Thursday 25 June 2015 09:12, UK
England were eliminated from the European Under-21 Championship following a 3-1 defeat to Italy that saw Gareth Southgate's side finish bottom of Group B. Adam Bate was in Olomouc for Sky Sports to witness England’s latest tournament disappointment…
Perhaps we should have taken the hint in the build-up to England’s crunch clash with Italy when Gareth Southgate began listing the experience his players had of big occasions and referenced a Championship play-off semi-final.
For when the moment came for England to produce a flawless performance under pressure, his young players just didn’t have it within them to cope. Instead, familiar failings were exposed, defensive errors punished and efforts undermined.
“There’s nothing between the eight teams in my opinion,” maintained Southgate after seeing his side concede twice in quick succession before the break en route to a 3-1 defeat and tournament elimination. “It then comes down to detail and concentration.
“The two minute spell in the first half where we conceded two was the turning point of the game. It’s cruel but that’s the nature of football and because of the way we performed in both penalty boxes we are out.”
And so, the recriminations begin and the game of England tournament bingo gets underway. Expect money, foreigners and the grassroots of the game to get early mentions. It’s a full-blown autopsy now and there are plenty of bones to choose from.
But Southgate was understandably keen to focus on this group of players in the immediate aftermath. “We can’t put these young players in with everything else that has happened in England’s football history,” he said. “These are young players.
“They were punished ruthlessly. Football is take your chances and make sure you keep your concentration at the other end. There is some improvement that needs to happen in terms of their general defending but that’s the stage they are at.”
It’s the discovery of the exact stage they are at that has been so disappointing, not least for the players themselves. The optimism had been understandable given that England were second-highest scorers in qualifying with the best defensive record.
The 2014/15 campaign had also brought friendly wins over tournament favourites Germany, hosts Czech Republic and group rivals Portugal. Hope seemed justified even with the contentious absence of stars such as Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley.
But the goals of Harry Kane and Saido Berahino that had fired England through qualifying masked a softer underbelly that was exposed once the latter was injured, leaving the former to shoulder the burden. Others did not share that pedigree.
Indeed, England's midfield four could count only 90 minutes of Premier League action between them in 2014/15, while left-back Luke Garbutt has played most of his football in League One in the two years since his involvement at the Under-20 World Cup in 2013.
As a result, the headline statistic about Italy not having a single senior international in their squad was misleading. England captain Jack Butland might have got a senior cap in 2012 but he's played only six top-flight games since. Ten of Italy's 11 played Serie A football in 2014/15.
So while much of the blame will fall on Southgate, it's debatable how much of that was in his control. Of course, there are caveats. It was surprising that James Ward-Prowse did not see more action given that he had more Premier League experience than the rest of the midfield put together, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek might have been entrusted with a start.
But the England coach could not infuse Danny Ings with the knowledge of a pressure situation that could have seen him put away his one-on-one chance when the scores were level. He could not provide them with the calm that comes with experience when dealing with the disappointment of going a goal down in a huge game.
"We have to get our players in these sorts of experiences more often," added Southgate. "When I look at the big-game experience we've got in the group it's minimal really.
"With club and country, we've got to be put in these experiences more and more because that's how you improve. That's how you learn as players."
Until England are able to do that, they are surely destined to repeat these disappointments again and again.
