Andorra’s victory has nuances of Malta and Southgate still cannot be judged
The sun had set over the Pyrenees about an hour before England rose in the field in Andorra on Saturday evening.
The spectacular mountains, which surround and guard the capital of Andorra La Vella, have shrunk in the dark as the National Stadium, still engulfed by the fire that had engulfed the TV truss on One week, he finally took center stage.
The ski season hasn’t started here yet and the shopping complexes that accommodate Catalan visitors looking for tax-free bargains on a busy Saturday afternoon had closed by then, so football was really pulling. key in the city.
Gareth Southgate cut to the chase as England began its business in Andorra
Flood light on, the astroturf gripped clear and elegant high-rise apartments facing the stadium on one side, had the impression of kick-about work in the entertainment center. 2285 watching, the stadium with a capacity of 70 percent due to Covid restrictions.
It was certainly far from the chaos of the wild crowd and the penalty problems of the Euro finals at Wembley just three months ago and a slightly lower key than Qatar will be within a year when England return takes the pitch in a major tournament.
However, despite the obvious mismatch, if England play, the reputation is at stake. Important moments are offered, such as Ben Chilwell’s first English goal, finally celebrated by the team after endless VAR control with almost the enthusiasm of a World Cup winner.
Opportunities present themselves, such as Jadon Sancho’s first two assists of the season, goals for Tammy Abraham and James Ward-Prowse and a run and finish of a crowd for Jack Grealish.
Southgate shake his pack to face the minnows and repay well from his stars
Conclusions will be drawn, certainly about Phil Foden’s remarkable ability to dictate a game at an immaculate pace to Sancho and Bukayo Saka to set England’s opening goals.
Gareth Southgate looked at it all with a view from the bench. Five years ago he did the same in a superficially unremarkable game against Malta at Wembley. Its significance was, as it did, in the fact that it was a World Cup qualifier, a necessary obstacle to complete on the road to winning the exciting penalties against Colombia and an inspiring run for the semi-finals. .
So who knows where this night of satisfaction will lead in an ancient principality? That game against Malta was worth noting that it was Southgate’s first as a manager, or interim manager as it was at the time.
Gone are so many in five years, on and off the pitch, easy to forget that it was preceded by a humiliating defeat for Iceland, a nation of 366,000 people and then 67 days of Sam Allardyce in charge, who lost his job for being indiscreet on a pint. wine. Suffice it to say that the national team was held in higher esteem.
And so it should be the case that a grateful nation would be thanking for five years of Southgate, for that glorious summer of 2018, for temporarily ending the hoodoo of our penalties on a fantastic night in Moscow; for that victory over Germany, the first in the football league for 55 years; and for finishing our semifinals while leading the one sweet community of Sweet Caroline as we slowly emerged from the darkness of Covid.
The wounds are still healing from the Euro 2020 final in which England broke hearts from Italy
It should but for many not feel so. For some Southgate will forever be the man who cost us the final against Italy. There is something worse than being a failed England manager and being a good manager taking a team to be awarded a penalty after winning a major trophy.
Deferred hope seems to create more anger than the non-functional failure of the past. Maybe it’s the icing on Southgate’s causes that annoys the forces of conservatism that worries some so much or maybe there’s a genuine feeling that he could have reacted better to Roberto Mancini’s tactical changes in the final. He probably could have done it.
However for the people of Southgate, a look back at the cards during the European Championships is instructive. ‘Loosen the handbrake!’ it was the title of the shout as frustration with the overly cautious manager began.
After the defeat in the final, a loss made even worse by the fact that he was on the national team’s iconic stadium, the recriminations centered on the coach’s inability to understand the moment of their history.
“The national team and the coach were guilty of not seizing the day,” one reporter wrote. ‘The manager had no answers …’ read another headline. “His training couldn’t influence the final.”
While the opposition manager was replacing his system with effective coaching … our manager took no action … In the final analysis, selection, charisma and t the coach’s tactics could not influence the course of the game. ‘
All familiar things. Except that news collections, and quoted accusations were not written about Southgate, nor about England. All of the above comes from L’Equipe following France’s final defeat in Euro 2016 against Portugal, who lost 1-0, despite their home advantage.
Southgate deserves to be judged after its final, and can still drop as a great all-time
The coach’s imploration to attack, the accusation that his management in the game was not performing the task, the underlying fear that he might be wasting a generation of players, are all directed at Didier Deschamps, the man who led France to the 2018 World Cup.
So what about Southgate, three months after that Wembley defeat, 13 months away from a World Cup? How will it be remembered? As the man who stole the dreams of a nation by failing to react in the final we reached in 55 years? Or as the greatest manager of England by Sir Alf Ramsey?
Those who choose to criticize should reflect on the turmoil of football, Deschamps ’journey and the possibility that Southgate could still become the most important manager in English football, surpassing Sir Alf in the his achievement by winning a World Cup abroad.
Chances are it won’t. Football often doesn’t allow itself to be forced into a neat redemption plot. But just a fool suggests that there is no chance of it. England will go to Qatar as one of the best teams in the world. For this we should be grateful.
We don’t know how this story ends but at least we should make the manager the courtesy of waiting for the final before we give the verdict.