England got out of the Euro 2020 group stage with two victories and one draw, while Croatia waited until the last game to show their strengths and get an important win, which qualified them to the next round.
But the Three Lions’ performance in Group D was far from convincing. The team that are said to be the favourites to win the competition only scored two goals in three games.
While it is more important that they did get the wins, no matter the final result, their inability to convert their chances into goals is concerning, especially having in mind their next opponent in the Round of 16 – Germany.
There was an improvement in their last group stage game against the Czech Republic though. Even though they won 1-0 there were some positives in their display. Gareth Southgate made some changes in his starting XI which increased their attacking efficiency as well as their defensive performance.
The most prominent one was replacing Mason Mount and Phil Foden for Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka in attack, who proved that they deserve to get a chance and wouldn’t disappoint.
This tactical analysis examines how those changes reflected on the pitch and what made the two players more successful than their teammates in these positions.
Line-ups and formations
The Czech Republic went out in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Tomáš Vaclík on the goal and a four-man defensive line of Jan Bořil, Tomáš Kalas, Ondřej Čelůstka and Vladimír Coufal. In midfield they had Tomáš Souček and Tomáš Holeš with the captain Vladimír Darida being an attacking support behind the striker. The wings were covered by Jakub Jankto and Lukáš Masopust, while the centre of the attack was occupied by Patrik Schick.
For England, there were quite a few changes compared to their goalless draw against Scotland. Southgate ditched the 4-3-3 formation in favour of the 4-2-3-1, providing the players with more freedom and allowing the full-backs to appear more in attack and relying most on players that play the Premier League. Jordan Pickford covered the goal with the support of a changed defensive line. Luke Shaw was again trusted on the left-back, but Reece James was replaced by Kyle Walker on the right. The biggest change, which turned out as an improvement was the central pair. Tyrone Mings was replaced by Harry Maguire who got back from injury and offered more than him, especially in terms of ball progression. He was paired with John Stones.
In midfi
