Gareth Southgate’s new England look worryingly free of energy and resistance

By the time the PA announcer had announced a “lap of appreciation”, with what seemed at the time to be viciously mocking levels of excitement, England’s players found themselves applauding a vast expanse of empty red plastic seats. One of the big fears with tournament football, among the better teams, is peaking too early.

And so we roll on all the same. Predicting success in any tournament is a foolish thing. England expects. England is generally wrong to expect. But England will still expect all the same. What is interesting this time is that, in theory, this team really does have a chance of winning these Euros. But they are also flawed. The ceiling is high. The ceiling also has holes in it.

Then, finally, we come to central midfield, the key to any tournament team, which felt unfilled at the start of the day, and remained so at the end. Kobbie Mainoo’s selection suggested he is in the catbird seat. Mainoo is a wonderful young player. But the double pivot with Declan Rice didn’t work here. Rice had to sit a little more. His surges were missed. And the spaces were just too big. Midfield was too friendly. Mainoo is an artist.

Source: Energy Industry News (energyindustrynews.net)

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