who is a lot but definitely no traditional winger...

[@hebisty4163]

​@@dakapro22730 IQ... foden was clearly not a traditional winger. He was constantly narrow while trippier was high and wide.

[@MrIkOgNiTo]

​@@hebisty4163Tbf that's not the argument here. OP said that instead of a natural LW they choose to play a left footed player and that's a nonsense statement.

[@HammyGiblets]

please edit

[@Alboravin]

If Kane and Bellingham are on the pitch, don't play Foden and vice-versa. If Kane and Bellingham are on the pitch, play a winger on the left instead that can run behind defenders and into space all day long. Foden is a traditional 10 masquerading as a winger, he just clogs up the middle when Kane and Bellingham are doing their thing in their natural positions. Also, Walker needs to push up higher more often on the right, especially when you have a midfield base of Rice and TAA to cover any space left behind. It really is that simple, but let's see what Southgate does or doesn't do (I'm not holding my breath).

[@terry9819]

I think this team could work but you have to keep the ball higher up the pitch. England have this terrible habit of always trying to build from the goalkeeper. Corners, free kicks, promising positions all get sacrificed to get the ball back to the keeper and start again. It is so frustrating watching it and wastes so much time.

[@ethanwhite2274]

Southgate doesn't deserve this quality of team. Painful watching Englsnd play

[@konzza]

Great video as always! Totally felt that England clogged the areas where they couldn't do any damage and couldn't use space between the Serbia lines or make any runs behind the line. Great graphics to visualize this. Btw. Trippier at his "wrong" side and Walker are pretty useless providing any attacking threath from advanced vide positions. Both good players, but Serbia did let them get ball at flanks for a reason and deliberately funneled England to play to Trippier at 2/3 of the pich, because they knew nothing dangerous was ever going to happen from those possessions.

[@junyank1846]

Awesome Analysis bro! The good ol modern WM getting the better of England in the second half

[@hb3393]

Nice analysis, just like the old days, too many similar profiles of players. The bottom line is the tactics should be built around Jude at all costs so he should be the only player with freedom to roam. This immediately raises questions about Foden, Trent and Kane. I think Kane can be disciplined enough to stay higg, he did very well in the 2nd half feeding off scraps, but Foden is completely wrong for this squad. A lot of noise about Trent after last night, hes definitely not the kind of player we need in the pivot but we dont really have any other options. Saka on the left, Bowen on the right both playing high and direct. Trent needs more positional acumen, dont think Wharton is ready to start but he'd be perfect in terms of playstyle.

[@arsenal_84]

Kane should adapt trying to be a target man like Oliver Giroud does for France. Time for him to stop thinking he is a no 10, there is Jude for the role.

[@learntooilpaint]

We could play Wharton instead of Trent

[@MiguelTavaresMAT]

A bit too late to find your game idea, isn't it?

[@kickdowndoors]

Reckon mainoo will be starting for TAA by the end of our tournament

[@user-tg6vq1kn6v]

Spot on, Kane the only option no chance for any penetrating passes

[@el_gringo9211]

People critizing foden at city he never drops deep because he has rodri who can make passes rice cannot do that at all he I only good at running with the ball

[@hrodebrt]

Anyone who sees nothing wrong with how the match played out needs to take a good hard look at both squads, just really inspect the difference in talent on each position and then rethink their analysis of the match. How a system can be so bad that it outright sucks the talent out of this squad is just mind boggling and should be studied by everyone who is aspiring to be a coach

[@tahiribnmohammad5410]

Ill give you 4 reasons 1: The boss 2:: The Manager 3: Gareth 4: Southgate

[@randywilliams882]

Whatever third the ball is in, they must create overloads there, fluid 325 formation on attacking and 532 on defending

[@LucavonFalkenberg]

Southgate is a chief only put all the best ingredient into one plate and use microware to cook it

[@timszysteelz5907]

To put it simply, England have lots of creators but lack play finishers.

[@CaocaoXI]

I think they need two fast strikes to be able to pull left and right. If they can confuse center defenders, Bellingham can push up and become the main threat

[@StriderDSC]

If TAA is going to continue in midfield, the entire left side needs to be replaced because the best pass that he hits is the diagonal from the right half space. Gordon, Gomez, and Wharton would totally change that dynamic with Shaw coming in provided he can return to fitness.

