England once again secured their passage to the next round of the European Championships with a last-minute goal, this time against the Netherlands. Following the match, The Guardian published a commentary article, arguing that a string of comebacks has changed the character of the England team, and that this is all down to the progress of manager Gareth Southgate.
The article points out that Southgate, seemingly a technical coach, has transformed into a daring gambler, playing a match that was confusing in its execution but brilliant in its outcome. The article specifically mentions that England’s long-standing problem was that they could take the lead in big games but couldn’t hold onto their advantage. This time, Southgate used a reactive approach to achieve constant progress.
Therefore, clean sheets became less important, and the French or Portuguese style of technical domination no longer the highest pursuit. Last-minute goals and victories of destiny drove the game forward, and the world witnessed England eliminating Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands in almost identical fashion. For England fans, this is a sweet experience, as they’ve grown tired of talking about Waddle’s penalty, Gascoigne’s tears, and Henderson’s helpless running. They have now witnessed England reach a major tournament final outside their home country for the first time.
The match against the Netherlands was full of paradoxes that contradicted conventional thinking. Ironically, England played fluidly from the start of this match. England played their best 45 minutes of the tournament in the first half. If Simons’ goal from Rice’s deflected shot was a surprise, England got almost everything right in the first half. An objective statistic reflects the change in the game – the lively Dutch right-back Denzel Dumfries had only four touches in the England half in the first 45 minutes, which rose to twelve in the second half.
However, the match reached its peak in a way that was unconventional but consistent with England’s performance in this tournament. It proved that Southgate made the right substitutions at the right time. It proved that he brought on the right people: Palmer to Watkins, the latter winning the match with a decisive strike. It proved that despite all the doubts, England reached their second consecutive European Championship final. The late-game Southgate was perplexing, but the game itself was spectacular. Whether Sunday’s match against Spain will be equally spectacular is another matter. Logically, it might not be possible, but at this point, Southgate is no longer bound by logic.
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