Team Sheet: England

Written by Shirom Kapur

These notes were gathered in preparation for our panel discussion of the favorites and dark horses for this year’s World Cup in Russia.

  • Manager: Gareth Southgate
    • Record: Pl:16, W:8, D:6, L:2
    • Previously manager of England u21 – exceptional record = Pl:33 W:27 D:3 L:3
    • Young, not a big name
    • First major tournament
    • Not a great record with the senior side but he is forming an identity in the way they play
    • Tactical flexibility – trying new things, unlike past England managers
    • Experimented with back 4 and 5, but looks like he’s going to stick to the latter
    • Wants to play out from the back, so choosing ball-playing defenders
    • Likes versatile players – walker, dier, gomez, oxlade
    • Doesn’t have all elite players at his disposal such as Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Rooney, Beckham, Cole, etc; but at the same time, doesn’t have to try to fit all star names into the team at the risk of ruining the balance
    • Has worked with a bunch of young players who have come up the ranks
  • FIFA Ranking: 13th
  • WC 2018 Group:
    • Tunisia
    • Panama
    • Belgium
    • Favorable, expected to go through
  • 20-1 odds to win WC (ESPN) – 8th
  • WC Record
    • Have not won since 1966
    • Golden generation failed
    • Always failing to live up to the hype
  • WC 2014 Result:
    • Knocked out in group stage with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica
    • Didn’t win a single game
  • Euro 2016 Result:
    • Knocked out by minnows Iceland 2-1 in QF
    • Only won 1 game (2-1 Wales)
  • Finished top of Qualifying group undefeated
    • Record = Pl: 10, W:8, D:2
    • Scored 18, conceded only 3
    • Harry Kane top scorer with 5
    • Relatively easy group
  • Recent Friendlies:
    • W 1-0 – Netherlands
    • D 1-1 – Italy
    • Played well in both games, unlucky not to win against Italy
  • Predicted 23-man Squad
    • GK – Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Joe Hart
    • Def – John Stones, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, Ryan Bertrand, Phil Jones
    • Mid – Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jesse Lingard, Jack Wilshere, Ashley Young
    • Fwd – Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck
  • Key Players
    • Harry Kane
    • Eric Dier
    • Raheem Sterling
    • John Stones
  • Players missing out
    • Ross Barkley – hasn’t played enough
    • Chris Smalling – doesn’t suit Southgate’s style
    • Trent Alexander Arnold – inexperience
    • Adam Lallana – injury
    • Nick Pope – inexperience
    • Gary Cahill – poor form

References:

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F. (2018, April 7). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_%E2%80%93_UEFA_Group_F&oldid=835295815

Soccer – Odds to win 2018 FIFA World Cup. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2018, from http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/20991480/soccer-odds-win-2018-fifa-world-cup

Why Gareth Southgate might just be England’s best manager since Terry Venables | FourFourTwo. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/why-gareth-southgate-might-just-be-englands-best-manager-terry-venables