The Times - UK (2022-06-11)

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

winner of a major final has dipped

below 40 per cent possession.

LACK OF MIDFIELD CONTROL

Six minutes into the final, Kalvin

Phillips received a ticking off from the

referee, Björn Kuipers, after leaving

Jorginho grounded near the centre

circle. It was a moment that

encapsulated England’s intent but one

which, rather like the move for the

goal, could not be sustained.

As England’s influence waned, so

Jorginho and Marco Verratti began to

dictate. Verratti made 118 passes in

the 96 minutes he was on the pitch,

and Jorginho 98. Rice and Phillips

made 72 combined, though a

fundamental issue for Southgate is

that he does not possess players with

the profile of Verratti and Jorginho.

It is not only the number of passes

but the accuracy of them which

points to another problem. Italy’s pass

completion rate in the second half at

Wembley was 92 per cent, and

deep, played a diagonal pass to Kieran

Trippier on the right flank.

The right wing back benefited from

an overlapping run by the right-sided

centre half, Kyle Walker, which

allowed England to create an

overload at the back post and create

uncertainty in Italian ranks. Trippier

picked out Shaw with a cross that the

Manchester United defender drilled

home at the near post.

England did not come close to

recreating that quality of chance

again in the 118 minutes to come.

Kane relied on scraps, with the poor

service to him ensuring that Giorgio

Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci could

demonstrate all their experience and

cunning.

Yet this was the fast start that

Southgate had craved and one

which his side have found

harder to come by since.

England have scored

only three goals in the

opening 15 minutes of

their 11 games since

the final — two

against

minnows San

Marino and one

versus a weak

Albania side.

They have,

however, scored

ten goals in the

last 15 minutes of

matches,

suggesting

resilience — as

was evident with

Kane’s 88th-

minute penalty to

level in Munich

on Tuesday.

POSSESSION PROBLEMS

Long before the lottery of penalties,

there was a “before and after”

moment that summed up the

match. England maintained the

pressure in the opening

exchanges, with Trippier

continuing to cause Italy

issues. Then, after

15 minutes, Declan Rice

put his foot through a

loose ball and belted it

60 yards down the pitch

for the Italy goalkeeper,

Gianluigi

Donnarumma, to

collect. Wembley let

out a raucous cheer.

Had it happened in

the 75th minute, it

would have been

understandable,

T

here is some irony in the

fact that the moment which

had England dreaming of

glory the previous time they

faced Italy was prompted by

a mistake from one of their own.

Exactly 60 seconds into the Euro

2020 final at Wembley last July,

Harry Maguire misplaced a back-pass

intended for the goalkeeper, Jordan

Pickford, and instead conceded a

corner. Gareth Southgate has always

placed great stock on the importance

of set pieces, but even he could not

have envisaged what transpired next.

A counterattack against

disorientated rivals lead to England

opening the scoring on that summer

Sunday evening, leaving a nation

dreaming — only for hopes to

disintegrate once again in familiar,

agonising fashion, as Italy drew level

before lifting the trophy after winning

a penalty shoot-out.

Watching a rerun of the game this

week was timely given tonight’s

Nations League game between the

sides at Molineux — the first meeting

since that night at Wembley and a

match which will be played behind

closed doors as a punishment for the

trouble caused by the rioting mob

who stormed the stadium hoping to

see England’s first tournament final

since 1966.

Italy have nosedived since their

triumph. Roberto Mancini’s side failed

to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar

and are now a team in transition.

By comparison, England reacted

well to their Euro 2020

disappointment, scoring the most

goals (39) and boasting the joint-best

defensive record of any side who

played ten matches in World Cup

qualifying, conceding only three

goals.

Progress appears to have been

serene and yet the past week has

brought renewed scrutiny, with a

defeat away against Hungary and a

fortuitous draw in Germany

highlighting persistent shortcomings.

With only four matches to play before

the World Cup finals in November,

England have much work to do.

FAST STARTS NOW A RARITY

England’s opener against Italy came

from an incisive counterattack

involving half of the team. It went

from one end of the pitch to the other

in 24 seconds.

Maguire, eager to atone for that

errant back-pass, was first to Lorenzo

Insigne’s corner and from there

England were off. Raheem Sterling

picked up possession and fed Mason

Mount, who in turn ferried the ball

on to Luke Shaw. He scurried away

from Federico Chiesa and found

Harry Kane who, having dropped

0-15min (3)

16-30min

(6)

31-45min

(9)

76-90min

(10)

61-75min

(5)

46-60min

(3)

When England have

scored their goals

since Euro final

but it was an example of a lack of

composure in the face of Italian

pressing.

From that moment on, Italy

dominated. England made only 177

passes in the first half compared with

334 for their opponents and only 139

compared with Italy’s 325 in the

second half of normal time. Between

the hour mark and the 67th minute,

when Bonucci equalised from a

poorly defended set piece, England

completed only a dozen passes and

allowed a relentless wave of attacks to

build as they retreated into a low

block. In extra time, Southgate’s side

made 110 passes to Italy’s 161. England

ended with 39 per cent of possession.

Southgate admitted after the final

that England’s inability to keep the

ball had invited their rivals back into

the contest. Almost a year on, it

remains his team’s biggest handicap.

Arguably, the best team England

have played since then was Germany

in Munich, when they had only 37 per

cent of the ball.

The energetic style of Hansi Flick’s

side was similar to that which

Mancini’s side had adopted, and

England once again struggled.

Of the 11 European Championship

and World Cup finals since the turn

of the century, five have been won by

the side with less possession. Four of

those have been in European

Championships — France (2000),

Greece (2004), Spain (2008) and

Portugal (2016) — and one in a World

Cup. That was France in 2018 when

they beat Croatia 4-2 and, with a

three-goal lead after 65 minutes, were

content to play without the ball. Their

possession figure was 39 per cent and

the only time this century that the

Shaw put England in front, inset above, after two minutes, but Bonucci, inset right tackling Sterling, and his team-mates came from behind to defeat Southgate’s side

Southgate has only four

matches to fix familiar

areas of concern before

World Cup begins,

writes Paul Joyce

Euro 2000 France 48%

World Cup 2002 Brazil 44%

Euro 2004 Greece 42%

World Cup 2006 Italy 55%

Euro 2008 Spain 48%

World Cup 2010 Spain 57%

Euro 2012 Spain 52%

World Cup 2014 Germany 60%

Euro 2016 Portugal 47%

World Cup 2018 France 39%

Euro 2020 Italy 61%

Final Winner Possession

Possession in Euro and World

Cup finals since 2000

Passing accuracy (%)

in Euro final

Italy England

First half^88

73

Second half^92

75

First half extra time

73

83

Second half extra time^82

81

Southgate hugs

Saka, who missed

in the shoot-out

10 1GS Saturday June 11 2022 | the times

Sport Football

England failing

to learn lessons

of final defeat