Euro 2024: Too many playmakers, struggling Harry Kane among Gareth Southgate’s problems ahead of England-Netherlands semifinal

No. 10 too many: A surplus of players in similar roles has been a perennial problem for England. Except that this time the dilemma concerns not the centre of the field. A year or two ago, this would have been the perfect team, but the roles of players have transformed in the last few months. Harry Kane, a pure striker when he started, would increasingly drop back to play-make. Jude Bellingham, a defensive midfielder until he joined Real Madrid, would occupy spaces higher on the pitch. Phil Foden, a winger initially, is at his penetrative best when playing through the central channels. Effectively, England have three players, with different roles, tracing similar paths, often limiting their own spaces. Manager Gareth Southgate has the options to decentralise their forward-line, for instance dropping Foden and inserting nippy multitasker Eberechi Eze. But whether he has the courage is a different question.

A misfiring striker: Harry Kane had scored two goals in five games, not a horrible number when you consider that no one has scored more than three goals in the tournament so far. But he has looked off the boil and off the pace, ponderous and lethargic, as though he was tired and cramped too often. Perhaps he is not fully fit— he had carried a back injury into the tournament. Perhaps he is not getting enough service from England’s stifled creators, but he has not looked at his sharpest this Euro. The shots have lacked power and fizz, he has been half a second slower to reach the ball, and hence not in the best position to shoot. He has taken only 15 attempts, of which only four have been on target. Kane has not been as involved in link-up play as he does these days, and his passing accuracy has been only 76.8 percent. England have alternatives in Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins, but it’s impossible that Southgate would bench England’s highest goalscorer for as big a match as this.

Left-side confusion: Had Luke Shaw been optimally fit, he would have been the obvious choice. But he had not been, even though he was full of energy in the cameo against Switzerland. But whether he can cope with the pace of Dutch right-back Denzel Dumfries as well as manage the cunning Steven Bergwijn is unsure. A safety-first coach, Southgate would likely start with Kieran Trippier. The Newcastle United full-back, though, has struggled on an uncomfortable flank, especially on the offensive front. His communication with Foden has not been the smoothest; neither has his crosses troubled opponents. Southgate would probably start with Trippier and then introduce Shaw to inject aggression, especially if England are chasing the game. But if he retains the 3-4-3 formation he employed against Switzerland, Shaw would be a better choice, as he gives more width than Trippier. Southgate would mull a change upfront too, given Foden’s struggles. He could be tempted to unleash Eze, or even Cole Palmer, who has looked in pristine touch whenever he has come off the bench.

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TAA or not: Southgate shunned the experiment of deploying Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right side of midfield after the Denmark game. He didn’t quite possess the press-resistance of a natural, modern central midfielder. But if he sticks to the same tactic of employing a three-man defence and two wing-backs, Alexander-Arnold would be a smarter choice than Bukayo Saka, who could be pushed upfront to the role that he has blossomed in for his club Arsenal, in the inside-right channel. That though would require the benching of someone, which in all likelihood could be Foden. Someone has to shift to the left too, which could be Bellingham. The Liverpool full-back can impart not only dynamism but also amplify the set-piece threat. The Dutch have looked vulnerable to set-pieces and Alexander-Arnold could make the dead-ball talk.

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