It will have dampened the mood inside the dressing room, but Gareth Southgate’s blunt message paid off.
Shortly after England secured their first away win over Italy since 1961 on Thursday, Southgate sat his players down and reminded them that the historic result would be meaningless if they did not back it up with victory over Ukraine.
Sure enough, Sunday’s commanding win at Wembley made it maximum points from their first two Euro 2024 qualifiers thanks to Harry Kane’s tap-in and Bukayo Saka’s sumptuous strike. Their error-strewn second half in Naples was forgotten.
England are in control of a testing group in which four of the five teams reached Euro 2020. If they qualify, Euro 2024 in Germany will be Southgate’s fourth tournament as manager. England’s attack continues to evolve, yet defensive personnel have remained remarkably consistent during his six-and-a-half-year tenure.
Southgate has shown unwavering loyalty to centre-backs John Stones and Harry Maguire — who both played full 90s against Italy and Ukraine — even when their club form plunged so low that they were consigned to the bench. The manager has harnessed the best of them both in an England shirt, just as with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
He has also kept faith with Kyle Walker, whose offensive qualities are usurped by Reece James but whose recovery pace keeps him in. Luke Shaw remains first-choice left-back — his suspension the only reason Ben Chilwell earned a first cap since November 2021 on Sunday.
It was a legitimate criticism towards the end of Joachim Low’s 15-year Germany reign that he had too many allegiances and failed to blood a new generation. Southgate walks a tightrope on that issue — yet his experienced defenders played well and further vindicated his loyalty. If England reach Euro 2024, that trusted back four will surely feature again.
Southgate was also pleased with James Maddison. During a 1,228-day wait for his second cap, he never sulked, never whined, and on Sunday it finally arrived. Maddison grasped his chance, producing the sort of elegant and unrelenting display he so consistently delivers for Leicester.
“He’s been playing really well for his club and his training’s been outstanding. His use of the ball was excellent,” said Southgate.
Maddison was first called up in October 2018. Then when he pulled out of the squad through injury a year later, he was pictured at a casino rather than watching England on TV.
Perhaps the biggest positive of all was Saka’s continued emergence as an undroppable cog in the England machine
There is a widely aired myth that Southgate’s hesitancy to select Maddison derives from that incident, but not so. In fact, his England debut came just a month later: 34 minutes off the bench in a 7-0 win over Montenegro.
Maddison dubbed the Ukraine win his “second debut,” adding: “It’s been tough, watching England from my living room. I’ve waited a long time for the manager to put that trust in me. Hopefully I repaid him.”
England players under Southgate have needed to show selflessness and maturity off the pitch, as well as quality on it. Maddison’s attitude has never been the issue. He is reflective, speaks maturely, and wills team-mates on.
The obstacle has been that he excels as a playmaker, a No10 — a position England have never used under Southgate. While Jude Bellingham appears to play there in the current 4-2-3-1 system, he actually operates much deeper.
Southgate trusts Bellingham, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips profusely, and even Conor Gallagher is ahead of Maddison in midfield. But Leicester’s talisman will have his sights set on a larger role at Euro 2024 than he had in Qatar, where he travelled but did not feature. So too will Ivan Toney, whose debut off the bench surely made him the favourite to become Kane’s long-term understudy.
Perhaps the biggest positive of all was Saka’s continued emergence as an undroppable cog in the England machine. He assisted Kane’s opener deftly, before curling a glorious effort into the top corner three minutes later.
It was an eighth international goal from a 21-year-old becoming increasingly crucial for England. The Arsenal star was superb at Euro 2020 and better still in Qatar, where just four players across the tournament scored more goals.
Players such as Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount will be wondering how on earth they can dislodge Saka. An excellent week for England, and one to remind Southgate why he changed his mind after the World Cup and elected to stay.
