ENGLAND CRUISING
TO THE FINALS
F
our straight victories have put
England on the brink of next
summer’s finals, where they
will be de facto hosts as the
Final and both semi-finals are among
seven games being staged at Wembley.
Having put his faith in youth, manager
Gareth Southgate continued that trend
in September’s games against Bulgaria
and Kosovo, with midfielders Mason
Mount of Chelsea and Leicester City’s
James Maddison fast-tracked from the
under-21s to the senior squad.
Southgate can also call upon a
fearless attacking trio in Jadon Sancho,
Raheem Sterling and captain Harry Kane,
with England currently the top scorers
across the qualifiers, with 19 goals in theirfour games. But while the youthful
exuberance has benefitted the team’s
attacking ambitions, in defence the
inexperience is a genuine concern.
England were given an early shock
by Kosovo, who took the lead after 34
seconds through Valon Berisha before
Southgate’s side triumphed 5-3.
“So many of our players are still on
a handful of caps, so many of them are
improving rapidly,” acknowledged the
England boss. “The great thing is we’ve
got genuine competition for places.”
Second spot in the group is a straight
fight between Czech Republic and
Kosovo, who meet in Plzen in November.
Jaroslav Silhavy took over as Czech
coach in 2018 and, despite a cautious
tactical approach, he has introduced
young blood such as winger Lukas
Masopust, key assist provider Jakub
Jankto and central midfielder Alex Kral.
The form of leading striker Patrik
Schick is, however, a concern. The Czechs
remains heavily reliant upon his goals,
but the former Sampdoria starlet has
barely featured this season for RB
Leipzig, where he is on loan from Roma.
Kosovo have been a revelation under
veteran Swiss coach Bernard Challandes,
who has allied their infectious new-nation
enthusiasm to attack-minded tactics andput them in contention.
The Kosovans were unbeaten in 15
games before the defeat against England,
although June’s 3-2 victory over Bulgaria
in Sofia was their first win in a qualifier.
Recent results – notably the thrilling
2-1 win in Pristina against Czech
Republic – were achieved without Milot
Rashica, who is arguably their best player,
and fellow wide man Arber Zeneli.
Against England, they were missing
midfielders Hekuran Kryeziu and Herolind
Shala, as well as left-back Benjamin
Kololli. But others have stepped up,
notably striker Vedat Muriqi, playmaker
Bersant Celina, midfielder Berisha and
goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
Kosovo have the safety net of a placein March’s play-offs, having won League
D in the Nations League, and have to
play England in Pristina after that
showdown with Czech Republic.
Bulgaria and Montenegro have both
had hugely disappointing campaigns.
Krasimir Balakov succeeded Petar
Hubchev after Bulgaria’s first two
qualifiers, while Montenegro’s campaign
was overshadowed by the sacking of
Serbian coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic for
refusing to take charge of the side’s game
against Kosovo in June. His replacement,
Bosnian coach Faruk Hadzibegic, has
yet to see any upturn in form.STAR MAN
RAHEEM STERLING
England
The Manchester City front runner is not
only England’s most-improved player, the
24-year-old is arguably more vital to the
plans of manager Gareth Southgate than
skipper and centre-forward Harry Kane.
When Sterling is fit and firing, he is a
regular on the scoresheet, netting six
times so far in qualification and eight in
nine competitive starts since the end of
the last World Cup. Add in the scoringEURO 2020 | Qualifiers
GROUP
A“So many of our players are still on a handful of caps, so many of them are
improving rapidly. The great thing is we’ve got genuine competition for places”
England manager Gareth Southgate
Struggling...Bulgaria
(in white) and
MontenegroFearless...Raheem
Sterling (centre)
scores England’s first
goal against Kosovo