Southgate’s Magic Substitutions Turn the Tide as Kane and Bellingham Finally Activated, England Back on Track for the Title

Before the start of this European Championship, England, with its highest market value, was widely considered the top contender for the title. But when the group stage ended, criticism and doubts about England and Southgate never stopped, as some argued that “Southgate” had many flaws in his player selection and deployment, and that he could not push England’s ceiling further.

When compiling the England squad for the European Championship, Southgate’s decision to leave out Grealish and Maddison sparked enormous controversy, with many arguing that the technical characteristics of Grealish and Maddison could enrich England’s tactical options. At the same time, Southgate’s tactics in the group stage were widely questioned. First, who would partner Rice in midfield? Initially, Southgate opted for Arnold to partner Rice, and while Arnold’s passing ability is undeniable, his defensive abilities and positional sense were not enough to carry the midfield banner. In the last round of the group stage, Southgate chose Gallagher to partner Rice, but the results were still unsatisfactory.

Secondly, there was the issue of Kane, Foden and Bellingham co-existing. These three players exposed various problems in their positioning and coordination during the group stage, directly leading to England’s poor attacking efficiency. After the group stage, many industry professionals began to offer suggestions for Southgate, such as dropping Kane and Bellingham and playing Palmer and Watkins; or having Foden sit in midfield and organize the attack; or partnering Ward-Prowse with Rice.

However, by the Round of 16, Southgate made only one adjustment to his starting line-up, bringing in Mount to partner Rice in midfield. After the match began, England struggled to find their rhythm due to the need to gel, and Slovakia took the lead. Just when England were on the verge of being eliminated, Southgate made a series of substitutions, bringing on Palmer, Eze and Ivan Toney, and these substitutions had an immediate effect. England began to unlock their attack, bringing more variety to their positional play and counter-attacks, and they completely controlled the game.

In the added time of the match, England finally broke through, with Bellingham, who had been entrusted by Southgate, stepping up and scoring a sensational overhead kick to equalize for England. In extra time, England took the lead just one minute into the match. Palmer’s free-kick was cleared, Eze crossed the ball into the penalty area, Ivan Toney headed the ball on, and Kane volleyed home with a header. It is evident that all three players brought on by Southgate played a role, and Bellingham and Kane also lived up to Southgate’s trust. In this way, Southgate, through a series of operations, led England to a 2-1 victory over Slovakia in the Round of 16 and secured their place in the quarter-finals, vindicating himself. In the quarter-finals, England will face Switzerland.

In fact, in terms of team performance, Southgate’s achievements in charge of England are probably the best since Alf Ramsey. Although Southgate has not yet led England to a World Cup title like Alf Ramsey, “Southgate” has a proven track record in major continental tournaments. In the 2018 World Cup, Southgate led England to the semi-finals; the last time England reached the World Cup semi-finals was in the 1990 World Cup. In Euro 2020, Southgate led England to a historic appearance in the final, but sadly, England lost to Italy in a penalty shootout. In the 2022 World Cup, Southgate once again led England to the quarter-finals. Now, in this European Championship, Southgate will lead a rejuvenated England side to launch a new assault on the title.