It has been wonderful to enjoy England again at a major tournament. And to see them playing out from the back restoring our faith in the fact that English teams can do so.
We know that back home they restored a lot of pride and brought some unity to the country. They have changed the way the players are viewed and have given everyone some hope in the national team.
Gareth Southgate should take immense credit for all of the above, and partly for devising a system that suited these players. We don’t really have the kind of midfielder who controls the tempo of a game or who threads through little creative passes, like Philippe Coutinho or Luka Modric. So he had to make the best use of our running strengths from midfield with Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard.
England have once again been enjoyable to watch at a major tournament in Russia this summer
Gareth Southgate should take immense credit for devising a system that suited these players
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The back three allowed Harry Maguire to shine and bring the ball out, as did John Stones, though I’d still like to have seen him playing on the right side of defence so that he had even more opportunities to do that. Harry Kane could take the Golden Boot, we got through a penalty shootout and won two knock-out games, so there’s much to be positive about.
Of course, Gareth Southgate and the players will forever rue a missed opportunity. One-nil up at half-time and hanging on with 22 minutes to play took them close to football’s ultimate game.
I’m sure the staff will know things they could have changed in the second half. The most obvious one was that while the 3-5-2 shape worked well for us against lesser opposition, it became 5-3-2 against better teams. And then it lost its effectiveness. All systems have their achilles heel and, as a big advocate of the back three, I’m well aware of how it can go wrong.
It is what happened in the second half when Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic started getting on the front foot. Suddenly Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young were forced into full-back positions, almost for the first time in the tournament. England’s back three then ended up marking one man in Mario Mandzukic.
But the 3-5-2 formation became 5-3-2 against better teams and then it lost its effectiveness
England lack the kind of midfielder who controls the tempo of a game like Luka Modric
Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young were forced into full-back positions by Croatia’s wingers
The fact that Trippier and Young were pushed back meant there was space for Sime Vrsaljko, the Croatia right-back, to push on. (You didn’t see it as much from Ivan Strinic, the left-back, as he was carrying an injury.) So Alli then had to shuttle across to cover his left flank as well as trying to deal with Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. He covered an extraordinary 9.7 miles in the game, 4.2 miles off the ball; more than anyone other than Marcelo Brozovic. So there was even more space for Modric to operate in.
With everyone deep and Dele preoccupied with an extra man, England couldn’t muster an attacking threat. Which meant that man Modric simply got more and more of the ball, and England were just hanging on.
It needed a change before Croatia scored their second goal. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane were still playing as a front two, when Sterling should have been told to come across and stop Vrsaljko’s runs. When Marcus Rashford came on I thought that was where he would have played. But he more or less played in the same position as Sterling.
The other way to change is to switch to a back four when you’re defending, with Kyle Walker coming out to right back. That allows Kieran Trippier to move up and supplements your midfield, which supports Dele. You would get Lingard to harry their holding midfielder and that way you’re not outnumbered.
Dele Alli had to shuttle across to cover as well as dealing with both Modric and Ivan Rakitic
Raheem Sterling (pictured) or Marcus Rashford should have been asked to help out at the back
Gareth Southgate will have a plan for next time and against Spain next is the perfect challenge
As soon as you win the ball back you can morph into a back three again, with Maguire pushing up a bit alongside Walker with Stones as the sweeper. Trippier and Young are then conventional wing-backs again. I used that system in a friendly game against Portugal in 1998 with David Beckham and Graeme Le Saux as wing-backs.
Knowing Gareth Southgate, he’ll have a plan for next time. Coincidentally, the next two games in UEFA’s new Nations League are against Croatia and Spain.
So it’s the perfect time to try something new. Spain will have more possession than us so it’s a perfect chance to work out how to beat the better teams.
Overall, Southgate and Steve Holland deserve huge credit for devising a system which has all but ended the problems we used to have against lesser sides when we used to find ourselves not creating chances and not getting opportunities. Now let’s take the next step and see off the better teams.
Let’s hope for a great game to finish the World Cup on a high
There hasn’t been a great team at this World Cup, nor a truly great individual. Which is curious because it feels as though it has been an excellent competition. I think that’s because we’ve seen so many good games, from Spain against Portugal, Germany against Mexico and Sweden, Argentina against Croatia and Nigeria and then against France in the last 16. Then there was Belgium against Japan and their superb clash with Brazil…
And we’ve seen some great moments from Kylian Mbappe. Not enough to call him a true great. He didn’t quite do enough in the semi-final, but he is only 19. His performance against Argentina was excellent. The run he made for the penalty put me in mind of Michael Owen’s against Argentina in 1998 when he burst on the world scene.
Mbappe created the greatest buzz among the fans here when he got the ball and in that respect he outshone Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, who went home early.
N’Golo Kante has been outstanding in all aspects of his game and has had a superb World Cup
For Croatia, a nation of four million people, to win the World Cup on Sunday would be historic
France played well against Argentina but there’s still a feeling that there’s more to come. We’ve not quite seen the best of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann. But N’Golo Kante has been outstanding — not just doing defensive work but carrying the ball 30 yards from midfield. He’s had a superb World Cup.
France are favourites today. Croatia did so well to stay in the game on Wednesday and then come again, with Luka Modric, who couldn’t get a kick in the first half, but was supreme after the break. England should have troubled them more, and I suspect a better France midfield will.
For Croatia, a nation of four million, to win would be historic. For France, it would be a powerful response after losing that Euro 2016 final in Paris. I just hope we get an excellent game to cap a very good tournament.
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