The ouster of Sam Allardyce due to ethical concerns and the underwhelming hiring of Gareth Southgate as his replacement has made it difficult to believe in England’s chances of making a deep run at the 2018 World Cup. This is England, after all — even when they’re stable, few believe in them. But there was plenty to like about England during their two matches during this international break, a 1-0 loss in a friendly away to Germany and a 2-0 win over Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier.
3 reasons for England fans to be optimistic about the 2018 World Cup
England national team fans are, by nature, pessimistic or hyperbolic. It is time for them to be neither.
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Of course, England supporters won’t be so easy to convince. Few countries have seen more teenage football starlets flame out than England. Even fewer countries have seen so many players reach the pinnacle of the sport with their clubs, only to fail on the big stage for their countries. England fans know better than to get excited about their team.
Their belief in maintaining a skeptical viewpoint was reinforced at Euro 2016, when some long-pessimistic England fans let themselves get encouraged about the prospects of a squad loaded with sparkling youngsters. Then they watched the likes of Dele Alli, Harry Kane, and the ultimate scapegoat Raheem Sterling play poorly in a loss to Iceland, reinforcing the popular belief that England is doomed to struggle for the foreseeable future.
The Three Lions can be a promising, likable work in progress. And under Southgate, that’s what they appear to be.
There’s plenty of evidence to support the idea that England is the world’s biggest underachiever. The country invented association football, and is home to the most financially successful league in the world. It has the sixth-largest population among UEFA members, and is historically much more successful than two of the bigger countries, Russia and Turkey.
Despite that, Three Lions haven’t made a major semifinal since 1996, when they hosted the European Championship. They had no semifinal appearances between 1968 and 1990, and have failed to make the quarterfinals of the last two World Cups. Undoubtedly, England should be better at football.
But England doesn’t have to be ultra-hyped or ultra-disappointing if fans don’t want them to be. The Three Lions can be a promising, likable work in progress. And under Southgate, that’s what they appear to be.
There are reasons to believe this won’t be the same old England going forward. Here are three of them.
1. Dele, Sterling and Lallana make up a dangerous attacking core
The biggest thing that England has lacked over the last five years is players who can make something out of nothing. Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney have been heavily criticized for their failures to turn their club triumphs into international success, but they all had the ability to come up with occasional big moments against the world’s top teams. In the age group between Rooney and England’s current crop of youngsters, there didn’t appear to be another attacking player of that quality.
But the attacking midfield trio that Southgate has settled on is by far the best that England has had in recent memory. Youngsters Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling generate the hype, but just as much praise should be reserved for late bloomer Adam Lallana, the MVP of Liverpool’s attack this season and architect of England’s second goal against Lithuania.
This group of three works well together and all of them bring something different to the table. Lallana, as the most experienced of the trio, has the best vision and makes the best decisions. Sterling is the quickest and smoothest dribbler of the group and the best at beating his man one-on-one. Dele has the most creative tricks, and he’s the best finisher in front of goal too.
Having three great attackers is one thing, but having three different great attackers who can operate in different spaces is even better.
2. Dier gives England the balance they’ve lacked for a decade
From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, England had a solid defensive midfielder to hold down the fort, giving the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Paul Scholes the freedom to take risks going forward. The trio of Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Owen Hargreaves all filled this role admirably, but England has gone nearly a decade without a perfect fit for this place in their squad. As a result, their midfield has been terribly unbalanced, leaving them susceptible to counter-attacks through the center no matter who their manager was or what tactics they employed.
Enter Eric Dier, who started playing as a DM for the first time in his career last season. He might not have been ready to be the team’s anchor at Euro 2016, but he’s settled down and become a more confident player since.
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Dier has everything England would want from a defensive midfielder. Not only is he athletic and a great tackler, but he’s solid positionally as well, often slowing down attacks without having to make a tackle or interception simply from being in the right place. He’s also excellent at helping his team retain possession too — Dier completed a team-high 103 passes against Lithuania with 97 percent passing accuracy.
Players like Dele and Lallana can’t excel in attack if they’re not confident about what’s behind them. With Dier in place, they can take risks knowing that their turnovers are unlikely to be punished too harshly.
3. With Wayne Rooney gone, there are no more Undroppables
No team has ever been truly successful by just throwing its best players on the pitch and hoping for the best. Every team needs to have different kinds of players that fit the roles they’re given and who compliment each other well.
This was essentially impossible for England to pull off when Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard were England’s three best attacking players. It really didn’t get easier when Lampard and Gerrard retired — England still struggled to build a team that made sense with Rooney in it.
Southgate has stated that there is no longer a permanent England captain and that Rooney is fourth on the depth chart at his position. It seems unlikely that he’ll start for England again unless he gets back into top form, save for throwaway friendlies.
This lets Southgate pick the best players for the roles he needs. There’s no chance that 34-year-old Jermain Defoe is going to have a set role as “England’s No. 9” in the future, but his goal-poaching skillset is useful for home games against lower-level opposition where a striker who does defensive and hold-up work isn’t needed. So Southgate used him, and he scored.
Against Germany, the harder working, more defensive forward Jamie Vardy started. Southgate also played athletic dribbler Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield against Lithuania, but opted for the more defensive-minded Jake Livermore in the Germany match.
Southgate will be under pressure to use players like Dele, plus injured stars Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson in every game they’re fit for, but he certainly doesn’t have to. There was little stink made about Sterling sitting against Germany. None of Henderson, Dele or Kane have ever been reported to have big egos that cause dressing room problems, or have demanded starting places. Southgate can probably start or bench everyone in the England player pool as he sees fit.
With no more undroppable players, a backbone in midfield and three exciting creators in attack, this might not be the same old England. It’s OK to be cautiously optimistic. There’s plenty to like about this team.
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