By Jack Sice, Chief Football Analyst
And off they
went.
From San Marino to the Stadium of Light and from the Etihad to Estonia.
30 points from 10 qualifying games against, to put it mildly, unimpressive
opposition. Still, qualifying has been a success. From September 2014, when
qualifying for this summer’s tournament began, to now, there have been
memorable moments – and a welcome absence of hiccups. In September, Wayne
Rooney reached 50 goals for England, becoming the country’s top goalscorer at
international level in the process. Then, there was the friendly against the
old foe, as England staged a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down against the
World Cup winners, Germany.
Harry Kane and Danny Rose embrace after England turn it round in Berlin
On Monday, Roy Hodgson and his 23 man squad stood suited and booted for
a final photo opportunity before jetting off to France for this summer’s
heavily anticipated European Championships. Amongst the baggage in the hold,
England carried the weight of expectation that rears its head as tournament
time approaches every two years. It is 50 years now since Bobby Moore and co
became world champions, beating Germany in the most famous and significant
victory in the footballing history of the country, and 30 years since England
nearly brought football home at Euro 96.
Since that heady summer at Wembley, England’s tournament record has been
nothing short of atrocious. Twice have England committed the heinous crime of
not qualifying, for the World Cup in 1994 and the Euros in 2008, under the
management of Graham Taylor and Fabio Capello respectively. In the eight major
tournaments that England have participated in since Euro 96, they have crashed
out of the group stages twice, exited via the round of 16 twice and been
knocked out at the quarter final stage 4 times. England hasn’t reached the
semi-finals since Euro 96 and the pain still lingers.
However, there is renewed optimism this time around; England boasts the
youngest squad in the entire tournament, and has been reinvigorated by the
likes of Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy – unknowns to the
international scene until recent months. Dele Alli only made his England debut
in October, whilst Marcus Rashford was uncapped when selected for the final 23
that would feature in France. The latter’s rise has been one of the success
stories of a sublime Premier League season, and the teenager has so far failed
to disappoint, converting within three minutes of his international debut
against Australia.
Yet it is precisely this youthfulness and, admittedly, inexperience that
makes England such exciting prospects going into this summer’s tournament.
England’s squad is raw and ready.
Apart from their undeniable quality, Jack
Wilshere and Dele Alli are tenacious and pugnacious; they are up for the fight
and not afraid to scrap. Jamie Vardy and Raheem Sterling inject lightning pace,
with the former proving what a menace he can be when he gets in behind.
Furthermore, the team has goals. Harry Kane has reached the 20-goal mark two
seasons on the trot, Wayne Rooney is the country’s top goalscorer and Daniel
Sturridge, when fit, was averaging a goal every other game. I haven’t even
mentioned Jamie Vardy, who broke the 20-goal barrier with aplomb. Scoring goals
in recent tournaments has been a real problem for England, but isn’t the
overarching worry this summer.
The area of concern is the defence, with Roy Hodgson opting to select
only three centre halves – a worrying symbol of the lack of quality central
defensive options at his disposal. Yes, Eric Dier can act as a centre half – he
began his Tottenham career at the back. But then England would lose the
incontrovertible composure and assuredness that Dier gives them, acting as a
shield for the defence and allowing the attacking full back options of Danny
Rose and Kyle Walker to bomb forward when England break. England were steady
defensively during their qualifying campaign, but omnipresents such as Phil
Jagielka, Glen Johnson and Leighton Baines are on the inevitable decline, and
aren’t up to scratch.
Instead, Hodgson is left with Chris Smalling, Gary Cahill
and John Stones as his three centre halves. None of the three are world class.
Yes, Chris Smalling has improved drastically this season and has been a model
of consistency for United. Gary Cahill is a quality defender, whose commitment
to the cause cannot be doubted, but his season for Chelsea could be described
at times as torrid. Similar things could be said about Stones, who has arguably
taken a step backwards after an impressive debut season with Everton. Stones is
still a fantastic prospect at 22, and should be lauded for his desire to
play from the back. However, his approach has resulted in numerous errors for
club and country and he has begun to look fragile and low in confidence – it is
hoped that the errors will be erased from his game as he matures. Hodgson has
been bold in his selection, yet an injury to one of the three central defensive
options could wreak havoc and throw England’s plans entirely.
Given the recent blockbuster TV deal and the lack of room for young,
English talents, it is refreshing to see so many of the current crop excel at
club level. It is all the more reason for renewed optimism: England are fresh,
fearless and at times, frightening. Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and John
Stones have all endured mixed and at times extremely disappointing seasons for
their respective teams, yet Sterling looks a better player in the Three Lions
shirt, and is near unstoppable when on form. The comparisons between Barkley
and Gascoigne will be ubiquitous as long as the Liverpudlian plays with the
same brashness and audacity, yet the midfielder has taken a dip in form in the
second half of the season, failing to replicate the performances that have
turned him into a cult-hero in the making on Merseyside.
However, there is no
doubting that they are three of the biggest prospects in European football,
poster boys of the new generation of English football.
For this reason, England can and should do well this summer. In the
past, the expectation was too much; the media scrutiny and culture in the camp
meant that the team crumbled under pressure. Lampard, Beckham, Ferdinand,
Scholes. What should have been. Yet that team was full of individuals at the
peak of their powers, this team not so much. The lack of world class
footballers in this current team means that the weight of expectation has been
alleviated. We are now more hopeful rather than expectant. Years of repeated
failure have taught us that expecting so much from our national side is a
futile approach.
But we will blow the cobwebs off our St George’s flags and go into
France with renewed hope. This team is bold, daring and full of belief. This is
a different England, and can be the beginning of an era of renewed success. 30
years on, and Roy’s boys will be aiming to replicate the feats of Shearer and
co at Euro 96. This time around though, football’s really coming home.
N.B. England now boasts the second youngest squad. Antonio Rudiger, who
sustained a cruciate ligament injury three days before the tournament began,
has been replaced by the 20 year old Jonathan Tah, meaning Germany now have the
youngest average age at this summer’s European Championships.
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