English national team: Better to be safe than "sorry"

As long as it works, England coach Gareth Southgate has the better arguments on his side in the discussion about his style of play. England finished first in EM Group D, with two 1-0 wins against Croatia and the Czech Republic and a disappointing 0-0 against Scotland. Except for a few playfully strong phases, the games were not necessarily nice to look at, successful offensive actions were the exception. Football as an administrative act. Southgate routinely points to defensive stability as the basis of all success. He will probably not deviate from his 4-2-3-1 formation against Germany, even if he did not want to commit to it.

Because although Germany had difficulties in its group, which also did not escape the football fans in England, Southgate expects a strong opponent. You hear all sorts of things about the German team, which is no longer spreading the same horror as it used to be - "and then you look at the squad and you see four world champions and about six Champions League winners, so a lot of experience in big games." The DFB selection will therefore not be afraid of the game at Wembley Stadium this Tuesday (6 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship, on ARD and MagentaTV), although they expect around 40,000 almost exclusively English fans there would. “We have to be well prepared tactically, physically and mentally,” says Southgate.

The expectations in England are huge, the EM squad is considered to be the best in the past ten years. This increases the pressure on Southgate to maximize its selection. There is talk in the media that the game against Germany could shape his time as national coach. The English Football Association backed him up before the game and emphasized that they wanted to extend it with him regardless of the outcome. Southgate is popular, and at the 2018 World Cup, its suit vest became a bestseller. But the truth also includes: Not everyone likes the caution with which he has been working at this EM so far.

In the group games he relied on six defensive and four offensive field players. It worked out, England didn't concede a goal. But especially in attack, the squad is filled with players at the absolute top level, some of which Southgate hardly uses due to its style of play. Dortmund attacker Jadon Sancho only played six minutes so far. Southgate has levers to make the game more attack-oriented: the full-backs can move up with them, and one of the defensive midfielders can join the attack if necessary. "It is said that Southgate's team lacks an identity, but it is not," the Guardian wrote in an analysis: "Identity is clear; It just doesn't appeal to many fans, who especially see the abundance of creative talent in the squad. "

Even if Southgate should deviate from its proven formation against Germany, he will not sacrifice his credo for it: "Better safe than sorry". Of all the teams in the round of 16, England fired the fewest shots on goal and created the fewest chances. "We have played with four offensive players in our previous games," Southgate defended himself at ITV: "But we don't tell the players 'don't play the ball forward', 'don't move the ball as fast' or 'don't attack' '. Your own style of play always depends on the opponent and what he allows "

Southgate will have taken a close look at the 4-2 win against Portugal when the German team became dangerous, especially through wingers Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich. In the previous 1-0 defeat, Germany had a hard time against the patiently waiting French. He wanted to improve certain things, said Southgate, and that includes more momentum and freedom in attack. But the fact remains: "We have to build on the stability that we have shown so far."

In any case, the English offensive is difficult to calculate for the German camp. In the middle of the storm, Harry Kane played in the group matches, who has so far not scored a goal, but says of himself that he is in better shape before the round of 16 than during the group stage. Left winger Raheem Sterling has scored both goals for the English and is likely to play against Germany as well. Right winger Phil Foden was represented in the last group game against the Czech Republic by the strong Bukayo Saka because Foden was threatened with a yellow card suspension. And in the center, Southgate preferred Mason Mount in the first two games, instead of which Jack Grealish, very popular with the fans, played against the Czech Republic. Southgate wants to wait until shortly before the end to make a decision. There is no shortage of options.

The anticipation can be clearly felt in England, and rarely have they been so confident before a game against Germany. Former international Alan Shearer told the BBC that he couldn't wait - and with a view to the German defense, which allowed goals against in every group game, he was "pretty confident". Certainly, said Shearer, England needn't fear Germany. "England are perfectly capable of winning this game on the pitch," wrote the Guardian. "The first and most important task is not to lose it in your head beforehand."