[@Bghjssjald233]

I think it's important to also talk about how bad Southgate is at making substitutions. Foden who struggled all game to make an impact played a full 90 mins and it took him 70 minutes to bring more energy into the midfield. For me Trent should stay RB, Connor Gallagher's energy is extremely important in the midfield and we need a more direct touch line hugging LW so we don't have to rely on right-footed Trippier to make forward runs.

[@Hugabugahugabuga]

Tbf Trent could play a similar role as Kimmich.

[@kvdp824]

Gallagher was put in to dive. And he did his job like a champ. what a lad.

[@jaybe2908]

We are the only nation in the tournament to only use 3 subs, and Southgate was saying after the game that the players used up too much energy in the first half, yeah well use the subs then!

[@Bghjssjald233]

@@jaybe2908 he’s always been extremely bad at game states and substitutions. Sadly can’t see it changing.

[@Hugabugahugabuga]

@@jaybe2908 southgate isn’t a modern coach. He lets his players play like we have the 2000s. You guys need a new headcoach

[@zelandakhniteblade5436]

I cheered Gareth's selection of TAA because I thought it signalled a direction towards more flexibility and movement. What I expected was for England to line up initially in a 3-3-3-1 (similar to Germany vs Scotland) with Trippier and Trent playing wing-backs and Foden + Bellingham in free 10 slots. Saka would mostly be expected to run in behind, particularly anytime Kane looked to drop. On the left, Trippier not pushing up to left wing means this space is available to Phil or Jude to slide into, as well as lots of space in the central midfield areas. It also means that when this movement occurs, the wing-backs are ideally placed to rotate into the space that has been vacated. And against teams that overload the back 4 by width, I was looking for Gareth to change the shape to 3-4-3 - Trent is the one player in the England squad who offers this. What we got instead was 3 players - Trippier, Foden and Bellingham - all fighting for the same 20 x 20 square of the pitch and playing in each others' pockets. Just look at their heat maps to see the issue. And for a back 5, for whatever reason Gareth is preferring to drop Rice back instead of rotating Trent out, which just feels completely wrong. My view is that a midfield trio of Rice, Bellingham and Foden is a match (with the ball) for anyone in the competition, comparing with Rodri, Pedri and Fabian as an example. They just have to be used properly. I think that either means using Trent's flexibility more actively or switching to a 4-1-2-3 (copying Spain) and adding Gordon on the left, which is better offensively but has some defensive issues. One thing is clear - if the team can't sort out a pattern of play that works, a fantastic opportunity for winning a wide open Euros tournament will have been lost. There's still time...but not much.

[@anab0lic]

Too much passing sideways and backwards when we were in possession we don't seem to have anyone capable of playing creative passes that can unlock defences... or we do but they are all too scared to try and play in such a way. Our only threats come from set pieces and crosses.

[@lukewalmsley9957]

This is why you need a rashford-like player. I know he didn’t have a great season but he can make those runs and that’s why he always thrives with the England squad. They need an attacking left winger and I think Gordon deserves a chance

[@fader1912]

I said this before the squad was even picked. I can’t believe Sterling isn’t even getting a look in. He was our best player last euros and he always delivers for England. He is runs the channels all day long and very well.

[@pedroribeiro544]

Honestly i blame Pep Guardiola , in this day and age everyone in the PL play in super rigid structures where they play with super strict instructions so now nobody thinks for themselves on the pitch its no wonder Bellingham stands out , the guy clearly is more used to make decisions for himself on the pitch not some automated XYZ pattern plays.

[@khalidbashir4017]

Yh he just won his 8th league title

[@khalidbashir4017]

KZbin be deleting my comments

[@BarrySPeas]

​@UCjqNb6o0FJ10acH_dBkreJw Success isn't really what he was on about - the point I think they were trying to make is take alot of these players out of their (mostly) strictly coached club environments, then being in a team of people you spend a very small fraction of time with in comparison becomes even harder.

