Gareth Southgate’s England is a very, very successful team, but hardly an entertaining one. Why is that?
Today, I look at Southgate-ball aka sufferball, and try to decipher its secrets ahead of the Euro 2024 final against Spain.
Career Prior to Managing England
Gareth Southgate was a dependable, admired, albeit unexciting footballer. He earned 57 caps for England, played 426 Premier League games, and was used effectively both as a central defender and midfielder.
Southgate was nicknamed “The Model,” beloved by coaches and seen as someone who always did everything right. Unfortunately, his time as a player is also remembered for a fateful penalty miss in the Euro 96 semi-finals. Not that this slowed him down any.
Southgate began his management career in 2006, taking on the role at Middlesbrough. This helped transfer his reputation as a dependable footballman to the world of management. However, the job ended in relegation and dismissal. Following that, he began working with England’s youth setup.
Like Luis de Fuente, Southgate’s strong relationship with the federation helped him earn the job of England manager. And, while the appointment and his style of play have been controversial, he is on his way to becoming the most successful coach of the national team in Three Lions’ history.
Football Philosophy
Gareth Southgate has, like Didier Deschamps, earned the reputation of a pragmatist. Some have even openly criticized England‘s ultraconservative playing style.
This is not untrue that Southgate has even admitted to diligently studying France and Portugal, previous winners of international tournaments, and prioritizing defensive rigor above attacking flair.
But there’s more to this. First of all, Southgate is great at man-management. He has introduced much-needed shared values, built a trustworthy core group of players, and offered them significant responsibilities.
Southgate has been consistent with his tactical approach. His tactics are modern, easy to implement quickly (national teams have little time to prepare), and efficient. The team aims to create width with its full-backs, overload the central midfield areas, and use a mobile playmaker and a classic poacher.
Formations
Gareth Southgate begins his planning with the 4-2-3-1 formation in mind. He has utilized this approach ever since his days of coaching the England U21s. It is the preferred formation for international tournaments. This is partly because it is also heavily utilized at the club level.
But it is unfair to say that Southgate is unwilling to make changes. Indeed, at Euro 2024, the England coach has made alterations to the squad, roles, and formation nearly after every game.
This is partly as a way to incorporate his best players in the starting eleven, and partly as a way to counteract opponents. Often times, for example, the team will defend in a classic 4-3-3- formation.
Against the Netherlands, inside forward Bukayo Saka often played as England’s most offensive player. The wing-backs, uncharacteristically, moved inside, and Phil Foden and Harry Kane dropped back to try and overwhelm the Dutch’s central midfielders.
Southgate in Attack
For Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate had a wealth of attacking talent from which to choose. He has worked to integrate his best players in the first eleven. This means that Kane, Foden, and Jude Bellingham have needed to find ways to coexist.
The fact that the coach was able to call up 26 players also meant that attacking backups Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney were brought up. Both proved to be important despite limited playing time.
How does England attack at Euro 2024? Patiently and only when required. The fact that they fell behind twice and quickly managed to equalize proves that there is great potential here.
In the opening games, Bellingham leads England’s build-up, with the Real Madrid player acting as a box-to-box midfielder responsible for making the team tick.
Southgate made some changes against Ronald Koeman‘s The Netherlands. Foden and Bellingham played nearly as pivot players on either side of the pitch. Foden was given more responsibility. Furthermore, Kobbie Mainoo’s ability to counteract the Dutch press allowed the Three Lions to retain possession.
Meanwhile, Hary Kane has accepted a reduced role. In previous games, he was asked to play almost as a poacher. Meanwhile, against The Netherlands, he was back in a deeper, more central role, which suited him better. This offered more space for Foden and Saka to roam.
The team also played higher up the pitch and with greater tempo. Mainoo’s abilities were in no small part responsible for this.
However, the fact that England has scored very few goals to get to the final, despite the collective talent that Southgate has at his disposal, cannot be overlooked.
Southgate in Defense
Gareth Southgate has made it clear that defensive stability is the bedrock on which he built this England squad. The success enjoyed by France or Portugal was built on not conceding goals. This is something that Southgate has set to replicate.
It’s also meant, until now, that Southgate has been willing to take chances on players who, at times, were unpopular with English fans, such as Jordan Pickford or Harry Maguire. A more recent example is Marc Guehi, who played well throughout the tournament.
England plays with a four-man defense. The central defensive partnership for most Euro 2024 games has been John Stones and Marc Guehi. Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier act as wing-backs. The latter was played in an unfamiliar position, on the left side of the pitch.
England played in a mid-block and didn’t encourage constant pressing. Southgate did this, in part, to respond to the level of fatigue felt by his players after a long season of football.
Still, defensive midfielder Declan Rice has averaged three successful tackles per game. Bellingham and Mainoo also performed well in this regard.
In other words, England has tried to overwhelm teams in the central area of the pitch, using strategic pressing triggers and trying to avoid mistakes at all costs.
What next for England and Southgate?
It wasn’t an entertaining display that brought England to another European Championship final, but it was an effective tactic from Gareth Southgate.
While the manager faced a lot of criticism throughout the past month, the result has been enough to silence those. Victory would elevate Southgate to the rank of hero, no doubt.
While talks of Southgate’s imminent departure have existed ever since his arrival as coach, a few things are clear: Southgate ball is not entertaining. Gareth Southgate consistently provided good results, whereas previous managers were unable to do so. And, whenever Southgate decides to leave this job, he will leave England in a much, much better position on the international stage than when he found the team.
Meanwhile, make sure that your fantasy football team is ready ahead of the Euro 2024 final. Rewards are guaranteed for the top performers!
