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Not all superheroes wear a cape some wear, a waistcoat and manage to unite an entire nation. Such has been the meteoric rise of England under the tutelage of Gareth Southgate. After years of humiliation, constantly being a laughing stock at tournaments, add to that the miserable record of reaching the knockout stages only once in the last 12 years and you would be forgiven to think this England team would be no different.
At the start of the tournament, expectations were relatively low and a place in the quarter-finals would have been considered a success but that is not the case right now. England defeated Sweden 2-0 to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup courtesy of goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli. This will be England’s first semi-final in 28 years.
This English side has defied expectations and after years look like a well drilled cohesive unit rather than a group of clueless individuals. They may not have the star-studded quality of England’s golden generation but since when has world class names guaranteed success?
Many players from this group have played in the lower divisions of England. Dele Alli came through the ranks of MK Dons who play in the third division in England, Jesse Lingard the England No.7 has played on loan at numerous Championship clubs and Harry Maguire accompanied his friends to watch England as a fan two years ago in France at the Euros.
Southgate since taking the job has brought a fresh outlook to the England team. He has adopted the 3-1-4-2 system and has put an emphasis on playing out from the back. John Stones was not a regular starter in the second half of the season under Pep Guardiola but Southgate kept his faith making him the defensive rock of his team.
The results have been mighty impressive as Stones has emerged as a leader and also has been a threat from set pieces scoring 2 goals in this World Cup. Harry Maguire too has been a colossal figure at that back thwarting attacks with his excellent reading of the game and has brought the ball gracefully out from the back to initiate attacks at every given chance.
Such ball-playing centre-backs have helped England to keep the ball efficiently and dominate games in the process. The wing-backs Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young help to provide width and their excellent crossing ability gives the Three Lions another dimension.
Jordan Henderson has been an important figure in the midfield maintaining the tempo of the game and his passing from deep has been exquisite. The attacking quartet of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard create havoc with their movement, pace, guile, and trickery.
They have not been at their prolific best but we have seen flashes of their brilliance at different occasions in this tournament. England boast of a strong bench having players such as Marcus Rashford, Jamie Vardy and Danny Welbeck who can make a difference with their pace in the latter stages of a game when the opponent runs out of gas.
Before the start of the World Cup, Gareth Southgate made a brave decision by dropping veteran goalkeeper Joe Hart and replaced him with a fairly young and an inexperienced keeper in the form of Jordan Pickford.
This decision has paid dividends as Pickford made a majestic save in the game against Colombia to help England win their first ever penalty shootout in the World Cup. He then made three top-drawer saves in the game against Sweden to ensure the Three Lions do not slip up. The gaffer has placed a lot of faith in his young players and the lads have repaid him by running their socks off in every match.
There is a certain sense of exuberance and youthful confidence surrounding this squad. The English faithful are over the moon with their teams display at this World cup. They have been joyfully singing the “It is coming home” chant and have started to believe that their team can go all the way.
Whatever the result be against Croatia this Wednesday in Moscow, a hero's reception will be expected when the Three Lions return back to England. So there is nothing to fear now, this is England’s chance to lift the World Cup.
Can they emulate the 1966 winning team? Will England bring football back home? What do you think? Tell us in the comments below!
