England ended up surrendering their previously perfect qualifying record with a 1-1 draw. Oleksandr Zinchenko opened the scoring for Ukraine in the 26th minute, only for Kyle Walker to equalize for the Three Lions shortly before halftime. It was the Manchester City full-back's first career goal in international play.
Most would have expected England to have had little trouble in dispatching their Eastern European opponents; however, this was certainly not the case. Despite having by far the bulk of the possession and restricting Ukraine to just two shots, England left with just a share of the points.
Although it's likely too soon to draw any solid conclusions, it would not be all that surprising were it to transpire that this current England squad, in spite of their immense talent, might already have missed the boat as far as winning a major international title is concerned. In the 2022 World Cup, England were handed a relatively easy bracket leading up to a blockbuster quarterfinal clash against arch-rivals France. England's 2-1 loss following a critical Harry Kane penalty miss saw them exit the tournament in the last eight - a hugely disappointing result given that some had tipped them as a possible contender to go all the way.
If the match against Ukraine is anything to go by, England appear to have taken a step backwards since the World Cup - this was not even close to the calibre of play needed if they are to make a serious push to win Euro 2024. The most glaring issue for England right now has to be up front. James Maddison is clearly not the long-term answer out wide, while at this point one has to wonder if Bukayo Saka is truly the sidekick that Kane needs for that additional attacking punch. To put this into perspective, France are fielding Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann; Portugal, Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leão; and Spain, Marco Asensio, Dani Olmo, and superstar in the making Lamine Yamal. What England have been putting out just won't cut it at this level.
At the moment, England appear to have too many redundancies within the team. Though last year's World Cup team was probably the most talented group that England have ever brought to a World Cup, one key element of their downfall was the fact that the skillsets of far too many players overlapped. Consider the likes of Bellingham, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Phil Foden. On paper that seems like quite the collection of players. However, on the field itself, it soon became obvious that England's level of play suffered when too many of them were playing at the same time in similar roles.
England's lack of a true starter-quality defensive midfielder has to be a cause for concern as well. Despite the large fee that Arsenal paid to sign him from West Ham, the jury is still out on whether Declan Rice is truly England's future at the position - one which has become increasingly important in the current tactical metagame.
Of course, the elephant in the room has to be addressed: Gareth Southgate. After taking over in the England dugout in 2016, Southgate's early success in the 2018 World Cup followed by his run to the Euro 2020 final seemed to put him in a solid position. However, his stock took a nosedive following the 2022 World Cup and many have developed misgivings over him. It could very well be that this is as far as he can take England and that any more time spent in the head coach's seat might end up holding England back.
It has now been almost 60 years since England last won a major international football tournament. Although they cannot completely be ruled out as potential Euro 2024 champions, the signs at the moment don't look good at all. England might really have had just that one chance and let it slip through their fingers.
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