‘Hard to watch’: Drastic $166m call Southgate must make … or suffer ‘grave consequences’

A simple glance at England’s group shows them finishing first with one goal conceded. But their latest result has left pundits with even more questions.

If you’d only looked at the Group C standings and nothing else, you’d have thought England had done just fine from their early fixtures at Euro 2024.

Top of the group, unbeaten, one goal conceded and two clean sheets? Not too shabby.

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Then you consider England squeezed past Serbia 1-0 in a limp opening display, only to draw with Denmark in a performance branded “s***” by English great Gary Lineker and “really, really poor” by Alan Shearer.

Harry Kane reminded critical ex-England players of their responsibility knowing several of the current crop look up to them, while Gareth Southgate vowed to hit the “reset” button against Slovenia.

In fairness there was a renewed sense of urgency from Southgate’s men, but it mattered little as England failed to land a meaningful punch against the world No. 57 across 90 laborious minutes.

“The performance was better, much more coherent and consistent than in their first two games, and featured the high pressing and greater intensity promised by Southgate and his players,” The Times’ Jonathan Northcroft wrote.

“But also a 0-0, against the group’s weakest team.

“It goes without saying that to make any impression in the knockout stages, a further — massive — step up in performance is required.”

Jude Bellingham was one of several England players who struggled to impress. Picture: Alex Grimm/Getty Images

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Southgate‘s “reset” also included one change to his line-up as Conor Gallagher came into the midfield in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Gallagher was subsequently hooked at halftime in favour of Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo, who immediately injected youthful energy and looked to make things happen.

Along with Mainoo, the introduction of Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon added something to England’s efforts in the final third.

In fact, Gordon created more chances after coming on in the 89th minute than Bellingham, Gallagher and even star winger Bukayo Saka.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville was one pundit who noted England’s improvement whenever Southgate turned to his bench but remained critical of the limp display.

“We got a glimpse that England can be better because every time Gareth brought on a substitute they got better,” Neville told ITV.

“Mainoo made the midfield balance better, Cole Palmer and Gordon had an impact but we are miles off where we need to be.”

Arsenal great Ian Wright agreed Southgate’s substitutes made the needed impact, but feared the team is running out of time to find its groove.

“I think what we saw in the second half was playing a little bit more in the opposition half, but at the same time, we are nowhere near good enough,” Wright said.

“Palmer and Mainoo did well when they came on and I would have loved to see Gordon come on earlier.

Southgate has plenty to ponder going into the Round of 16. Picture: Richard Pelham/Getty Images

“At the moment, it’s still not happening and we are very fortunate to be getting through. There is so much work that needs to be done.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou took a slightly more optimistic approach, noting England at least have “solutions” on the bench who can turn games on its head.

“It’s a lot more difficult when you don’t have them (solutions),” Postecoglou said.

“There is much for him to ponder there. Some guys came on and made an impact on the game.

“It was really crying out for more technical players in there. The balance of the team wasn’t quite right. That’s the challenge for them in the next game.”

The imbalance Postecoglou alluded to was perhaps the conundrum surrounding Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham, who Real Madrid signed for $AUD166 million in 2023, failed to create any chances, did not complete a single pass into the attacking third and lost the ball an alarming 16 times, the most among his teammates.

But, most worryingly, Bellingham seemed to be playing almost on top of Foden, who began the game on the left wing but continually drifted into central areas.

In fact, The Telegraph’s touch map showed the two had virtually identical average positions on the field.

It is what The Telegraph’s Sam Wallace described as “a tactical partial eclipse with grave consequences” and believed Southgate must make a drastic call on the pair.

“This was the team’s two biggest creative talents fighting for the same territory and was a key part of what made it so hard to watch,” Wallace wrote.

“Foden and Bellingham switched over periodically although it was primarily Foden obliged to walk the plank out on the left side. For both it seemed a case of trying to escape the left rather than occupy it.

“What does Southgate do? Given the drumroll that has accompanied Bellingham into this tournament it seems we have rushed into his new reality within the space of three poor team performances.

“Yet Foden deserves to start the round of 16 game ahead of the younger man.

“England need to play with wingers who are wingers.”

Although the pundits may have held back slightly in their criticism given Kane’s pre-game plea, the fans did not.

“It had been universally accepted that England needed a performance to reinvigorate their fans here in Germany after the toil of their opening Euro 2024 ties against Serbia and Denmark,” The Guardian’s David Hynter wrote.

“Well, one of the principal takeaways from a claustrophobic and emotional night was that the fans were certainly connected.

“Moved to boo at the interval after a flat display, they raised the intensity in the second period, belting out their songs for almost the duration of it.

“There was something faintly heroic about their efforts. They willed their team to make the breakthrough and yet it did not happen for a reason.

“Gareth Southgate’s team lacked the penetration and the quality where it mattered the most, despite dominating for pretty much the entire occasion in terms of possession and territory.

“And when it was all over, there were more boos from them, with even more feeling.”

Such was the England fans’ frustrations, two plastic beer cups were hurled in the direction of Southgate as he and his players completed a lap of appreciation.

Speaking after the game, Southgate understood why fans were displeased but was slightly taken aback at how vocal it had become given the team topped their group.

“I’m not going to back away from it,” Southgate said.

“Most important thing here is that the supporters stay with the team. I understand the narrative towards me and that’s better than it being towards the team, but it’s creating an unusual environment to operate in.

“I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar. I understand it, not going to back away from it.”

Despite the uninspiring result, England have progressed to the more favourable side of the knockout draw, avoiding the likes of Germany, Spain and Portugal.

However, they could face one almighty test in the Round of 16 as they take on one of the best third-placed teams from Group D, E or F.

The most daunting of those prospective match-ups is world No. 7 Netherlands, who slipped to third after a shock 3-2 loss to Austria in their final group fixture.

There’s plenty of chaos to come in Group E as Belgium, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine all sit on three points going into their final group game.

In Group F, England could come up against Turkey, Czechia or Georgia.

Regardless of who they play, Southgate knows his team must kick into gear for the next game.

A failure to do so could taint his legacy as England boss.