Paul Fennessy

IN ONE SENSE, there was a feeling of overt familiarity as England were knocked out of the World Cup by France on Saturday.

Again, a missed penalty proved costly, just as it did during the various tournament exits via shootout in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2012, and 2021.

It was also the seventh time in World Cup history England have been beaten at the quarter-finals stage, where they have also bowed out twice in the last seven Euros (1996 was the first time the final-eight round was introduced into the latter competition).

Yet Southgate has been praised for ushering in a new era in English football.

Relations between England players and the press are more harmonious these days.

There appears to be less pressure and media hype surrounding the England team and they consequently have played with a sense of freedom at this World Cup and, to an extent throughout Southgate’s reign, that had been conspicuous by its absence under previous managers.

As the journalist Paul Hayward explained in a piece on Saturday, going on England duty is no longer perceived by players as the chore that it once was and there is generally more enjoyment in being around the camp.

Harry Kane may have missed a crucial penalty, but there generally seems to be no real desire in the English media to treat him as a scapegoat for the disappointment, in the way the likes of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney had been in the past.

And if you were to rank all of England’s tournament performances and exits post-1966, 2022 would surely place near the top.

Over the last 30 years, in particular, a familiar pattern has emerged. When England reach the latter stages of a tournament and face the better teams, their technical limitations have tended to be exposed in most cases.

Consequently, they are generally either well beaten (see the 2010 World Cup versus Germany) or they just about hang on and eventually lose on penalties (the Euro 2012 defeat to Italy is one prime example).

There has been an element of this trajectory occurring even since Southgate has taken charge. 

Against both Croatia, at the 2018 World Cup, and Italy in the Euro 2020 final, both games may have been close, but on neither occasion did it feel as if England really deserved to win, as they were out-played and out-thought ultimately.

On those two occasions, they scored an early goal and then basically tried to sit back and defend for the majority of the contest, allowing their opponents to dominate possession and dictate the game.

At the weekend, however, it was France who scored relatively early and so England were forced to seize the initiative.

What followed was arguably England’s best performance against a top footballing nation perhaps since Argentina in 1998 or even going back to their close encounters with Spain and Germany at Euro ’96.

It was the first occasion for quite some time that England did not come up short technically in a tournament-defining game.

All the stats similarly support the widespread feeling among fans and commentators that the Three Lions were unlucky.

Their expected goals (xG) was 2.36 to France’s 1.08. Per AS, Kylian Mbappe, widely seen as France’s most dangerous player, registered an xG of 0.0 compared to Harry Kane’s 2.04.

In addition, England also had better possession (57%) and more shots on target (eight to five).

Compare it to the aforementioned defeat to Italy 10 years ago when England crashed out with 36% possession and over twice as fewer completed passes and you get a sense of how far the Three Lions have come over the last decade.

It was that rare occasion where the tournament exit felt undeserved.

So against the holders and the team now seen by most as favourites to triumph, England acquitted themselves admirably.

Furthermore, nine members of their squad are aged 25 or under, and many such as Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Phil Foden are already key players who likely will be approaching their prime in future tournaments.

Invariably in the past, England’s tournament exits have prompted a period of sober reflection with no shortage of disappointment, anger, and regret.

By contrast, there is far more optimism on this occasion, as reflected by the fact that very few pundits or fans are calling for Southgate’s head or singling out any individuals for blame. As a consequence, it will likely be up to the manager alone to determine his future at this juncture, with no apparent desire within the Football Association to see him leave.

The performance was not perfect, of course. Not for the first time in a vital match, some of the coach’s substitutions and in-match tactics were questioned.

In particular, there was criticism for the decision to take off Bukayo Saka, who had been causing France major problems up to that point, as well as only giving Marcus Rashford — England’s joint-top scorer at this tournament — five minutes plus stoppage time to make a difference.

France also may have been inferior for the majority of the contest and aided by some questionable refereeing decisions, but their game management was better, coming alive at crucial stages when the contest was there to be won, and capitalising with ruthless efficiency amid their relatively rare dominant spells.

Didier Deschamps’ men looked like the team with two World Cup triumphs under their belt in the last 24 years, as that bit of nous ultimately got them over the line in unspectacular fashion against an England side that came up short in the final third.

For the most part, however, Southgate and his team can for once take a great deal of satisfaction from a major tournament exit. 

While other nations like Spain and Germany, who each had especially bad World Cups, may have to consider a complete cultural reset or alteration in philosophy all the way down to grassroots level, the Three Lions can be content in the knowledge that they are going in the right direction and have plenty of positives to build on. 

With the pain of this experience behind them and better fortune due, they might just be in a position to finally end 58 years of hurt at Euro 2024.