England must use qualifiers to sharpen their ruthless streak
Hubris has pulled the rug from under England frequently enough to make any assumptions inadvisable but even the most cautious Anglo-Saxon will recognise that the qualifying process for the 2020 European Championship, which begins tonight, should present few hazards.
The now-expanded finals and a revised path to the tournament proper ought to make it easier than ever for the leading teams to qualify, while a group devoid of any other teams who reached last years World Cup appears straightforward to navigate.
Czech Republic, who visit Wembley tonight for Englands Group A opener, are the highest ranked opponents and they, at No44, are 39 places below Gareth Southgates men in Fifas current standings.
England should have ambitions beyond merely attaining the top-two finish needed to progress, then, and, for all the green shoots that Southgate has cultivated so far, there are aspects of their play that would benefit from further nurturing.
An inability to convert their superiority into a match-winning advantage, particularly in the first half of games, has repeatedly undermined the national teams recent efforts.
They would be well served by using qualifying fixtures against the Czechs, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Kosovo to hone a ruthlessness that tends to separate the very good sides from the ones who end up standing beneath the tickertape and clutching the prizes.
Wastefulness
Last summers World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia is the most vivid manifestation of a wastefulness that has plagued Southgates otherwise hugely encouraging tenure.
England should have been out of sight by half-time but, just as in previous games in Russia against Tunisia and Colombia, their failure to build the bigger lead that their possession and attempts merited allowed their opponents back into the contest – only this time there was no last-minute winner or penalty shoot-out reprieve.
When bad habits resurfaced in their last outing, Novembers Nations League decider against their Croatian nemeses, late goals from Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane were needed to rescue an eminently avoidable scenario.
Although lately the acquaintance has been fleeting, England are no strangers to efficiency in front of goal.
In the opening half an hour of their Nations League away win over Spain in October – the most impressive spell of Southgates two and a half years in charge – they rained goals on their shellshocked hosts.
Two strikes from Raheem Sterling and another from Marcus Rashford gave the visitors a grip on the game in Seville that not even their traditional second-half regression and a belated Spanish fightback could undo.
While the counter-attacking tactics employed that evening were a deviation from the norm, Englands finishing provided a blueprint that they must hope to follow.
Attacking bounty
That the raw materials are there is in little doubt; few countries in Europe, save perhaps reigning world champions France, can boast the bounty of attacking talent at Southgates disposal.
Kanes Golden Boot last summer is testament to his status as one of the games most reliable marksmen. The electrifying Rashford is in the midst of his most prolific season to date. A maturing Sterling has passed 20 goals in successive campaigns. Both young men have never looked more confident.
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