England’s expectations: the one based on certainty keeps calm, glory is nearby | United Kingdom

[ad_1]

BEngland look forward to. But what exactly is it?As Gareth Southgate’s United Kingdom The team prepares for the most important game of their lives. Sunday night, kick-off at 8 pm, the tide of energy and noise, and the feeling of all or no game danger are a bit different.

The usual extravaganzas appeared, colorful flags and big screens, flags in the bar garden, and some shared village celebrations on the train. Watch the game, study tactical mistakes, readjust your own pencil top three with a Gareth-style frown, and that old excitement is there.

First of all, this is a nice football game. England and Italy rank fourth and seventh in the world. They have always been the strongest team in this game. England have won 11 of the past 12 games and maintained 10 zero seals. But they have not played such a team.

Italian football under the leadership of Roberto Mancini is a Passionate football, Carefully trained movements performed by a team at the edge of their emotional and physical abilities. Italy has not lost in 33 games. Since Mancini took over three years ago, they have only conceded one goal in a game.

This looks like a championship team with a vision of play, position mobility and high technology, which is mature for post-match myths and era forging. England’s task is to resist this narrative and impose their own controlled rhythm, Jeu De Prudence. This is a fascinating tournament final.

But there is still something under all this, a feeling of lightness. Southgate talked about his team’s sense of purpose, and winning the final is the only result that is considered a success. But is this true outside of the team bubble?

There is a relaxed dynamic in the English bubble. Photo: Kieran McManus/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

Losing at this stage will be a new and unique trauma. To shrink it a bit, the second championship final in 70 years is an undisputed improvement. The Football Association will be pleased with the sports and business success of this England adventure. The choices, tactics, emotional music surrounding this England team: all this has been proven.

This is the first time since someone cares about the national team to participate in a glamorous and incredible high-stakes tournament game, but it will not be like the old familiar sense of pressure-injury, failure, unscafed soul wound And all rest. This is a thinner air.

There are other kinds of novelties. This is an interesting fact about the England finalists. Neither the manager nor the captain has won important trophies.If England take the last step on Sunday European Championship This will be the first championship for Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane.

As a player, Southgate did win the League Cup with Aston Villa in 1996 and Middlesbrough in 2004, both of which are important feats, as well as the first division won at Crystal Palace ( Before the championship) championship, but these are small gongs of this level.

Southgate talked about this with some gloom in his first autobiography when he was 33 years old. Woody and Nord He contemplated the lack of first-class silverware in his career-in his own honest opinion-the best central defender in England. But as a manager, this is still more of a strange phenomenon than an oversight. The achievements with England are tangible. On a podium full of confetti, this is not yet a coaching career that aspires to be recognized.

Kane is another matter. He turned 28 in two weeks. He has more than 200 Premier League and England goals, 3 Premier League Golden Boots and 1 World Cup. There is a kind of purity, and the prospect of Kane lifting a trophy of this size and historical weight is exciting-this also happens to be his first trophy.

After the Scottish game team Known as Le fantome Kane, the captain of the England team. That night, he touched the ball 19 times in 73 minutes, playing like a slightly tired night walker, keeping his pace while playing a high-stakes football match around him.

His revival in this tournament is exciting, and it reminds us that even for players like Kane, his performance is closely related to confidence and organizational details, and sometimes even to their feelings. In a sense, Southgate and Kane embody the same idea that talent is overestimated, and factors such as details, hard work and game intelligence are the real dividing lines. Kane led England through overtime in the semifinals. He may be the single most interesting presence on this team entering Sunday.

The England captain’s club career reflects the team’s indifference. 20 of England’s 26 potential European champions have never won a league title. Midfield center Declan Rice and Calvin Phillips have always been the core of this championship team. They are talented and energetic young players with no scars to expect. They have not had a UEFA club game in their record. . But they have enough Kroos and Gorecka, Modric and Kovacic, Hoibjerg and Delaney, and a total of 14 Champions League medals they have won.

Calvin Phillips (left) and Declan Rice (right) are the keys to the England team's advancement to the final.
Calvin Phillips (left) and Declan Rice (right) are the keys to the England team’s advancement to the final. Photo: Carl Resin/Reuters

This lack of stars to win trophies is a high-quality sharing between England and Italy. Only Emerson Palmieri and Jorginho have Champions League medals. This is a team that surpasses the usual domestic strong teams and has players that bloom under Mancini.

Perhaps this sense of novelty and the feeling of climbing new heights is one of the reasons why this final is so unpredictable. There are many ways to score in Italy. Against Spain, Federico Chiesa completed a quick counterattack. High-pressure media is also a source of creativity, and John Stones and Harry Maguire must be wary of this. Even without Leonardo Spinazzola, Italy’s left side is strong, and Lorenzo Insigne performed well in the game.

At the other end, Italy has excellent personal defenders and high-energy midfield screens. But Belgium did dig some space in the passage between the centre-back and the full-back. Jérémy Doku caused problems, so Raheem Sterling may wish to replicate this movement on Sunday night. The attempt to isolate Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci from Sterling and their efforts to stop this threat will be fascinating.

Fiver: Sign up and get our daily football email.

In the semifinals, due to the use of the rotating fake nine-point system, there is no classic center to open up space, Spain had some fun early. Kane might consider entering his deeper roles from time to time instead of spending too much time retreating into Chiellini’s arms.

Either way, it seems to be very nervous. After six games have ended and a goal has been conceded, the England team will kick the ball at the last kick of the final game. This is a game built on certainty, the details are in place, the luck of drawing lots, and the novelty of each new turn. Sunday today is an improvement. But England can approach it in a rare state of calm.

[ad_2]

Source link