EURO 2024 Team Guide - Group C - England
Resident England expert Jackie Holland gives us the lowdown on what to expect from the Three Lions this time round. A new, creative way to fuck it all up, or national glory at last?
Country:
England
FIFA World Ranking:
4
Qualification Record:
1st Place
W6 D2 L0
Goals For – 22
Goals Against – 4
Group:
Group C
Highest Ever Euros Finish:
Runners up (Lost to Italy 1-1p, EURO 2020)
Previous Euros Appearances:
11
Top International Goal Scorer (in Squad):
Harry Kane (63)
Squad:
26-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
The Gaffer:
Gareth Southgate (appointed September 2016)
Gaffer Bio:
Southgate first truly entered the national consciousness during Euro ’96, his forlorn silhouette embodying England’s despair at yet another penalty shootout exit at the hands of the Germans, in turn earning him not only a place in England infamy but also a Pizza Hut advert.
Southgate began his career at Crystal Palace playing in midfield, captaining the side from the age of 23. A move to Aston Villa and to centre back followed in 1995, where he lifted the League Cup and reached the FA Cup final before moving to Middlesborough.
Southgate would go on once again to captain and lead his side to a League Cup triumph, still the only trophy the side have ever won and this success led to links with Manchester United. However, Southgate would not only end up seeing out his playing career at the club but he also went on to take the managerial reins from Steve McClaren when he became England manager in 2006, immediately hanging up his boots. His time in charge at Middlesborough would, however, mainly be remembered for returning the club to the Championship for the first time since 1998.
However, Southgate was handed a managerial lifeline in the form of the England U21s. In their only tournament under him in 2015, England finished bottom of a tight group that included Italy and Portugal but Southgate did record an impressive win percentage besides and clearly impressed figures within the FA given that he would, a year on, be offered the job of the senior side – though admittedly only after an incident involving a pint of wine led to Sam Allardyce’s hasty dismissal. He has gone on to achieve more success in the role than any of Alf Ramsey’s successors, leading England to their first ever European Championship final and only their second ever World Cup semi-final on foreign soil.
Who Could Do with Him?
A handful of England’s elite clubs are currently in the market for managers and Southgate has been linked with a move to Manchester United, where his famed abilities to engender a good team atmosphere would be tested to their limits. However, it remains to be seen where Southgate might be best placed given his limited experience at club management. Oliver Glasner’s success at Crystal Palace has removed the immediate possibility of an emotional homecoming at Selhurst Park (who have provided the more players to the current Euros squad than any other team), though their rivals up the M23 Brighton would do worse than consult their former Technical Director Dan Ashworth for a reference for the man he once had a hand in appointing England manager.
Formation / Style of Play:
4-3-3
Southgate has been routinely criticised for being overly negative during his England tenure, but they have become more progressive as time has gone on. They did away with 5 at the back after the 2018 World Cup, with Southgate tending to go with something resembling a 4-3-3 spearheaded by Kane.
Rice’s defensive mindedness in midfield enables Bellingham to roam free further afield. England are not without width in the form of Bukayo Saka on the right but in order to fit Phil Foden in may have to deal with a less conventional left winger.
Strengths:
England are the bookies favourites primarily on the strength of their forward line. Harry Kane’s exploits in Germany earned him the European Golden boot this season and he will be joined by the likes of Saka and Foden in spearheading England’s attack in his new country of residence.
England under Southgate have also been very shrewd at set pieces and tournament management in general. Of the 12 goals England scored at Southgate’s first tournament in charge, 9 of them were from set pieces. There seems to be an understanding that while it may be difficult to create a distinctive and flowing style of play akin to a club side, you can still maximise corners and free kicks which can often decide the big games at this level. This approach also led to England’s first penalty shootout victory since 1996, though Southgate may have been concerned by the regression to the mean during the side’s exit to Italy from the spot at the last Euros.
Weaknesses:
England under Southgate have twice been in commanding positions at the business end of tournaments and have on both occasions squandered it. This has highlighted a severe inability to control or see out big games at tournaments that predated Southgate’s arrival. England will hope the rich vein of form experience currently by Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham will address this, but Rice lacks an established partner in the middle.
Southgate was also the recipient of very legitimate criticism about his game management and substitutions after all their tournament exits and England fans will be hoping that the coaching setup have developed a sufficient plan B for when the side inevitably face some unexpected tailwinds in Germany.
England’s biggest problem, though, may lie at the back. Southgate will be missing his key lieutenant in defence in Harry Maguire after the Manchester United centre back was ruled out with a calf injury that has kept him out for the past few months. Luke Shaw is also an injury concern, with his stand in Kieran Trippier also fresh from a layoff. Southgate will be able to call on the versatile Joe Gomez should there be any injuries across the back line however he has only been recently recalled to the international setup after several years away.
Player to Watch:
Jude Bellingham
Quite simply the man of the moment. It is worth remembering that Bellingham is still only 20 years old, turning 21 during the Euros, and yet this is his third major tournament for England. He has been peerless in his debut season in La Liga after his big money move to Real Madrid. While not his best game, Bellingham crowned the season with a victory in the Champions League final against his old side Borussia Dortmund and England fans will be hoping that his success rubs off at international level.
An honourable mention goes to Phil Foden, whose stellar performances for Manchester City this season helped deliver the Premier League title for the fourth season in a row and earn him the Premier League Player of the Season award.
One for the Future:
Kobbie Mainoo
Manchester United’s season has been short of bright sparks, but Kobbie Mainoo is responsible for most of them, including his goal in the FA Cup final against their bitter rivals Manchester City. Such is his talent that Paul Scholes recently said that he believed that Mainoo possesses far more skill at his age than Scholes himself did and it would not be beyond the realms of possibility that Southgate trusts the 19-year-old with a starting berth in the tournament proper.
It is also worth noting Adam Wharton’s meteoric rise since his move from Blackburn Rovers to Palace in January has been remarkable, his place in England’s 26-man squad testament to that.
Unlucky to Miss Out:
Jarrad Branthwaite & Harry Maguire
Southgate’s two biggest omissions from the preliminary squad were newsworthy but hardly controversial; Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford could seldom complain after disappointing campaigns for both. The manager went on to cull Jack Grealish and James Maddison from the full squad, however, it was Southgate’s decisions at centre back that could prove most important. His hand was forced by a calf injury to Harry Maguire and as a result will miss a centre back, while widely mocked, who has been a huge figure in every single Southgate England squad at major tournaments. Jarrad Branthwaite was considered by many as a worthy back up who had been in terrific form in a beleaguered Everton side last season, and as such he will be disappointed not to make the squad ahead of Marc Guehi.
Likely Line Up:
Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Guehi, Walker; Rice, Gallagher, Bellingham; Foden, Kane, Saka
Fixtures:
Matchday 1 – Serbia vs England – 16th June
Matchday 2 – Denmark vs England – 20th June
Matchday 3 – England vs Slovenia – 25th June
Verdict:
Outside of France, England arguably have the strongest team going in to the Euros, boasting Germany’s top scorer, arguably the best player in La Liga and the Premier League player of the year. This is a side full of club and international experience, a coach with almost 100 games as an international manager and coming off the back of a number of impressive tournaments including finishing as runner’s up in the last Euros.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a lot if England’s history is anything to go by. The national side have spent decades finding new and creative ways of not winning major international tournaments and there is still the nagging doubt that whilst Southgate has finally turned England into a side that can navigate relatively routine knockout games, they still buckle against the elite nations. England’s depleted defence and the question of who partners Rice in midfield may decide their fate, though they will hope that the talent they boast going forward will be enough to dig them out.
Jack Holland (@JackHolland1993)