England’s exit from Euro 2012 at the all too familiar quarter final stage posed an intriguing question. What must change for the national side to compete at major tournaments?
As Alessandro Diamanti stroked home the decisive penalty to send Italy into the semi-finals, the feeling of inevitability outweighed the feeling of disappointment.
Despite topping the group ahead of France and battling to a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes of play against the Italians, Roy Hodgson’s side were always going to fall well short of winning the competition.
In fact, there was always a feeling of holding out for a draw rather than going for a win. An odd tactic when you consider England’s record in penalty shoot-outs, although Italy’s isn’t much better.
What then must change in order for the Three Lions to improve and begin to make an impression in the latter stages of major competitions? This article will attempt to find out just that.
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1. A change of football philosophy
If Euro 2012 taught us one thing about England, it is that they know how to defend. Hodgson always sets his teams out to be well disciplined and strong in defence. The main problem appeared to be that defending was all England seemed to do – there was no ball retention or an outlet upfront. In the opening fixture against France and the quarter final against the Azzurri, the boys in white spent far too long chasing the ball. Man for man, the two mentioned outfits aren’t much if any better than England. Are Andrea Pirlo and Samir Nasri really head and shoulders above Steven Gerrard? Is Wayne Rooney a lesser player than Mario Balotelli or Karim Benzema. Of course not, in fact there are winners all the way through the England squad. Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott and James Milner have just won the English Premier League on goal difference ahead of neighbours Manchester United.
The Old Trafford outfit pushed City all the way with talent such as Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and of course Rooney. Seven players involved in a pulsating title race in a league that is widely regarded as the best in the world. In addition, John Terry and Ashley Cole have just won the Champions League with Chelsea. The problem is not one of personnel, it is one of a dated football philosophy.
Possession is key in football – just ask the Spanish. They are the current World and European Champions and they are fantastic at keeping hold of the ball. If they do happen to lose possession it is only for a brief period, as they hunt in packs to retrieve it. You wouldn’t even need to take your socks off to count the number of times in the whole tournament that England managed to put together a string of ten or more passes. Working hard and battling for each other are not enough when up against the best, they should be a given. Teams should have to work much harder than they currently do to dispossess the Three Lions and plans should already have been put in place to address this problem ahead of qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
2. Grassroots level development