[@rspjfrost1400]

1st time i have realised watching us vs Serbia, the importance of Sterling in previous tournaments in terms of Kane. Its him who gave that threat centrally : either from the right he would diagonally cut in from a narrow position (Croatia goal and Denmark penalty in Euro 20)or be central to start with. In terms of current personnel i think Watkins is the only 1 who would fit this profile, in place of Foden. The other option is to persist with Foden but play him much wider, to provide natural left footed wing play, which he can do (albeit not to the level of his work as a no10), with Trippier narrower to help with an overload and we create chances from left and right to find Kane and Bellingham or even Trent from the edge of the area . When we went out to France in WC22, the lack of threat on the left (Shaw was made to be conservative due to Griezmann drifiting to his side) meant we became overly reliant on Saka to provide all problems. Its going to be the same again unless it is dealt with. Brilliant analysis in this video as always. Hope Everton are watching. Should employ this fella (:

[@ArchieAerokc16]

The two changes that would make the most of Trent’s passing ability would be playing a front 3 of Gordon-Watkins-Saka/Bowen but Southgate would never drop his “star” striker nor the media’s darling lol

[@electricdreamer]

Put Sterling or Grealish on the left so they can make runs. Oops... They weren't selected.

[@mr.spinzy2688]

We need these for regular season games aswell!

[@reluctantsocialist2670]

England need more threat from the middle of the pitch - completely ignores Serbia’s set up that was designed to nullify England’s midfield by flooding the area with 5 players. Southgate takes all the blame here for playing a left winger who comes narrow while having a right footed LB. Needed to attack them from wide areas and at no point during the entire game did Southgate do a thing to change that. That game was screaming for either Eze or Gordon in the left as they’d hug the touchline

[@edrisrasa4516]

This is actually all southgate’s plans to make other national teams underestimate their tactics 😮😅😂 Trust me he told me personally, He’s a genius.

[@kerus567]

Nowadays, players are rotating their position and moving together to overload one side. Southgate are still waiting these players to shine on their own.

[@Factos-r3y]

When Jose try this at united they criticise him now these pundits won't say anything on Southgate

[@bengreen171]

drop Walker and play TAA at right back, making room for Watkins to play up front. This will allow Foden to be more central and affect the game more.

[@lukeyolives3300]

Everybody overlooks the fact that Walker is an automatic starter. He's 34, lost a lot of pace and offers nothing going forwards. Southgate's stuck-in-the-mud defensive mindedness though means TAA will never be considered. He knows more than Klopp, apparently.

[@bengreen171]

@@lukeyolives3300 agreed. I don't think he offers anything more than TAA in that right back position, and TAA has the better game for progressing attacking play.

[@IamMalkavian]

@@bengreen171 hes still better defensively then Trent and at 34 is still physically superior , trent just shouldnt be in the starting 11. He wins less then half his 1v1 ground duels , and barely a quarter of his aerial ones. He is literally in the bottom half of fullbacks across europes big 5 leagues defensively , and tbh was nowhere near the top for attacking stats last season either. but because he gets the opportunity in liverpools system to play some speculative diagonal long balls ( and has had a few big game moments like that cheeky quick corner vs Barca) hes somehow been labeled as this generations beckham. both walker and trippier should be ahead of him for RB. And he cant play midfield either . He can only long ball , he simply doesnt have the pass % to be a midfield maestro like say Kroos , and he also cant carry the ball forwards himself nor deal with heavy press as hes simply not skilled enough on the ball. All he can do is cross.

[@bengreen171]

@@IamMalkavian stats aren't everything.

[@IamMalkavian]

​@@bengreen171 so a strikers goals scored or keepers clean sheets doesn't matter? those are stats. people just dont want to accept that Trent is overated. hes obviously good , but hes not this world class superstar people imagine he is. his game is full of flaws and hes never going to shine in a cm role , at least not with the way england currently plays. all stats are doing are showing what a player does during a match. if i miss all my passes im going to have a poor pass % stat , so its a pretty easy way to decide im probably not suited to play a creative role in midfield as im going to turn the ball over a lot , even if im sometimes getting an assist with speculative passes. you can like him all you want , and who knows maybe he will grow into that position , but so far over the last few seasons hes shown little ability in the areas you usually need to succeed in a midfield position. a 3-4-3 with him on the right mid would suit him , he would have walker behind to defend since he cant do that , saka ahead of him to make runs and dribble since he cant do that , and being on the flank he can just focus on crosses and throughballs without dealing with the press in the middle of the park. either way it doesnt really matter as england's tournament will be over pretty soon

[@markos_aki]

