EURO 2020: What Southgate’s England were lacking in their victory against Croatia – tactical analysis

England started their Euro 2020 campaign with a squad full of talent and the highest expectations towards them. Grabbing the three points in their opener against Croatia was very important for their ambitions to top Group D. They got the victory against a limited Croatian side but apparently their 1-0 win wasn’t convincing enough for a team that are among the favourites to win the tournament.

While they were the more threatening team throughout the game, they had some vulnerabilities too. The positives of Kalvin Phillips’ performance in midfield overshadowed their defensive actions and the lack of chances created for Harry Kane. While they were considerably solid defensively, it was clear that they have weak points which could be exposed should their next opponents be more threatening than Croatia whose attacking line struggled in this game.

Although England started with an important win, Gareth Southgate needs to consider his starting XI prior to their next game and find a solution to their defensive vulnerabilities and to Kane’s isolation as well.

Croatia, despite having some strong individuals, have won just two of their last ten games and often fail to achieve a balance between the lines. Apparently, having such an experienced midfield could not compensate for the absence of players like Mario Mandžukić who are clinical in front of the goal and can convert the chances into goals.

In this tactical analysis, we will examine England’s performance and use analysis to suggest improvement of their tactics against their next opponents Scotland and the Czech Republic, who are currently leading the group based on better goal difference.

Line-ups

Southgate opted for a 4-2-3-1 in their Euro 2020 opener. Jordan Pickford covered the goal with a centre-back duo of Tyrone Mings (left) and John Stones (right). The left-back was Atletico Madrids Kieran Trippier, while Kyle Walker covered the right side. The back four was England’s most discussed area, due to Harry Maguire’s injury which forced the manager into making some tough decisions on the centre-back partnership. The full-backs’ choice was also questionable as it turned out that Trippier might not be the best choice instead of Ben Chilwell, especially in that defensive set-up, although Southgate did have a particular plan for his involvement in ball progression and attack.

The centre midfield was covered by Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips with Mason Mount in a more advanced. Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden were employed at the wings while Harry Kane covered the centre-forward position. Mount did successfully move out to the left side in efforts to combine with Sterling, although this often left Kane isolated in the central areas.

Zlatko D