Inaugural UEFA Nations League: No final glory for England

Season ends with another third place play-off for the Three Lions

With apologies for the lateness of my blog – yellow card thoroughly justified, duly accepted – England rounded off their 2018/19 season with the disappointment of a third-place finish in the first ever UEFA Nations league competition. Holland despatched England from the semi-finals with a conclusive 3-1 win, leaving Gareth Southgate’s men with the consolation scrap for third and fourth place with Switzerland, eventually winning on penalties.

Portugal beat Switzerland 3-1 in their semi-final, the Swiss feeling the still-awesome power of CR7 (the player, not the postcode), who hit a superb hat-trick. Portugal went on to defeat Holland in the final 1-0, with a goal from Gonçalo Guedes. Ronaldo’s treble against Switzerland was the 53rd of his career for club and country – and currently stands at 88 goals in 158 international matches. Love him or loathe him, even at 34 he remains a massive presence in international football.

Southgate will probably feel this is a decent opportunity missed, as potential winners of the trophy. Their form going into these games was pretty good, although the involvement of Liverpool and Spurs in the Champions League Final – though great for the Premier League – didn’t help Southgate’s planning, with several players from each club reporting for these games with yet another game draining their tired legs.

Holland, of course, have been somewhat revived under the management of Ronald Koeman. And with such impressive young bucks as in Matthijs de Ligt in defence, and Frenkie de Jong in midfield, they are certainly not short of fresh talent. They also have Virgil van Dijk of course, who these days not so much runs, but purrs along the ground like a Rolls-Royce in cruise control. If ever there was a centre-half who seems to have reached the point where he plays as though he’s sitting in his armchair, this is your man.

The Dutch deserved their victory over England for sure, but it has to be said, this game was a disaster for England defensively. Two of the goals they conceded were shockers. But it all started so well, with Marcus Rashford earning, then coolly converting, a clear penalty after de Ligt had brought him down. One-nil at half time.

Holland equalised on 73 minutes, with de Ligt powering in a header after England failed to clear a corner. Whilst the game was still all-square, England thought they’d secured the lead with only 7 minutes remaining, with Ross Barkley’s superbly weighted through-ball neatly finished by Jesse Lingard. 2-1 to England? Sadly not. These days of course, where there is even the flimsiest of doubt, there is VAR – assuming your match is big enough to warrant it.

By some form of measurement that must have been Lilliputian in origin, the VAR police decided that Lingard was offside. Truthfully, it was the most marginal of calls imaginable, and in normal TV coverage, Lingard looked level to this observer. But it was ruled out, and if that wasn’t bad enough for Southgate, it was then time for the comic capers.

Firstly, John Stones dithered to Olympic gold standard on the edge of his penalty area, allowing Memphis Depay to pick his pocket. He shot hard and low, forcing a terrific save from Jordan Pickford. The loose ball was contested by Kyle Walker and Quincy Promes, the ball deflecting into the net off Walker after Promes’s touch. Messy.

Calamity number two featured the unfortunate Stones once again, this time playing an awful diagonal ball towards the centre of his goal, seeking out Barkley. Two problems: Barkley was hideously slow in responding, and seemingly had no idea that Promes was beside him. Barkley then attempted to pass back to Pickford, but was so wayward he played it straight to Depay who rolled the ball into Promes’s path for an easy finish. Absolutely dreadful defending once again. Barkley knew it, slumping to his knees, face down on the turf – he knew this wasn’t one for his highlights reel.

So, 3-1 to Holland, and England were thus reduced to scrapping it out in Poundland for the glory of either a third or fourth place finish against Switzerland. Over the 120 minutes, the Dutch were superior, but had Lingard’s “goal” stood, who knows…

The match against the Swiss probably merits only a cursory review – something that hardly qualified as a flash of insight long before the game kicked off. No goals in the ninety minutes or indeed extra-time, although yet again, England had a goal chalked off – this time by Callum Wilson for a foul on Manuel Akanji, before he bundled the ball in from close range on 83 minutes. It looked the right decision, Wilson seemed to tug the defender a tad more than he would expect to get away with, but the farce of seeing Wilson, his teammates and the England fans having plenty of time to celebrate, before the dreaded VAR intervention, remains a real problem with this system.

One minute and forty-three seconds elapsed between Wilson putting the ball in the net and the Referee Ovidiu Hategan deciding it shouldn’t stand, signalling thus on the pitch. These delays are beginning to feel like an eternity. The preceding celebrations are therefore consigned to the dustbins of embarrassment and wasted time, leaving an all-round unsatisfactory air to this aspect of VAR. Discuss?

Extra-time couldn’t provide any goals either, so it went to a penalty shoot-out, which England won 6-5. Keeper Jordan Pickford not only saving the last Swiss penalty, but also smashing in one himself, with very impressive technique. Full credit to Southgate for trusting him and to Pickford for having the necessary confidence.

So, third place in the new competition, when, in truth, many were predicting England could win it. Holland were always likely to be a test, but there was enough in England’s locker to make us feel we had a good chance. But it was important to beat Switzerland. Finishing the season with a win feels a lot better than the alternative.

In personnel terms, Trent Alexander-Arnold impresses more and more, a jewel to be protected and nurtured. His delivery from either dead-ball or on the run is becoming a huge asset for England. The return of Joe Gomez was welcome and a reminder of his huge potential. Harry Kane badly needs a summer with his feet up and a full battery recharge. John Stones looks like he needs a run of games to restore his confidence with Manchester City. Kyle Walker, in truth, was poor in these two games. Jordan Pickford in goal impressed – several sharp saves when needed, the decisive penalty save and a goal of his own in the shoot-out – the lad seems back to full swagger.

England’s next game is in September, when they entertain Kosovo in a Euro 2020 qualifier. One hopes they will have a rested summer off before then, although that period gets shorter each year, such is the crowded football calendar. It feels like we are on a generally upward trajectory under Southgate, with a refreshing flexibility to his approach, in terms of formation and team selection. There are good youngsters coming through, and a clear bond between players and manager. Should England qualify, they will play at least two of their Euro 2020 group matches at Wembley, where of course the semi-finals and final will also be played. Without wishing to look too far ahead or stock-checking the poultry, that’s quite an incentive for Southgate’s men.

By Chris Tribe

16th June 2019

Copyright © 2019 Chris Tribe. All Rights Reserved.

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