The lack of incisiveness on the left flank was pretty predictable. Foden tried to occupy a similar role to Bellingham, always coming inside and short, which created the problem in the video. It's very hard to generate danger while accomodating both Foden and Bellingham in their preferred advanced roles this season, they don't really complement eachother. Both need the other player to make runs, stay up and maintain width for their role to work best. To me, the clear solution would have been to sub in Gordon or Eze to fulfill that role on the left wing. Either Foden is subbed, or Bellingham could do the central midfield role like he did in Dortmund, while Foden remains the more advanced midfielder. Arnold in this game was somewhat redundant in attack and a liability in defense and posession anyway. I think Bellingham is the best central midfield option for England, while his attacking output is not as vital when you have such a powerful attacking reference in Kane. So it would make sense to sacrifice it to accomodate Foden as the attacking midfielder instead. Retrating Bellingham would give England more control and defensive solidity in midfield while actually increasing their attacking threat drastically with Gordon or Eze on the wing.

[@Bumchats]

It's mad we play out from the back but don't have any attacking full backs on the park. More importantly a left footed left back and we need someone like Wharton next to Rice. If we play Southgate ball then we need more pace..... Which doesn't really suit kane, at least for 90mins

[@jontalbot1]

Those of a certain age remember the team Ramsey assembled which won the World Cup and the controversy because he did not play all of those people thought the best players, preferring instead players who complemented one another. I like Southgate as a man but as a coach….

[@heinkle1]

What’s particularly frustrating is that Southgate has had years to get this right, but he just hasn’t, and is still far too slow to adapt to events in games

[@SEBFeverr]

Simple really. England won't win anything with Southgate.

[@GazV1]

agree 100 %

[@yungdkay1008]

According to football meta analysis the problem doesn't lie with Southgate it lies with the players coming too deep to pick up the ball. Plus Southgate needs new attacking strategy

[@МиланЖивковић-к9ъ]

​​@@yungdkay1008 Ye, coaches have 0 control over what players do. Players only play the way they want to. Hence, Southgate is the way to go. And ye, its 100% players fault. Southgate is masterclass. 💪

[@ajmacconville1]

Maybe, but England have only ever won 1 competition in over 100 years of trying. Feels a bit unfair to pin it just on Southgate

[@BC-th3mx]

​@@ajmacconville1Lol they have an excuse for everything, it's never that other countries just produce better players 😂

[@lenguyenngoc479]

very insightful

[@George-bi8sj]

No one seems to have picked up on Pickford pumping it back to Serbia. His kicking was the main reason we couldn't keep possession. It was infuriating!

[@jesustorres1637]

It’s like South Gate is trying to put multiple systems into one team

[@iwantgoals1566]

You think the answer to the lack of pace in behind is Gordon? He’s very quick and direct. Maybe even Bowen on the left as he’s naturally left footed and can deliver a few crosses/cutbacks.

[@ultimateblaze23]

it's not just lack of pace, the build up play was far too deep, it's fine to recycle posession but it's meant to be close to their box. It looked like they were afraid to push up and instead just wanted to play infront of them. If you want to play like this you're supposed to pin them in. Iceland game was far more impressive than this despite the fact we lost now it looks like that game scared Southgate and he's back to his scared approach. Foden is a box player if you don't play in the box expecting him to do anything is moronic. If you're gonna play this deep then yeah there's no point in him being there, just put Eze/Gordon on, boot the ball to him and hope he does something.

[@LeviThompson_]

I think you should do a tactics review like this for the romania game. I felt it interesting with the scoreline and Romania having 34ish% possession

[@farhanmuhammadaditomo9452]

Why they didn't line up in 3-5-1-1 with Saka in left and Trippier in right to accomodate both Foden (as the CF), TAA (as a fantasista in the right half-space?) and Rice (screening the back three) while enabling Bellingham(on the left half-space) to use his ability in the midfield? The tactical setup lacked balance but with p

[@janekmundt579]

Their lack of attack risks loses against smaller teams. That alone is tactically questionably, but not dooming. However there were some catastrophic failed passes even under the (bad) pressing of the serbs. Better teams will capitalise on such mistakes. The group could be close for England

[@scottbaron]

Would have been interesting to see the difference Watkins would have made

[@GuyJames]

probably not that much because the one thing you don't want in that system is the CF dropping deep, which is why Kane didn't do it, so anyone else would be equally isolated. In fact having these world class celebrity players who can't be dropped is in itself part of the problem - you lose a lot of Kane's quality by not allowing him to link play, but he can't do that because Bellingham is there. You want to play Foden as he's just won everything and been brilliant in another team, but it doesn't work with these other players. The only ones who are 100% comfortable in the midfield/attack are Rice and Saka

[@imArcheRR]

​@@GuyJames i agree. Its annoying tho that Kane has to essentially sacrifice himself for Foden where in my opinion Foden should stay wider and sacrifice himself for Kane, whos the better player

[@alexanderrowe790]

@@GuyJames Except Watkins will run the channels and actually press, two things Kane did very little of

[@MaximeMercier-id5fm]

Hello whats is the software that you are using ? Thanks !

