Let’s hear it for the discredited and the disgraced. The various Fifa delegates who voted to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar have much to answer for but at least they have altered the trajectory of England’s year. Normally when they have an undistinguished summer it comes at a greater cost, especially in an even-numbered year. If 2010, 2014 and 2016 were miserable, just as 2000, 1992 and 1988 had been, each resulted in elimination from major tournaments, sometimes amid embarrassment. Maybe 2022 will bring relegation from the Nations League but it seems a less meaningful indignity and, in any case, cannot be sealed until September.
But the winter World Cup, necessitated by Qatar’s climate, has meant England’s three-game winless run in June has not assumed such seismic proportions. In any case, in isolation, draws against Germany and Italy represent respectable results, though coming from behind to hold Hansi Flick’s first-choice team in Munich ranks as a greater achievement than failing to score against Italy’s second-choice side at Molineux. After two years of relentless football, maybe a summer of mediocrity was only to be expected. Much of Gareth Southgate’s squad finished the season either exhausted, short of full fitness or lacking their best form. They have five months to rediscover it.
