the times | Saturday June 11 2022 1GS 11
Sport
watching the game back, England
simply did not get close enough to
their opponents to fracture that
rhythm. They were chasing shadows.
It was the same against Croatia in
the World Cup semi-final in 2018,
when Southgate’s side were unable to
handle the pressure and lost their
early lead again — Trippier scored
after five minutes — losing after extra
time.
So if England are not
composed on the ball,
and not managing to
get it off their rivals,
then trouble
potentially lies
ahead. At the very
least, they must
do one or the
other.
One of the few
positives to emerge
from the draw with
Germany was the
performance of Jude
Bellingham, who replaced
the injured Phillips after
14 minutes.
The 18-year-old tried to win the ball
back high up the pitch and apply
pressure. He won nine out of 11
ground duels, seven out seven tackles,
made eight ball recoveries, and three
interceptions. Above all, he showed a
willingness to impose himself.
SUBSTITUTION STRUGGLES
Mancini was first to move. In the 54th
minute he brought on Bryan
Cristante and Domenico Berardi for
Nicolò Barella and Ciro Immobile.
The tweak led to Insigne moving
from the left wing to a false No 9.
Within a few minutes, Pickford saved
from him and then produced an even
better stop to deny Chiesa.
Despite the Italians’ momentum,
Southgate was reluctant to tinker
because he felt that England were
defending well. His first change came
after Bonucci’s goal. Bukayo Saka
replaced Trippier and the formation
switched from what had become a 5-
4-1 to a 4-3-3. Jordan Henderson then
replaced Rice after 74 minutes.
It was not until the 99th minute
that Jack Grealish was introduced, for
Mount. England changed to a 4-1-4-1;
Phillips was the midfield anchor and
in front of the Leeds United
midfielder was Sterling, Henderson,
Saka and Grealish, with Kane up top.
During the second period of extra
time, England did enjoy a spell of
pressure. Kane’s cross was
unconvincingly dealt with by
Donnarumma with John Stones close
by, while Chiellini dealt with Sterling’s
sporadic threat, inset below.
Southgate was criticised in
September in England’s World Cup
qualifying match against Poland,
when he did not make a substitution
— and then in the 92nd minute
England conceded and left Warsaw
with a 1-1 draw.
Grealish’s introduction on Tuesday
against Germany influenced the game
in a positive way, reopening the
debate over whether he should start
or be a “supersub”.
That conundrum is not really about
Grealish, but rather the manager’s
mindset. In the final, he was content
to contain Italy rather than look to
create. It almost worked, but, as
Southgate now concedes, nearly is no
longer enough. For Grealish’s role,
read Trent Alexander-Arnold’s role
now also.DREADED
PENALTIES
Ultimately, as is so
often the case with
England, it came
down to penalties.
Andrea Belotti
was denied by
Pickford before
Marcus Rashford,
Jadon Sancho —
who were both
introduced in the
120th minute with
penalties in mind — and
Saka did not score. The fall-out
led to all three enduring abhorrent
racist abuse on social media.
After spot-kick successes against
Colombia at the 2018 World Cup and
Switzerland in the Nations League
third-place play-off in 2019, Southgate
must focus on rebuilding confidence.
“When we played Italy, their top
five had taken more than 40 penalties
in competitive matches. [Only] Kane
is at that level,” he said recently. In
that case, perhaps, when England
were 4-0 up against San Marino
after 32 minutes, someone else
should have stepped forward other
than the captain intent on securing
his hat-trick.— as Croatia did in the 2018 World Cup
hi dthnproducedaneven‘Some don’t know Wales is a
country – this is vital for us’
Ian Rush
Forward, 73 caps, 1980-96
I have travelled a lot to the Middle
East over the past ten years and I
often get asked if Wales is in England.
No one is being disrespectful, but
emphasising to the world that Wales
is a country in its own right is one
reason why getting to the World Cup
finals is so important. When I go to
the region or beyond, I am more
famous than Wales. My hope now is
that Wales will be more famous than
me.
Qualifying is also great for the
Welsh economy. We all saw the
effect that Euro 2016 had on the
nation — the people on the
streets, the pride and the unity.
At that tournament in France, ten
of the squad came from a system
that I helped to put in place in
2007 when I was appointed
elite performance director
of the Welsh Football
Trust. We needed a
plan to bring through
youngsters, as it was
not happening. Kids
were going from Liverpool to
Wales and they had not
learnt anything. We needed
them to want to go back.
The credit for change goes
to many people, including
Osian Roberts, who was the
Wales technical director and is
now the Crystal Palace assistant
manager, Gus Williams, who is
the talent manager, and the late
Gary Speed, who as manager of
the team took us up a level.
I regret that I never played at a
World Cup. We lost to Romania
when a win would have got us to
the 1994 finals in the United
States. I remember speaking to
John Charles and Cliff Jones,who were part of the Wales squad in
Sweden in 1958, the last time we
reached the finals. I never thought I
would get the chance to see Wales
play in the World Cup in my lifetime.
It is a celebration.Dean Saunders
Forward, 75 caps, 1986-2001
If I have one regret in my career it is
that I never played at a major
championship. I was in the side that
lost to Romania in qualifying in 1993.
The past two European
Championship finals were brilliant,
but I never thought we would get to a
World Cup finals.
