“And breathe…” So, usually, goes the introduction to a piece at this stage of a European Championship, the frantic daily feasts of the group stage done and the tournament put on brief hold to allow everyone a moment to rediscover their bearings before the really serious stuff begins.
To go down that road having spent the past fortnight following England, though, would be disingenuous, Euro 2024’s most thrilling, exhausting action having taken place exclusively beyond the confines of Group C.
True, watching the Three Lions has, in a different way, been wearying. But the last thing anyone who has sat through three snooze-inducing England matches needs right now is a nap.
Work on a pick-me-up was beginning in earnest on Thursday morning at England’s base here, where Gareth Southgate and his staff were able to start planning with certainty for Sunday’s last-16 meeting with Slovakia, the opposition confirmed on Wednesday night, courtesy of Georgia’s shock win over Portugal.
They were doing so, though, without Phil Foden, who has returned to the UK for the birth of his third child. What will be a proud moment for the 24-year-old clearly trumps any knock-on effect on England’s build-up in terms of importance and personal meaning.
Foden, though, was probably England’s best player in the drab 0-0 draw against Slovenia on Tuesday and has, unlike the vast majority of his team-mates, improved with each match at these Euros, despite still being deployed in what is only his third-best position in the side.
As news of his temporary exit broke on Wednesday, already the case was being made across numerous outlets for the Manchester City man to shuffle either to No10 or across to the right-wing in Gelsenkirchen this weekend.
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All being well at home, England expect Foden will rejoin the camp in the next couple of days, and certainly in time to play some part against Slovakia, but whether Southgate will start a player who has missed key sessions in the lead-up seems doubtful.
Already, the feeling was building that Southgate would have to drop one of his most high-profile players to refresh and balance an attack that is not functioning. Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham, on fatigue grounds as much as form (though the latter has been peripheral for 180 minutes now), looked the likeliest fall-guys, but Foden’s brief absence may give the England manager an easier out.
Bringing Anthony Gordon in to offer natural width on the left flank now is surely a no-brainer, though Cole Palmer’s encouraging cameo against Slovenia may mean alterations to the frontline do not stop there.
Had it not been for Georgia’s finest hour, Southgate would have been plotting a forward line to take on the Netherlands, an opponent who might have brought a little more out of England in a more open game. Ronald Koeman’s side have not looked exactly watertight and the nation’s footballing clout may have given Southgate more scope for progress.
Instead, a meeting with Slovakia will come with the same demands for a statement performance and the same challenge to break down an unfancied, resilient side, one that shut out the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in the group stage, albeit with help from VAR.
A meeting with Slovakia will come with the same demands for a statement performance and the same challenge to break down an unfancied, resilient side
Even so, England can hardly grumble with the hand they have been dealt. Of their eight most obvious rivals at the start of the tournament, five — including the four best — are in the other half of the draw, with Spain the tournament’s outstanding side so far, Germany riding a wave and more, surely, to come from France.
Another, Croatia, are already out, and the two weakest survivors — Italy and the Netherlands — now represent theoretically the toughest opponents England could meet in the quarter- and semi-finals, though Ralf Rangnick’s Austria look this half of the draw’s form side.
So, yes, England have been lucky. Trouble is, on their displays so far, the other seven teams in the same segment will be thinking the same thing.
