SaqOne pass was enough. Eleven minutes into England’s 2-0 win in Ireland on Saturday, Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up the ball about 15 yards out of his own penalty area. He saw Anthony Gordon making a run behind the Irish defence from the left and sent him a perfectly-timed pass from 60 yards. Although Gordon was denied by Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher and Harry Kane had his attempt blocked as the ball came back into midfield, Declan Rice then struck the loose ball to give England a 1-0 lead.
Social media immediately went up in flames. This is what England were missing. This is what might have happened if Gareth Southgate had not been so obsessed with the selection of Kyle Walker. This is what happens when you let go of the handbrake. Fifteen minutes later, a series of passes through the Irish defence allowed Jack Grealish, who had not been selected for England’s Euro squad, to score a fine second goal. Once again, the outcry was less directed at England’s interim manager Lee Carsley than at Southgate, his predecessor.
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Saturday’s win for England was undoubtedly a promising one. Alexander-Arnold is arguably England’s best passer and Carsley has found a way to adapt to that. Using Levi Colwill, more naturally a centre-back, on the left side of the back four meant that when Alexander-Arnold pushed forward, the rest of the defence moved to the other side to form a back three, providing solidity.
Similarly, Gordon, who was used for just six minutes at the Euros, has been a constant threat to get past Kane. Carsley has already gotten the best out of the Newcastle winger, using him as a mobile centre-forward when England Under-21s won the European Championship last year. One of the problems with the senior England team in recent times has been the lack of a player who can run beyond Kane, meaning that when he drops deep, one of his great strengths, one of the attributes that makes him unusual for such a prolific goalscorer, it means England have lost a significant goal threat.
All of this is a good thing. Football is not about templates or plans. There is no one right way to play. Indeed, if individual idiosyncrasies and quirks can be incorporated, it makes a team less predictable and therefore more difficult to play against. If Alexander-Arnold can become for his country what he is for Liverpool, a playmaking right-back, and if Gordon can offer England a threat behind opposing defences – and the two seem to mesh well – so much the better.
But to think that the success of the two politicians in the first half-hour of play on Saturday should have meant that Southgate should have been dismissed earlier is as stupid as believing that Carsley is unfit to lead England because he does not sing the national anthem. (In the same way that Southgate used Steve Holland to offer tactical advice, perhaps Carsley could call on Emeli Sandé to sing the national anthem?) Rather than Alexander-Arnold and Gordon, Southgate chose Walker and Phil Foden, the right-back and left-forward from Manchester City, who have won the Premier League six of the last seven seasons. Omitting Alexander-Arnold and Gordon was not an eccentric whim on Southgate’s part.
When he is fully recovered, Walker could return. He is an excellent right-back, whose pace has regularly kept England out of trouble. Foden has not had the best Euros, but he was probably England’s best player in the first half of the semi-final win over the Netherlands, their best period of play. Gordon, it is worth noting, was dreadful in the final warm-up match when England lost to Iceland. Jude Bellingham will be an added complication when he returns from injury. For a manager, that is the curse of England’s depth: there will always be a long list of players who could have played, and who, in defeat, will become players who should have played.
Beating mid-table teams like Ireland has not been England’s problem of late. It’s the best who keep beating them. It’s a problem Mauricio Pochettino will have to deal with if he takes over the US national team: playing teams like New Zealand and Panama is all well and good, but it’s not necessarily good preparation for, say, the Netherlands or Belgium in a World Cup. Even if he tries to strike a balance, there will always be critics ready to pounce at the first slip-up because their favourite has been sidelined.
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Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson (who, for those keeping track, did not sing the Irish anthem) tightened up his side in the second half, which not only made Alexander-Arnold and Gordon less effective, but also raised fresh doubts about the Rice-Kobbie Mainoo pairing at the back. It’s something that needs work, with Lille’s Angel Gomes, who came on with 13 minutes to go, a potential solution.
International football is by nature less present and every game is scrutinised, but there is no magic bullet. One player or one change of situation is rarely the answer, which is why managers must be able to tune out the noise and stick to their vision. And as Carsley has found out in recent days, the noise often has little to do with football.
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This is an excerpt from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, the Guardian’s weekly look at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Got a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com and he’ll get back to you in a future edition.
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