by Gareth Southgate sat the England squad down earlier this week at their training base, St George’s Park, and reminded them how far they have come.
His comparison was to November 2017, the last time the Three Lions played Brazil, also at Wembley, when they were held to a goalless draw just seven months before the World Cup.
As bravely as England played, with many young players on display, just as they had in another goalless draw against Germany in another friendly final a few days earlier, it was also claimed that it exposed the gulf between Southgate and the football leadership. nations.
As it turned out, at that tournament in Russia, England went all the way to the semi-finals – ahead of Brazil, who went out in the last eight, and Germany, who crashed out and finished bottom of their group .
Back in 2017, Germany was ranked first in the world in the Fifa rankings while Brazil was second. England? They were down in 12th place. Fortunes have changed. England are third, Brazil are fifth but are now damaged, fragile and inexperienced – with 11 uncapped players in the squad – and, with the Copa America looming, three of the six World Cup qualifiers they lost.
Germany? They have fallen to 16th place amid an existential crisis in their national team ahead of hosting this summer’s European Championships.
What does it mean? Well, rankings are not the same as trophies and despite the apparent slowdown in the success of the Brazilian national team and the narrowing of the gap they have again won more than England since the start of the downturn – winning as champions at Copa America 2019 while they were. Southgate missed out on penalties for Italy in the last Euros. And silverware obviously means more than ranking points.
Incidentally, although Southgate is constantly told that England are the favorites to win the tournament in Germany and have the strongest squad, France are still ahead of them in the Fifa rankings and friendly opponents Belgium Next Tuesday – right behind. I’m just saying.
But ratings are an indicator of progress and regardless of what his detractors think, Southgate has made great strides in changing England’s expectations and he knows, more than anyone, that he is now on the verge of winning. finally the first major competition since 1966. Southgate has not shied away from that.
“I always refer to the players for the progress they are making,” Southgate said of this week’s meeting. “Many obstacles have been overcome as a team and we have created a lot of history in some games that have been a struggle in recent years.”
There will be a meeting on the evening of Saturday 27th England with Brazil and although they may be in transition, with a new coach, Dorival Junior (it was supposed to be Carlo Ancelotti) and although they may be depleted with many injuries – as Southgate also blocked. three – starting their defense and although they may not be in the power of old and although they may not even be wearing that iconic yellow jersey… they are still Brazil. And in all those meetings England have only won four times (losing 11) so another win would be significant and timely.
“So that’s a big challenge for us to put down another marker as a team,” Southgate said comparing the side he fielded in 2017, in just his 14th game in charge with this being his 92nd, three behind Sir Bobby Robson. , with the one he hopes to take to the Euros.
One of the survivors, John Stones, suggested one key difference.
“We didn’t realize or believe enough that we were better than them at that point and we didn’t come up against them, this group didn’t anyway,” the defender explained. “So what we took from that game was very positive at the time and I think when you look back we could have done a lot of things differently and better and believed more.
“We’re excited and we believe we can go and win against the best because, you know, we’ve talked for years now about getting into that elite group or the best team in the world and for that to do we have to beat the best teams. and players.”
For all the debate – much of it misguided – over Southgate’s management the belief has been that England have lacked quality time in big games. And that goes back twenty or thirty years. It also goes back to that semi-final in Russia against Croatia, maybe even the Euro final against Italy but the disappointment felt when they lost in the quarter-finals to France in the last World Cup that he now recommended for England. possession of it. They know they should have won.
Yes, there were tactical issues that can also be debated – especially against Italy – but there is no doubt that England have been transformed under Southgate. Ask other national team coaches what they think.
Claiming a high-profile win over Brazil, even if it’s only a friendly, will boost that further especially if it’s achieved without the likes of Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka who are definite starters for Germany.
