Before the UEFA EURO 2020 group game between England and Scotland, Steve Clarke was interviewed by Gabriel Clarke by the side of the pitch. The Scotland manager was bullish about his team selection, pointing out that it was brave to go to Wembley and play with two strikers, in his case Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes.
Scotland's performance in the goalless encounter has been widely praised as a show of character, guts and determination, when it was in fact a smart and assured display. They earned the draw on merit, not spirit. They claimed a point but deserved, perhaps, all three.
Bravery played its part in their attitude but it wasn't solely responsible for their improvement on a disappointing opening fixture against Czech Republic.
It is England who must start considering the meaning and value of bravery. Much has been made of their attacking stars and Gareth Southgate is in danger of squandering their abilities with an unnecessarily conservative approach and its stagnant results.
With one goal scored in two EURO 2020 home fixtures, there's no doubt that Southgate's approach has not worked. The time has come for bravery. Unless England ease off the brakes, they're not long for these championships.
Big decisions are needed. Trusted but under-performing players have to be jettisoned. The formation of choice isn't working and if England are to give themselves any hope of winning a knock-out match then a brave call is required there, too.
In short, Southgate must show his mettle. Not in the next round and not in admirable words and social maturity, but now, and in meaningful footballing actions.
Being out-fought by Scotland should not be a surprise. Being second best, fair and square, is a reality check not for a nation frequently derided as arrogant, but for a manager who's getting it wrong with a very good squad at his disposal.
England were turgid but their tournament isn't beyond rescue and Friday needn't have been a disappointing night. With an early goal at Wembley, Southgate’s team would have gained a quick advantage and put all the pressure on Scotland both tactically and in terms of the occasion. Instead, the English mood and quality deteriorated as Scotland grew into the fixture.
England’s chances came and went before the teams had settled. Central defender John Stones rose well to crack a header against the post from a Mason Mount corner, and Mount could only turn a close-range effort wide after Raheem Sterling pinched the ball and fired a pass across the near post through the legs of Scott McTominay.
Scotland soon had an opportunity of their own. A deep cross from the overlapping Kieran Tierney was volleyed goalwards by right back Stephen O’Donnell, who caught the strike beautifully only for Jordan Pickford to get down and apply a strong hand to deny him an historic Wembley goal.
Later, Reece James was called into action with Pickford beaten by a Dykes shot on the turn after England failed to clear a second half corner. Dykes was a thorn in England’s side but it was strike partner Adams whose hold-up play and sharpness of invention most threatened.
A Scotland win would have been no smash and grab. Along with O’Donnell, their most praised players were those in a midfield that had control of long periods of the game. With McTominay in his familiar international spot at centre half, Aston Villa’s John McGinn was joined in the middle by Callum McGregor and Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour. 20-year-old Gilmour claimed the Man of the Match award on his first international start.
He played a big role in a Scotland display that might have secured a better result. That it didn’t is an endorsement of England’s strong suit so far at EURO 2020: defending. Southgate’s deployment of Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice in midfield is designed to offer protection and the central defence pairing of John Stones and Tyrone Mings kept things solid against Croatia and Scotland.
The perception of Pickford as a liability is far too widespread in English football debate. He is a risk-taker and a wildcard, certainly, but when it comes to England he has been a net positive since the word go. In the first two games of EURO 2020 his saves have been crucial, his commanding presence total and his kicking and distribution – the reason he’s there – laser-guided.
Indeed, it’s at the other end of the pitch that England have come a cropper. Sterling continued his excellent international goalscoring record against Croatia, repaying Southgate’s faith in the process, but has in both matches been miles from his best. With Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho breathing down his neck, albeit without much apparent recognition from the dugout, he’d do well to find some form.
If Sterling’s impact against Scotland was lacking, Harry Kane’s was risible. The England captain has failed to deliver in the two games so far – whether that’s because of the system, his own positioning, a lack of service, tactical failings around him or simply not having much left in the tank, a solution is required. Basic perseverance is not it.
Rice and Phillips might also be victims of the system. Phillips adopted a more advanced central midfield role against Croatia and thrived, putting on a tremendous all-action show. Against Scotland they were back to the Rice and Phillips of old, defensively focused and treading on one another’s toes to the point that they were both rendered insignificant.
There is a world of work ahead of Southgate as a group fixture against Czech Republic looms, and with a probable second round game to follow. It’s not looking good for England with two games played but pundits urging against panic and fatalism are right to keep their powder dry. History offers fuel for optimism in the form of mid-tournament changes in England’s fortunes.
At the World Cup in Italy in 1990, England’s progress through the group stage was far from serene, and tactical introspection – guided by influential players as well as management – altered the direction of travel.
Six years later they opened EURO ‘96 with a draw against Switzerland and beat Scotland without blowing them away, before it all clicked for the final group game. The Wembley win against the Netherlands was one of the old place’s best ever England games and it came on the back of a disappointing draw and a sturdy but unspectacular win.
Terry Venables and his team were lucky in the next round but that doesn’t take away from the unexpected demolition of the Dutch with a tournament well underway and positivity at a premium.
Southgate’s England need a similar boost and it has to emerge from within, and soon. The manager and his staff and players need to be brave and to embrace what England can do going forward even at the expense of leaving ajar a door or two at the back. They need to be progressive with the ball, to move it faster, to switch it more readily.
They need fluidity and aggression and intent. None of these are beyond an England team packed with Champions League players and title winners, nor are they hallmarks of some mysterious foreign style with which the English cannot get to grips. They’re there, poised, waiting to be unlocked.
Southgate’s challenge is to crack the combination before it's too late.
***
Chris Nee
@SphinxFtbl