The Weekly Take, Issue 318: It Hasn't Come Home - in Part Because of These Two

The final of Euro 2024 saw Spain take on England at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Spain lived up to their status as pre-match favourites with a 2-1 victory to clinch an unprecedented fourth continental title and third in the past five editions of the tournament.

Although Spain were largely in control of the match throughout the first half, it wasn’t until shortly after the half-time break that La Furia Roja scored the opening goal. Nico Williams got on the end of Lamine Yamal’s pass after Yamal had made his way through a cluster of England’s players. England would go on to score the equalizer in the 73rd minute via substitute Cole Palmer. Just a few minutes after having replaced Kobbie Mainoo, Chelsea attacking midfielder Palmer scored from just outside the penalty area to pull the Three Lions level.

With just four minutes left in regulation time, Mikel Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad winger who came off the bench to sub in for captain Álvaro Morata, finished off Marc Cucurella’s cross to secure the title for Spain. From the very beginning of this tournament, Spain had been playing at a level clearly above every other team sans Germany - and this superiority once again showed itself in the final. There’s every chance that Spain will enter the 2026 World Cup as the pre-tournament favourites.

As for England, this was clearly a blown opportunity. Having taken advantage of a relatively easy bracket, all they really needed to do was outplay Spain over the course of a single match. While some of England’s players did step up on the big occasion, many certainly did not - including, once again, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.

Apart from an outstanding showing in the quarterfinal match against Switzerland, Saka had an underwhelming tournament on the whole. This has become a recurring theme throughout the Arsenal winger’s admittedly young career thus far - when the lights have been brightest and the pressure highest, the Londoner has more often than not come up short.

During Arsenal’s most recent Premier League run-ins, Saka has frequently underperformed during high-stakes scenarios. While it was his play that was a large contributor to the Gunners’ presence in the title race to begin with, his declined performance down the stretch has also been a big reason why the North London club have lost both of the last two Premier League titles to Manchester City. In international play, there’s of course his iconic penalty miss in the shootout of the Euro 2020 final against Italy. Saka also turned in a dismal performance in England’s 2022 World Cup quarterfinal loss against France.

At this point, with Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden having ascended to genuine superstar status and Palmer’s recent breakout, it’s worth questioning if Saka should even retain his spot in England’s starting 11 at all. England cannot afford to risk yet another no-show under pressure if they’re seriously pushing for a World Cup title in two years’ time.

On that note, we now come to Harry Kane. Amidst all the jokes and memes about how England’s all-time leading goalscorer has never won a trophy of any sort, there’s perhaps a kernel of truth. Like Saka, Kane has consistently wilted under the brightest spotlights despite his usually elite level of play. This was never shown more dramatically than via his game-losing penalty miss against France in the World Cup.

Kane turned in yet another dud on the big stage. The only thing of note the Bayern Munich striker did was incur a yellow card in the first half. He proceeded to cut a silent figure throughout the rest of the match, eventually being substituted by Ollie Watkins early in the second half - after which England started playing noticeably better.

It might now even be worth asking a question which not too long ago might’ve sounded borderline blasphemous: is it possible that benching Kane might end up being the catalyst that takes England to the mountaintop? It’s likely too soon to tell, but is he actually holding them back in some way?

Despite being somewhat top-heavy, there’s no question that England have the star power to win a title. However, at this level, the intangibles make all the difference - and when two of a team’s key starters seem to lack them in the way that Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane do, it’s not likely to “come home”.

The Weekly Take, Issue 274: Their Best Chance Might Have Gone

The latest set of Euro 2024 qualifying fixtures featured a match between Ukraine and England at the Stadion Miejski. Adding to the hype behind this match was the red-hot form of Jude Bellingham, whose outstanding play at Real Madrid in his first matches as a Los Merengues player has put the entire football world on notice.

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.

The Weekly Take, Issue 164: Fulfilling the Hype

Cast your mind back to 2014. Raheem Sterling, then a 20-year-old Liverpool winger, had just received the Golden Boy award as the football world's best young prospect. Despite not even having completed two full Premier League seasons at the time, there were already expectations that he could someday be the player who would revive the then-flagging fortunes of Liverpool as well as England's national team.

Since then, his career progression has not proven to be as linear as many had first assumed it would. Though he might not necessarily have hit the heights predicted of him at first, he has had an impressive career to date nonetheless, winning three Premier League titles and the Premier League's Footballer of the Year award in 2020. Despite this success, Sterling has faced his share of criticism (including from me) and more; some of it warranted, others completely unjustified and unacceptable for much more unsavory reasons.

In either case, Sterling did much to silence his critics with an outstanding performance in England's 2-0 victory over Germany in Euro 2020's round of 16. The Manchester City winger scored the first goal of the match and caused major problems for Germany's defense throughout all 90 minutes.

Throughout this tournament, Sterling has proven to be a perfect fit up for England. His interplay alongside star centre-forward Harry Kane has proven to be vital in powering England into the last eight. What makes this even more impressive is that although he had already proven it at club level, Sterling's performances in this tournament have solidified his status as a genuine goalscoring threat - an unthinkable scenario just a few years ago.

