Before beginning with our World Cup preview, let’s play a small quiz (I can guarantee it’s less boring than watching England play).
Q: Which European heavyweight has qualified for all but one World Cup in the last 28 years yet never reached the semifinals?
Q: Which country has the richest football league and the best training facilities for grooming the youth?
No cookies for guessing it right, it’s our lovely protagonist, the English football team!
Before talking about the stalwarts, let’s look at the man away from the field, yet always in the spotlight.
The manager
On the outside, it feels like England had it pretty easy in the qualifiers with eight wins and no losses out of ten but the chaotic managerial situation could have badly complicated things for them. After underwhelming performances at three international tournaments, Roy Hodgson was deemed unfit for the hot seat, some wondering if he ever was capable.
Wikipedia still lists Sam Allardyce as the only England manager with 100% win record, a pathetic record to hold for a man who was dismissed very disgracefully. The FA again pinned hopes on a homegrown footballer, this time choosing the youth team coach Gareth Southgate to handle the overflowing pressure and criticism after Big Sam’s dismissal.
Gareth Southgate has maintained his personality of being a man of few words as well as the tradition of England playing overly ‘safe’ football all through his reign. His belief of choosing players for their form and experience rather than their potential, for example Jack Wilshere, is what has set him different from the previous managers.
Yet the doubts about his ability as tactician have meant that all the preparation and hopes for a better performance have been under the cloud. Many question marks were raised over the selection of fringe players such as Ruben Loftus Cheek, Jack Butland and John Stones in the final 23-man squad at the cost of seasoned campaigners such as Chris Smalling and Joe Hart.
It remains to be seen that whether this utterly inexperienced group of players can perform at the world’s biggest stage under a captain and a manager who have never held a trophy in their hands or who have no ‘winning mentality’ as Mourinho would argue.
The squad
The squad can be seen as pretty average by a non-PL fan, but since the top English players don’t play anywhere else in Europe, that is quite understandable. The squad does have some game changers such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker but the sad part is that they are the only ones there in the 23 man squad.
The national team has faced a severe goalkeeping condition ever since Pep Guardiola decided to freeze Joe Hart, but it served as an eye opener since his long tenure as the no.1 for the senior team can be summarized as pretty average. This unlikely event gave keepers such as Jack Butland and Jordan Pickford to stamp authority as the ‘relatively’ good goalkeepers.
Nick Pope was rewarded for his astounding performances for Burnley but he’s expected to be the third choice in Russia.
England has never been short of world-class defenders in Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville but this time the defending situation is very dicey, to say the least. England look woefully short of a solid centre-back partnership.
Gary Cahill and John Stones had to warm the bench for the major part of the season and Phil Jones has continued his struggle with injury this term too. Harry Maguire has performed throughout the campaign but isn’t proven at the big stage.
The full backs look comparatively better as Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young come at the back of good seasons with their respective clubs. But mark my words, if the midfielders don’t, the defenders will surely let England down at the cup.
Coming to the midfielders, to put it in simple words, England needs a miracle to get something out of a group of players that just don’t look good on paper. Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier are expected to form a shield in front of the inexperienced back line while the inconsistent Jesse Lingard’s high work rate can see him start as the No.10 behind the striker.
The most surprising pick of the squad, Ruben Loftus Cheek, can fulfil the potential he has shown at Crystal Palace this season. Dele Alli looks to be in a straight competition with Lingard for the No.10 place, although his versatility can see him shift to other positions as well.
(John Walton/PA via AP)
Harry Kane headlines a group of enthralling forwards who can light up the tournament. Kane, even after losing out on the golden boot, has been as good as ever but all eyes are on Raheem Sterling, who is coming at the back of his most fruitful season and can prove to be the real game changer for England.
Marcus Rashford looks to again occupy the space on the left while Jamie Vardy and Danny Welbeck are good enough substitutes to exploit small openings when the opponents’ legs tire out.
The formation
Gareth Southgate looks like he’ll continue with the 3-4-2-1 formation with Kyle Walker as the right back in a back three. Keiran Trippier can be given more freedom to whip in delightful crosses from the right with Ashley Young complementing him from the left.
Rashford, Sterling and Kane can form a formidable front three with fearsome pace and will rely on the distribution from central midfield. Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli and Dier can complete the midfield to give England both steel and creative flair required to win the World Cup.
Predictions
“Buzzing for England to start the World Cup with 1-0 win against Tunisia!”
Such tweets all but sum up people’s expectation from the team but I personally believe the Three Lions can punch above their weight.
Barring a delicious clash with Belgium, a draw in the other two games can complicate things early for the English. A favourable draw in the knockouts can see them find a place in the quarter-finals, but after that, their chances look bleak.
All the analysis aside, every PL fan secretly dreams of England to do well at international tournaments (oh come on, they seriously do!). With me being no exception,
Let’s go England, Win it for us!
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Liverpool have reached a verbal agreement with Feyenoord for their head coach Arne Slot to succeed Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.…
The past 18-24 months have been an enjoyable ride for Arsenal and their fan-base after almost a decade of turbulence. Mikel Arteta has been…
Manchester City have chalked up another big win in their hunt for an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, with Phil Foden continuing his…
Here is the way the Roar expert panel sees all the action unfolding across the final weekend of play prior to the semi-finals.
Despite the short nature of his tenure as a professional manager, Arne Slot has established himself as arguably the most impressive manager outside of…
Everton won the Merseyside derby 2-0, with Toffees supporters taunting Liverpool after the game at their home ground Goodison Park.
