FOOTBALL’S COMING HOME…IN 2021
By Suhaas Sabbella
Earlier last year, the England national football team qualified for Euro 2020 (now Euro 2021), a major competition featuring the top-class countries in Europe. But how exactly did England cope in their qualification journey and what are the odds of them finding glory in the competition? Find out in this guide featuring the ups and downs of this youthful England side and how they overcame the pain of football to qualify for this tournament.
standings, results and fixtures
England were placedin group a alongside the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Montenegro who were all eyeing shocks against the English favourites. England’s first meeting, on 11th March, was against Czech Republic in their home, Wembley Stadium. This ended in an emphatic 5-0 win to England with Raheem Sterling scoring a fantastic hat-trick. Three days later, England were in Montenegro for their second game of qualification. They slipped up and conceded a goal scored by Marko Vesovic to put Montenegro in front. England bounced back with two Ross Barkley goals and yet again hit five to maintain their perfect scoring record. The next set of rounds for qualifying came exactly six months later in September and England were back in front of their home fans after an unsuccessful Nations League campaign. Now they were facing the Bulgarians and breezed past them 4-0. Harry Kane scored two penalties to keep his clean record alive leading up to his hat-trick. A short while after in the home of Southampton FC, St Mary’s, England were in a particularly good mood having been unbeaten so far in the qualification rounds. Kosovo were another team that England were playing from the south-east and had only gained their independence in the recent years. Although they had snatched the lead in the first minute, courtesy of Valon Berisha after a Michael Keane mistake, England powered through and scored five goals in the first half with youngster Jadon Sancho scoring his first ever international brace. After Kosovo had scored two more in the second half, critics began analysing the game and criticised how England’s defence was starting to get out of shape following the ‘sloppy’ goals conceded. These mishaps were proving to be true as England were finally vulnerable when they lost to Czech Republic away from home. In just three days after the defeat, England were able to get back to their winning ways after scoring six in the thrashing against Bulgaria. This game also caught the attention of many footballing fans as play was halted twice because of violent, aggressive and racist chants against the English players, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and debutant Tyrone Mings who were all said to have been responsible and brave during these saddening and horrible moments. Many arrests were made during and after the match as England fans were still being racially abused after exiting the stadium. A month later, England were in Wembley for the final time of the qualification campaign and needed a win in order to succeed. Harry Kane scored a first half hat-trick with England finishing the 1st half 5-0. Tammy Abraham, the Chelsea youngster, scored his first international goal as England hit a rampant seven to secure their ‘expected’ place in the euros in the summer. Their final match was in Kosovo, a south-eastern tam in Europe whose fans showed lots of optimism and described as one of the most joyful moments supporting the country. Of course, England had already qualified and opened the scoring. Harry Winks was a player who wasn’t expected to score but broke the deadlock. England scored a whopping 37 goals altogether and maintained top spot at the end of qualification.
team statistics
England played eight games in the road to the euros, winning seven and losing one. They scored 37 goals across those matches averaging at 4.63 goals per game. In total, they had 110 attempts on goal, 64 being on target, 21 off target and 25 being blocked. They received 34 corners. England, courtesy of their midfielders or players in the wing, delivered 148 crosses, but they completed only 68. This meant that they had a poor crossing record with only 46% of them being accurate. Meanwhile, their passing statistics show that 4896 of 5478 passes have been accurate, so that passing accuracy was 89%. Throughout the campaign they have kept the ball 62% of the time. In terms of defending, England only conceded 6 goals and did not concede at all in five matches out of the possible eight. Goalkeepers made 20 saves while the average of conceding was 0.8 goals per game. The squad made 20 tackles and had won back the ball 264 times. Discipline is a large aspect of international football, and UEFA (the organisation promoting European football) tried to keep rivalry at a minimal by excluding teams from playing rivals who would not get on. England received nine yellow cards, for mainly regular daft challenges, and no red cards. They committed 82 fouls and received 71. Ultimately, England had a decent qualification journey as a squad.
the players
England were one of the few world-class teams who were expected to make it through to the finals along with some debut teams as well. Collectively, England were a decent footballing side, not always being successful but being close enough to their targets individually, the players showed class whether they were just sitting back and relaxing in the goalkeeper position, waiting eagerly for an opposition’s breakthrough to the attackers, also waiting for a dream pass to feed on to. In my opinion, the most prolific player was arguably Harry Kane. In the qualifying campaign and also the previous world cup, he has been the top scorer and has scored 12 goals across the six games he has played. As forwards put the ball in the back of the net, goals are not the only thing you can rely on. Three Lions keeper, Jordan Pickford only conceded six goals in eight games and came out with an impressive 20 saves for the country. At the back in defence, there was regular variation while Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Chilwell kept their spot for most games. If you ask me about the strongest part of the England team, I am bound to say the wingers. Packed with pace they can skillfully dribble past defenders or chase on through balls and slip it through to the strikers. Jadon Sancho was an impressive winger and scored his first international goals against Kosovo in the 5-3 win.
what’s next for england?
Despite the recent revival of club football, the future of international football is still looking uncertain with the Euros having been postponed to Summer 2021. A lot can change between now and then, so will football come home? We’ll have to wait and see.
