England’s future

With the U-21 European Championship ongoing, much of the focus has been on Gareth Southgate and his English team. After a lackluster performance against Portugal where his side lost 1-0, England was able to bounce back with a narrow 1-0 victory over Sweden. Despite dominating territory and possession against the Swedes, it was only an 85^th minute strike by Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard that secured all three points. Nonetheless, Southgate’s men were thoroughly outplayed by a Portuguese team that featured Champions League caliber players in William Carvalho and Ruben Neves. The only one who featured in the Champions League for England was Calum Chambers, while Harry Kane was prolific in the Europa League. Much of England’s hope in the competition lies on the Tottenham striker. After netting 31 goals in his 51 appearances this season at the senior level for his club and scoring seconds into his England debut, many expected Kane to run through the competition in the Czech Republic but that has not been the case. Despite some decent chances, Kane is yet to find the net. Southgate has somewhat mirrored Spurs’ 4-3-3 placing Nathan Redmond and Alex Pritchard out wide around Kane, but he has played at his best when alongside Danny Ings at this tournament. The recent Liverpool signing came on at halftime for Will Hughes against Sweden and changed the game with his pace and striker’s mentality behind Kane. Ings’ goal threat allowed Kane to roam and influence the game more.

Germany’s famous U-21 team at this tournament in 2009, whose starting lineup fielded no less than 6 World Cup winners in 2015, should be the guiding light for big nations at these tournaments. Only Mario Götze missed up through injury, as almost all senior players available for the tournament were part of the squad. England’s team, though, did not include many big names who were eligible for selection. Raheem Sterling, Phil Jones, Ross Barkley, Jack Wilshere, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all Champions League caliber players who did not feature in the squad. Although these players are all promising for the national team’s future, it is important for them to play together to build their chemistry. Here they would all, presumably, be able to thrive and play together, something which Germany did and then capitalized on in 2014.

Many say that the relatively poor showings in the Czech Republic so far show that the future is not so bright for the Three Lions, but this isn’t the real future. The center of midfield may be the weakest part of their future with just Will Hughes and Nathaniel Chalobah as the most promising youngsters, but the attack and defense look solid with the Ox, Raheem, Harry Kane, and Ings leading the line and then Stones, Jones, Smalling, Shaw, and Clyne protecting Joe Hart or even Jack Butland in a few years. So, the future for England looks bright, it is just a matter of playing together and building their chemistry.

by Arjun Balaraman