Against Denmark, England were… shit
England slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Denmark at Wembley on a night to forget for the Three Lions, as they were reduced to 10 men before half-time after Harry Maguire picked up two yellow cards for rash tackles. Reece James was then sent off after the final whistle for dissent. On top of the red cards, England did not play well. Obviously going down to ten men didn’t help on that front but the performance was lacklustre.
Fans came out in their droves to complain about everything from the selection – everything about the selection – to the formation to the blue kit.
One main talking point was the formation. Having played 4-3-3 in the previous Nations League campaign, Gareth Southgate has reverted to a back three system, which inevitably becomes a back five when England don’t have the ball.
After the match, Gary Neville tweeted his frustration, highlighting the formation as the main reason behind some disappointing performances from Gareth Southgate’s side.
“The issue with the 3-4-3 within the last two games is you end up with 8 ( inc GK ) defensive / positionally rigid players on the pitch .
“If you add Harry Kane to that who is more of a fixed Striker you have 9 players that don’t interchange and rotate. It’s a little predictable.”
The issue with the 3-4-3 within the last two games is you end up with 8 ( inc GK ) defensive / positionally rigid players on the pitch . If you add Harry Kane to that who is more of a fixed Striker you have 9 players that don’t interchange and rotate. It’s a little predictable 🤷🏻♂️
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) October 15, 2020
England are now third in their Nations League group and will have to travel to Belgium and win in the next international break to have any chance of repeating the feat of topping their group.
Though, this time around, it’s unclear what consequence the competition will actually have for teams in the top tier groups. The Euros might not happen, the Nations League finals probably won’t happen. Does any of it matter?
