Southgate must trust his gut and make bold formation change if he needs to – defeat to the Swiss is not acceptable
IT might be time for England to try something different at these Euros.
Maybe Gareth Southgate will want to start the quarter-final against Switzerland in a 4-4-2 formation, with Ivan Toney alongside Harry Kane up front.
I think it might work, and if Gareth feels the same, he should do it.
This is the time when, as a manager at a tournament, you have to trust your gut instinct and never hold back from unpopular decisions.
The quarter-finals are make-or-break time. Win and you’re in the last four and everyone respects you.
Lose and it’s not acceptable for big nations like England, Germany, France and Spain.
England are facing the best Swiss team of all time on Saturday.
They will be difficult opponents and this is certain to be another real drama, perhaps as dramatic as Sunday’s emotional rollercoaster against the Slovaks.
I understand there can be snobbery about playing a 4-4-2 but sometimes you have to do something different. And I liked the look of Toney when he came on against Slovakia.
The 4-2-3-1 has now become the standard formation — since Spain who won three tournaments in a row in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Most clubs and countries have adopted it but what if it’s not working? You always have to have an open mind. If you change formation and it doesn’t work, you can switch back.
I lived my whole career as a striker playing in a 4-4-2 system. For instance, when I played up front with Teddy Sheringham at Spurs, I was the happiest man in the world having my mate next to me.
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For a real No 9 like Harry Kane to have a strike partner takes a lot of the physical work away. It is a great freedom to have.
It can still be a fantastic system — two hard-working frontmen like Kane and Toney can be a real threat to the opposition.
Toney is a menace in the air he can bring a different dynamic to the team.
Gareth said Toney “had the hump” with him for bringing him on so late in injury time against Slovakia but he set up Kane’s winner with an excellent guided header and he looked a handful.
Giving him his first involvement in injury time was a test. You don’t know whether he can cope with it until you try it — but Toney coped well.
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Like a lot of people, I was surprised Gareth didn’t make substitutions earlier against Slovakia although, as the boss, you have more knowledge than anyone about your squad.
If you stick to your starting XI and are 1,000 per cent convinced they will turn it around, that’s fine.
But if there is one doubt in you, then that’s what you’re the national team manager for. You have got to make a switch, because what happens right now is not coming back again.
Every game is a final now and you will regret it if you have a gut feeling to bring on Toney or Cole Palmer or whoever and you don’t act decisively.
You can’t have too much respect for those you started.
This is what you live for, to make those decisions and Gareth is very capable of doing so — he brought off his front three against Denmark and he replaced Conor Gallagher at half-time against Slovenia.
Personally, I don’t like being able to use five subs. It was a rule brought in during Covid and I think we should go back to three. Being able to change half the team is too much and it usually disrupts the flow of a game.
The Slovakia match was crazy. England were seconds away from elimination, then a couple of minutes later they were 2-1 up and into the quarter-finals.
Their big players — Jude Bellingham and Kane — stepped up. England didn’t play well but they didn’t stop believing, they didn’t stop working.
Germany, France and Portugal have all suffered similarly to get into the last eight. Even Spain in the first half against Georgia.
People underestimate how difficult it can be to break down teams who park the bus. Especially if you go a goal down as England did.
Moments like Bellingham’s equaliser can give some players extra energy for the rest of the tournament, others will be drained by the drama.
Gareth will be monitoring who sucks it up in a positive way and who sucks it up in a negative way.
England ratings: Bellingham rescues woeful Three Lions as big names, and manager, have a shocker
JUDE BELLINGHAM’S majestic overhead kick deep into stoppage time saved England from a humiliating Euros exit.
Gareth Southgate’s side had been utterly woeful and looked to be heading home thanks to Ivan Schranz’s clever finish.
But Bellingham came to the rescue in the 96th minute, brilliantly firing into the corner after Marc Guehi had flicked on Kyle Walker’s long throw.
Remarkably, it was England’s first shot on target, summing how poor they had been.
But another one came soon after, as 53 seconds into extra-time, Harry Kane headed home from close range to set up a quarter-final with Switzerland.
It was as close a shave as it comes, and if they play like this against the Swiss, then they will be toast.
Here’s how Tom Barclay rated England’s stars… and manager Southgate.
