Scotland match reveals Why England may not proceed far in Euro 2020

Harry Maguire, Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane after the UEFA Euro 2020 Group D
Harry Maguire, Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane after the UEFA Euro 2020 Group D

 England were held to a goalless draw against Scotland in the European Championships earlier tonight, and they have now picked up four points from their two group games.

While that might not come across as a bad return on paper, the performances have been dire, and England are doubtful to win the European Championships with Gareth Southgate managing them.

Questionable team selections

Gareth Southgate has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal, but his team selections have been far from exciting.

The likes of Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish have been mostly overlooked despite top-class individual campaigns with their respective clubs this past season.

England have scored just one goal in two matches so far, and they could have used the likes of Sancho to create more goal-scoring opportunities.

Southgate’s decision to leave out some of his best creative options has left Harry Kane without consistent service as well, and the Tottenham forward has struggled to replicate his goal-scoring form at the international level this summer.

Passive tactics

England have players who could play a fascinating and attacking brand of football, but Southgate has been cautious with his approach, and England have suffered due to that.

As a defensive team, the Three Lions are pretty vulnerable. So they should look to play to their strengths and attack the opposition instead of sitting deep and waiting for counter-attacking opportunities.

Lack of passion and drive

Southgate has failed to motivate his players so far, and in both games, England lacked intensity, passion and drive.

The players are clearly good enough, and they have shown their qualities with their clubs over the years, but it seems that they lack in hunger when it comes to international football.

Perhaps the team selections and the choice of tactics have impacted their morale, and Southgate has not been able to find a way to change that.