Sterling has netted three of England's four goals thus far. He has now scored 15 goals in his last 20 appearances for the Three Lions. To put his dramatic improvement as a goalscorer into context, Sterling had only scored two goals for England over his first 45 matches covering a six-year stretch. At club level, Sterling scored more goals from 2017 to 2019 than he had in the entirety of his career up to that point. When this newfound touch in front of goal combined with his speed and dribbling skills, it is little wonder that Sterling has established himself as a key part of a Champions League-contending Manchester City team as well as an England team which might have international silverware in its future.

On top of his skills and physical attributes, Sterling has intangibles in spades. Though his Manchester City team has often been prone to wilting under pressure, this is an area in which Sterling as an individual player cannot be blamed quite as much. This is where the "unsavory reasons" I alluded to earlier come into play.

Time and again, Sterling has been subject to high-profile racist incidents. The notoriously capricious British media has only exacerbated the issue by often portraying Sterling in a negative light. It speaks volumes of his mentality and intangibles that he has not only been able to compartmentalize these issues and play at his usual level; as I mentioned, he has even improved tremendously throughout all of this.

To be completely honest, I got it completely wrong when I first formed an opinion on Sterling's ceiling. Four years ago, if someone had told me that he'd someday reach this level, I would not have believed that person. Even before this tournament, I was in favour of benching Sterling and starting Marcus Rashford instead because I honestly thought that Rashford would've provided more of an attacking edge. To the pleasure of England fans, I have been proven completely wrong.

Looking back at the list of Golden Boy winners, Sterling does not figure at the very top. Obviously, Lionel Messi has to top the chart, followed by Cesc Fàbregas, and Sterling's former City teammate Sergio Agüero. One could also make arguments for Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney, while Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland clearly have higher ceilings. That said, to only be behind the names mentioned at this point in his career - once again, though it may have taken a while, Sterling has lived up to the hype.

Is the crowning glory of Sterling's career to date just around the corner? With the way the draw has opened up, it's a distinct possibility.

The Weekly Take, Issue 127: The Young Lions' Deafening Roar

The latest UEFA Nations League matchday saw England and Belgium facing off in a rematch of the 2018 World Cup third-place playoff. However, this time the result went the other way with England picking up a 2-1 victory. Romelu Lukaku's 16th-minute penalty opened the scoring for Belgium before Marcus Rashford equalized with a spot-kick of his own in the 39th minute. Mason Mount would later score the winning goal for the Three Lions.

This was a confident, assured performance by England. They clearly displayed the mentality of a team which truly belong at the top table of international football. For a team this young, their maturity and poise was evident; not once did they even seem slightly rattled, even after falling one goal behind. What made the victory even more impressive was that their best player, Tottenham star Harry Kane, was restricted to a substitute role due to injury concerns.

The rise and evolution of this England team has been as swift as it has been remarkable.

Two years ago, Gareth Southgate's team had not been expected to make a deep World Cup run but ended up reaching England's first World Cup semifinal since 1990. England took an extremely young and inexperienced team to the tournament; at the beginning of the tournament, only one of their 23 squad members had at that point accumulated 40 caps or more. However, ever since defying the odds in Russia, England have only gone from strength to strength.

In the time since their World Cup run, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has clearly established himself as the world's best at his position and the clear second-best player on this team behind Kane. The once widely-criticized Raheem Sterling, who despite being absent from the Belgium match, has silenced his doubters by showing remarkable improvement since 2018. Of course, Kane has continued to perform at his usual excellent level.

You then have to look at the supporting cast, some of whom were not even part of the World Cup squad. England's stars are capably backed up by players such as Rashford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jadon Sancho, Jordan Henderson, Kieran Trippier, and Mason Greenwood. It is also possible that Rashford, Sancho, and Greenwood might eventually rise to the level at which they would be considered truly elite players.

What makes this even more exciting for England is the young age of this team in general; it is likely that they are nowhere near their peak. If they are already arguably a top-three international team in the world now, just imagine how great they could possibly become. No one can deny the obvious any longer - this has to be England's most talented team since their 1966 World Cup-winning roster featuring legends such as Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Alan Ball, and Gordon Banks.

England have all the elements for a possible 2022 World Cup victory in place. Two superstar-level players in Kane and Alexander-Arnold. A well-balanced and young supporting cast. Southgate, a coach who is definitely able to get the best out of this roster. And arguably most importantly of all, something England teams of the past have historically lacked: boatloads of mental strength and fortitude.

However, the biggest obstacle they face might very well be found off the field rather than on it: the notoriously merciless British media. At even the slightest sign of a possible dip in form, they are likely to be eviscerated by the press; often unjustly, too. Even for the toughest and most resilient teams, the media onslaught can end up wearing them down and hindering their performance.

Nevertheless, at the moment, I would place England as the second-most likely team to win the next World Cup, only behind reigning champions and arch-rivals France. They will be even better then when compared to now because more of their players would have reached or be approaching their peak in 2022.

What's more, there is one other factor to consider: will France wilt under the pressure of defending a World Cup title as many teams before them have done? If they do, the door would be wide open for England to claim their second world title and first in 56 years.

Is it coming home? It very well might be.