Jordan Pickford: 5
Appeared to hurt his left hand when taking a big whack in the warm-up, but still played. Fired a lot of long balls and was lucky not to be lobbed by David Strelec’s 45-yard strike.
Kyle Walker: 4
England’s second-most experienced player had a shocker. He looked uncharacteristically slow, his touch was heavy and his crossing was nowhere near good enough. But it was his long throw that led to Bellingham’s magic.
John Stones: 4
Said it was time for the senior pros to step up in the build-up to the game, but there was little sign of that until Bellingham did his thing, and he is only 21. Stones fired aimless long balls, gave it away and it was his mistake that almost led to Strelec’s trying his luck from range.
Marc Guehi: 5
Booked early after Kieran Trippier’s underhit pass meant he had to take out the excellent David Strelec, meaning he is out of the quarter-final. Ivan Schranz bamboozled him for Slovakia’s opener but his flick-on to Bellingham brought the leveller.
Kieran Trippier: 4
When Jude Bellingham’s good ball found Trippier on the edge of the box early doors, on his favoured right foot, you thought, ‘Here we go’. He smashed it into Row Z.
Declan Rice: 5
An old-school reducer on Juraj Kucka was a fair tackle, even if it left the 37-year-old hobbling. His curling effort with ten minutes to go cracked against the post.
Kobbie Mainoo: 6
FIRST start at a major tournament and our only decent performer in an horrendous first half from England. Blasted a volley over but was also booked for a late tackle.
Bukayo Saka: 5
We all know what a fantastic player Saka is for Arsenal, and for England in games gone by, but he rarely threatened here. Did go the distance though, and in a number of positions.
Jude Bellingham: 7 and STAR MAN
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. He had underwhelmed again until the 96th minute, but who cares when you step up like that.
Phil Foden: 4
Thought he had levelled early in the second half but his tap-in was ruled out by VAR after he was caught being, inexplicably, offside. Just off it all night, in danger of being dropped.
Harry Kane: 6
Still way off his best – he was nowhere to be seen in the first half and missed a free header after the break – but got it right when it counted in extra time.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Cole Palmer (on for Kieran Trippier, 66): 7
FANS were on their feet applauding when Southgate finally made a change and brought him on. So lively and with a lovely delivery, must be in with a chance of starting against the Swiss.
Eberechi Eze (on for Kobbie Mainoo, 84): 6
Did enough to put off Slovak full-back Peter Pekarik from turning home at close range in extra-time. Looked like he had been hit by a train when Denis Vavro walloped into him.
Ivan Toney (on for Phil Foden, 90): 7
GRABBED the assist for Kane’s winner by flicking on after a free-kick – which he had won with his strength – had been cleared.
Conor Gallagher (on for Harry Kane, 105): 6
Southgate rolled the dice in extra-time by trying to shut the game out, taking his captain off for the Chelsea midfielder.
Ezri Konsa (on for Jude Bellingham, 105): 6
Ditto to Gallagher as Konsa got his first minutes of the tournament in place of the hero Bellingham, which felt a risky strategy.
MANAGER
Gareth Southgate: 3.
A lucky, lucky man. Tactically, his team were all long ball, lacked any movement, and did not conjure up a shot on target until Bellingham’s wonder strike – and that came from Walker chucking it in the mixer. Subs took ages in the 90 and then felt risky as he sought to see the game out in extra-time.
Based on what you see from breakfast until late at night, the manager will make his decisions on the team selection for Switzerland.
You have to have the courage to make those decisions even if they could hurt one or two big names.
You have 56 million managers back home who all want you to make different decisions.
You cannot allow yourself to be distracted by any of them. The team which starts the tournament will never be the team that ends it, should you make it all the way.
It always depends on who pushes through mentally and physically — and who pushes the team through in difficult moments, like when you are booed off at half-time?
Switzerland are going to be very tough opponents.
Over the past couple of years they have developed into a special side.
They have great chemistry, they have forward players with the quality to hurt you and in Granit Xhaka, a midfielder who was so important in Bayer Leverkusen’s incredible unbeaten title season. For me, he was the Bundesliga’s player of the season.
I think England need to surprise the Swiss, to try something different.
And that just might be a good old-fashioned 4-4-2.