- Tuesday’s 0-4 against Hungary, the worst official local defeat in 94 years, opened the crisis in the ‘pross’ team, in which Southgate’s experiments failed
- Tiredness and constant failed tests led the ‘pross’ team to be bottom of their group and to have failed to win in four games for the first time since 2014
The English fans woke up this Wednesday as if from a bad dream. His team was fourth in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, under the orders of Gareth Southgate and then runner-up in Euro 2020 (played in 2021 due to the pandemic), and now it is not only last in group 3 of League A of the Nations League, but Hungary made history by beating the ‘pross’ 1-0 in Budapest and especially 0-4 on Tuesday at the Molineux Stadium. England’s worst home loss in 94 years, since losing 5-1 to Scotland in 1928.
For the first time since 2014, England have gone 4 games in a row without a win. And, on the other hand, he has only scored one goal in those 4 games, the one achieved from a penalty by Harry Kane in the 1-1 against Germany. Southgate, the second most successful manager in England’s history, has just two games in September (at home to Italy on the 23rd and at home to Germany on the 26th) for his team to regain confidence ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
England captain Harry Kane said: “There’s no need to panic, we need to look beyond this game, everything we’ve done.” And above all, the Tottenham striker said he did not understand that there are doubts about Southgate, “a fundamental part in transforming this England into the most successful in 50 years).
Some reasons England only have 2 points in their Nations League group could be:
FATIGUE
As in many national teams, the fatigue of the players at the end of a season heavily overloaded with matches. The program has forced the teams to close the course by playing 4 games in 10 days.
ROTATIONS AND FAILED TESTS
To test new players for the World Cup and not to further overload the regulars in the line-ups, Southgate has made, like most coaches, massive rotations and the experiments have not gone well.
WITHOUT COHESION AND WITH DISCOURAGEMENT
3 The fact of doing many tests for Qatar, of fielding a different eleven each time, has reduced cohesion and the results have sowed discouragement in some sectors.
THE FIGURE OF SOUTHGATE
Southgate has a lot of credit after the performances of his England in the 2008 World Cup and in the last European Championship, in which a penalty left them without a title. But these June results have sown doubts in some quarters about his suitability to continue to lead England, unfair as that may seem to many. The coach blamed himself on Tuesday for the 0-4 against Hungary.
THE ‘GROUP OF DEATH’
The fact is that England was in the ‘group of death’ in this Nations League, with Italy, Germany and Hungary. But the Magyar team (40th in the FIFA world ranking) has been precisely its Achilles heel, with the two defeats by 1-0 and 0-4. Against Germany, 1-1 and against Italy, 0-0.