[@Seaxuan]

This video basically implies Southgate just copy & paste every player from their clubs onto his own tactic template without using much of his brain

[@mfbias4048]

Ball retention and playing it out from the back has killed football, and England are the biggest example of its ineffectiveness.

[@Sleepybear6032]

I thought I was the only one who thought England kinda sucked. Serbia was way more attacking. The problem with playing passively is that when you attack, it gets really taxing on the players and it does not even work out.

[@pemudakorea]

For some reason I’m thinking Klopp or Tuchel will be the next England Manager, and if they do, this team will definitely win something

[@rolosencja5057]

Southgate before the game: Oh lads!You know you are good go on the field and have fun dont worry!

[@kevinlane6339]

I would put Jude on the left and move Palmer/foden to the middle. Install a no nonsense midfield duo with rice and wharton/gallagher. Have Walker use his speed to overlap on the right and keep Gomez on the left. Trent can sub for Walker and invert with cover from wharton/ gallagher on the wing.

[@Igotfiveonit]

This is why not taking Rashford is crazy. His and Kane’s partnership has been great for England. It lets Kane be Kane.

[@aamanchakma73]

Currently if pep gets the England job will be something interesting cause he has been in the premier league fir many years and he knows all these players and maybe he can change the dynamics.

[@raunaqb4021]

A Rashford or Grealish would have done wonders in stretching that defence. Now Gordon has to be their man

[@Ebencfc1]

Can please help me analyze Chelsea players based on their strength and weakness, thank you

[@ratttttyyy]

I think Southgate only has one idea per game, or one idea at all. Once this is countered by the opposition, we are dead in the water. So basically, we need to score 3 or 4 in the first 20 minutes and then defend out the rest :D

[@ryanboardman8326]

Agree 100% about Trent. The amount of people who don't understand positional play is different in possession and out of possession. Also, England need a natural left back on the pitch, no point having both left sided players wanting to come inside and offer no width. Shaw has to play and probably better to drop Foden for a more natural winger like Gordon or Eze.

[@Amd2405]

They need to get a better manager.

[@Bumchats]

Bellingham's dropping in behind Vini, Rodrygo and soon Mbappe is soooo different to Kane lol PACE! ❤

[@learningNexus23]

Southgate gamble to play TAA central midfield will cost him against big teams. Time will tell!

[@fishyfish6510]

For a striker as complete as Kane the physicality, passing range, elusive movement and clinical finish it's a miracle that Southgate managed to avoid playing to any of his strength😂. He could have tried to old school longball it, give it to him to create chances through his passing, just let him stay in the box and find space to receive and shoot

[@janekmundt579]

Physicality? Every time Someone as much as touched him he fell straight to the ground. Like a sack of potatoes…

[@fortheloveofmusic860]

England should play a 3-5-2 with Alex.-Arnold and, I think, Saka on the left, Rice as the central player of 3 full backs. Wharton and Bellingham behind Palmer. Kane and Watkins up front. Key is to press, make the distances between the lines tight and Watkins, Saka and Palmer make in depth runs.

[@koalazapierdala]

I'm keep it saying since 2000. England and EPL are just overrated.

[@kevinlane6339]

Southgate should have brought in Rashford, he’s the forward who best pairs with Kane.

[@dakapro2273]

If our passing was better Serbia would have won. England coaching is not coming home

[@BreezeElna-gi6di]

Southgate is the problem now it's like Foden playing with Jude causes problems 😭 Musiala and Witz are able to play together as 2 10s

[@bythecliff]

Why do you even need a double pivot when you have one of the best DMs in the world right now? Bellingham can easily play as a temporary 2nd pivot to progress the ball from defence to midfield.

[@tf-ok]

Football's not coming home.