I was brought up in Swansea, left
when I was young, and watched
Wales from the days of Jeremy
Charles, Alan Curtis and Mickey
Thomas. Eventually I got into the
team and my last game for them was
against Ukraine, aged 37.
Watching the present side I kept
thinking, “If it is not now, it might not
be in my lifetime” because Gareth
Bale and Aaron Ramsey are in
their 30s. I always look at which
players are coming through and
sometimes you unearth a few
gems. But I couldn’t
see us doing it.
I have
listened to all
the stick over
the years, so
this was
great. I’ll be
in Qatar as a fan.Mickey Thomas
Winger, 51 caps, 1976-86
When I returned to my
club, the other players in
the dressing-room would
start the banter: “You’ve not
qualified. You’ve not qualified
again.” It was hard to take.
I suffered disappointments
against Scotland in 1977 and 1985
in trying to reach the World Cup
finals. The heartache never
leaves you and I was sat in the
stand for later
disappointments. You wonderif it will ever happen. Does someone
up there not want us to get there?
It is probably hard for people
outside Wales to grasp what it means
for us, given what we have been
through. So many near misses.
I sat with Ian Rush at Cardiff City
Stadium [for the play-off win over
Ukraine] and, in shock, I turned to
him and said, “We have finally made
it.” People around us were crying,
going crazy, and I just thought, ‘Enjoy
it’. Not only was it a relief, but
qualification also takes Wales to
another level.
Football and the grassroots will
benefit, while the country will be
showcased to the world. We are a
small nation, I understand that, but
we want people to take notice of us.
At last in my lifetime I can watch
Wales on the biggest stage.
I played against England half a
dozen times and scored my first goal
for Wales in the famous 4-1 win over
them at Wrexham in 1980. It was the
first time we had beaten them at
home since 1955, so that was even
more rewarding for me.
Wales do not need to look at the
England game [their final group
match] in Qatar. They need to take
maximum points from the games
with the United States and Iran.Joey Jones
Defender, 72 caps, 1975-86
I am the only living Welshman to
have beaten England three times,
which I learnt from a quiz. We won at
Wembley in 1977, when Leighton
James scored a penalty, we beat them
4-1 three years later, and then 1-0 in
1984 when Mark Hughes scored on
his debut. That was just a few years
after we were denied getting to the
1978 World Cup finals when Joe
Jordan handled in the area but a
penalty was awarded to Scotland
against me. Not that Joe has been
willing to admit it since.
There was plenty of banter about
not qualifying when I went back to
Liverpool and I remember Bob
Paisley once had a go at me when I
returned to Anfield as he said I had
kicked Kenny Dalglish. I can laugh
about it now and I will be smiling
come November.After qualifying for their
first World Cup finals in
64 years, Welsh legends
tell Gary Jacob of past
regrets and new hopes
Bale denies rumours of Madrid return
Gareth Bale has scoffed at rumours
of a potential return to Madrid with
Getafe, stating: “I definitely won’t be
playing there.”
The Wales captain has two more
Nations League games to go — at home
to Belgium today and away to Holland
on Tuesday — before he puts his feet up
and goes on a family holiday.
Then, with his Real Madrid contract
having expired, the 32-year-old will be
looking for a new club, as he strives for
match sharpness before the World Cup
in November.
A return to the Spanish capital,
however, is not on the agenda, despite
links with Getafe, who finished 15th in
La Liga this season.
“I definitely won’t be playing there,”
Bale said. “I haven’t had any conversa-
tions with anyone yet. It’s been five days
since we knew we’d qualified, so no
time to really think.Rob ColeRush is Wales’s second
highest scorer after Balenot
all,
o
,e
placed
afterDREAD
PENA
Ulti
oft
En
do
A
w
P
M
Jad
who
iiintrod
1112 0th m
penalties i
SSSaka did not sc
ledto allthree enduri“Once these internationals are over,
I’ll have plenty of time to go on holiday
and decide my future then. That’ll give
me a chance to speak with my wife,
family and agent and the conversations
will happen.
“I have no idea if it [his next move]
will be for six months, 12 months or two
years. We’ll sit down and see
what excites me most.”
Bale played only 290
minutes of football in the
final season of his tro-
phy-laden nine years
with Real. There have
been suggestions that
he could retire after the
World Cup, having suf-
fered a series of injuries
during his career.
Getting into peak shape for
the World Cup in Qatar is the top
priority for Bale, who has also been
linked with Cardiff City. But it is a goal
that is becoming harder and harder for
the top players to achieve as thephysical demands of club and inter-
national football continue to increase.
“It’s crazy. We were speaking the
other day at lunch and someone said
[Kevin] De Bruyne could play 79 games
next season and have [only] a three-
week break,” Bale said.
“It’s too much, and things obviously
need to change. Players will tell
you there are way too many
games and that it’s
impossible to play at a
high level for that
amount of games.
“There will be con-
sequences in the long
term. People’s bodies
can’t deal with that sort
of calendar. Something
has to change.
“It’s a business and they
want to make more money. For
player welfare, I think money needs to
be overlooked and they need to look
after the players. Without the players
there is no product.”Wales v
BelgiumUefa Nations League
Tonight, 7.45pm
TV: Premier Sports 1