England fail against France once again early and once again from the point. The performance of the team and the wealth of talent give hope for a title. Now all that remains is for the coach to make the right decision.
Shortly after England’s defeat in the World Cup quarter-finals against France, there was a scene where you would have liked to play mouse. Coach Gareth Southgate hugged Harry Kane and whispered a few words of encouragement in his captain’s ear. Southgate, who missed the crucial penalty in the 1996 home semi-finals, comforted Kane, who minutes earlier had blasted a penalty into the Qatari night sky. Both missed shots meant the early end of a major tournament.
“We really believed that we could achieve something special at this World Cup,” Kane later summed up his disappointment. “But in the end, small things decided.” England and the penalties…
England has France on the brink of defeat
The bitter thing about it: The “Three Lions” had shown a really appealing performance in the 90 minutes before and very successfully annoyed the big favorites France for a long time. Kyle Walker took superstar Kylian Mbappé almost completely out of the game, the English offensive with Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka was much more imaginative than the highly praised French attack series on the other side.
England shot more often than France (15:8), England had more ball contacts than France (56 percent), England won more tackles than France (53 percent). However, since Kane converted only one of two penalties (54th minute) and France struck twice ice-cold, the dream of the world title burst again early. Aurélien Tchouaméni scored with a long-range shot (17′), Olivier Giroud (78′) headed in after a cross. It wasn’t played out nicely, but it was ultimately successful. “This game will hurt us for a long time”, admitted Kane. “We have a long wait ahead of us.”
The future belongs to Bellingham, Saka and Co
But one thing is also clear: This future, even if it starts in two years at the earliest at the European Championships in Germany, could be rosy. The potential of the team is far from being exhausted, with Kyle Walker (32) and Jordan Henderson (32) there were just two professionals over 30 in the starting XI against France.
Top performers like Saka (21), Foden (22), Declan Rice (23), Mason Mount (23), Marcus Rashford (25) or Jude Bellingham (19), perhaps the biggest shooting star of the World Cup, still have a lot of development potential and the High points of her career still to come. “This amazing young English team gave their all and will only get better. The time will come.”which is why Gary Lineker prophesied.
Now if only Musiala were there too
The fact that Jamal Musiala chose the DFB and against his parents’ home country last year despite numerous games in English junior national teams is almost only a side note in view of the existing quality. Today’s English losers could be tomorrow’s winners. And look Musiala in the tube.
Germany and France experienced similar setbacks
After the semi-finals in 2018, the final in 2021 and the quarter-finals in 2022, England should also be encouraged that other big teams had to put up with several big disappointments before they could achieve big triumphs.
Germany, the 2014 world champions, failed in the semi-finals in 2006, 2010 and 2012, and in 2008 they lost the final of the European Championship to Spain. France, the 2018 world champion, failed in the quarter-finals in 2012 and 2014, and in 2016 the European Championship final was in Stade de France lost to Portugal. The parallels are unmistakable. Setbacks are often the beginning of success stories in sport.
What will become of Coach Southgate?
The question of the coach remains. Southgate, the 1996 miss, couldn’t drive his team’s phobia of the penalty spot. As is well known, the self-proclaimed motherland of football fell into a vale of tears after the penalty shoot-out in the final against Italy last year. However, Southgate has managed to form the numerous talented individualists into his team.
The fact that the criticism in the otherwise not exactly squeamish English media after the renewed failure was very reserved is a sign. Southgate is the one.
The 52-year-old’s contract runs until the summer of 2024. The former defender left it open whether he would actually fulfill it. “I need time to make correct decisions. Whatever it looks like”, asked Southgate for understanding and patience. “It’s very emotional. A World Cup like this takes so much energy.”
Southgate should take this time but then stay. The journey of the England national team is far from over.