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Each week totalfootballanalysis.com provides high-quality analysis around the ‘Fixture in Focus’ chosen by footballfancast.com – today we take a look at England vs Spain, analysed by TFA’s Lead Analyst, Lee Scott.
This week sees the resumption of international football for the first time since the World Cup and with the dust having settled on the summer’s tournament, there is a sense of anticipation to see what national team coaches have learnt from their experience. This applies, in particular, to Gareth Southgate and England.
Prior to the tournament the vast majority of England fans and officials would have happily accepted a semi-final place. With that said, there was a sense of disappointment that they were unable to overcome Croatia in the semi-final and set up a final against France, especially after Kieran Trippier had given England the lead with an early free-kick. Now expectations around England have grown exponentially and with fixtures coming up against Spain and Switzerland, all eyes will be on Southgate to see how he chooses to reinforce the squad with an eye on the future.
In terms of the squad named for these fixtures, the only real change from the World Cup comes in defensive, with Joe Gomez, Luke Shaw and James Tarkowski all called up. With the midfield and forward units being unchanged from the summer, there is an expectation that Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland will stick to the 3-5-2 structure that served them so well in Russia.
Now is perhaps a good time to reflect on what worked for England during the World Cup from a tactical point of view.
Three at the back
The story goes that the decision from Southgate and Holland to adopt a back three came during a road trip between matches in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. That decision went a long way to laying the foundation for success for England and I would expect to see England continue with the same 3-5-2 formation over the course of the next few fixtures.
There was some criticism aimed at decision to use Manchester City’s Kyle Walker on the right of that back three, pointing to the fact that this meant you lose his attacking threat in the right wing-back role, but some did point out that Walker looked uncomfortable when defending crosses from the far side in this role, a fear that was perhaps borne out when Walker conceded a penalty in England’s opening match against Tunisia.
On the whole, however, having Walker on the right of the back three and Harry Maguire on the left, allowed England to exert a sense of control over matches when in possession.
There is a chance going into these games, though, that we could see Gomez slot in to the right, with Walker competing with Trippier and Trent-Alexander Arnold for the right wing-back role.
When in possession during the World Cup, England would look to start their attacking phase from the back with Walker and Maguire in particular called upon to be proactive in moving the ball forward. Both players are comfortable stepping into midfield with the ball at their feet or when passing forward to break the opponents’ midfield line.
Here we have split the graphic in two in order to display the different mechanisms that England use to progress the ball in the attacking phase.
On the right, we show the type of pass that is made often by the wide central defenders when they have possession with an open passing lane ahead of them. The movement of Raheem Sterling as the second striker, playing off Harry Kane, is constant as he looks to drop off to take a pass in the final third. Both Walker and Maguire are capable of playing the type of driven pass to access Sterling in these areas.
On the left, we see the type of movement made by the wide central defenders as they step into midfield in possession of the ball. As they move forward into the opposition half they force one of the opposition players to move out of the defensive structure to engage them. At this point, the ball can be quickly shifted to another player or fed into the striker to take possession in the final third.
Above we see the strength of England as they defend in their 3-5-2 structure. Walker and Maguire have the athleticism to play and defend out in wide areas when they are isolated against an opposing attacker. Traditional central defenders, when played in the wide defensive slots of a back three, can struggle in these areas because they are more comfortable defending with the penalty box and the goal as a reference point behind them.
These new breed of central defenders are important because they can contribute in the attacking phase but just as important is their flexibility in the defence. Indeed, it is telling that the two new central defenders brought in to the squad, Gomez and Tarkowski are both comfortable in these wide central defensive positions.
The second striker role
There is no doubt that a first choice England XI will feature Kane as the focal point of the attack. Not only is he the England captain but he is also the only world-class forward in the squad. With that said, however, Kane has been underperforming this season given his normal high standards – his shots per 90 minutes and expected goals are both way down on what we would usually expect to see from him.
Some in the media believe that the position of the second striker is still up for grabs, although I fully expect Sterling to retain that position going into these fixtures. Sterling was sometimes criticised, often unfairly, during the World Cup but his movement in and around the final third was key for England when they were looking to progress the ball forward.
Here we see an example of the positions that Sterling takes up in order to facilitate the build-up for England. On the right-hand side, Trippier will hold the width by positioning himself high on the line as England look to build their attack. This, in turn, opens up space in the central areas and in the half space, that can be exploited by the movement of Sterling.
When he takes possession of the ball in these areas his skillset is extremely varied and with his player profile, he is as likely to turn and drive with the ball into the penalty area or look to quickly play combinations in and around the final third.
This makes Sterling a very unpredictable player to play against and also emphasises why I believe that Sterling will continue to be the first choice for England in this role.
Lack of creativity from midfield
England’s performances in the World Cup were not all positive. The main criticism that I believe was justified was that there was a general lack of creativity in the central areas. Jordan Henderson played the majority of the tournament as the ‘6’ but he made little impact in terms of his passing into the final third.
Ahead of Henderson we saw Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard played as more advanced ‘8’s; there can be no doubting the quality of Alli and Lingard on the ball but they are both more comfortable making runs in and around the final third, as opposed to being responsible for playing the pass to find that run.
During the World Cup, England were crying out for a ‘passer’ in the midfield as opposed to two runners in the final third. The positions that the two more advanced midfielders were taking up were excellent in behind the opposition defensive structure.
With the likes of James Maddison Phil Foden starting to break through at first-team level, there is a real chance that one, if not both, of these players will find their way into the England squad in the lead up to the next major tournament.
Conclusion
Gareth Southgate and England are still riding the crest of a positive wave on the back of their performances in the Russia. Now the challenge is a new one as he looks to keep the best facets of the squad and tactical structure, whilst also making small adjustments to make things better.
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