• Analysis

Is England ready to take the next step at the Euro 2020? 

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Ahead of tomorrow’s crucial semifinal match against Denmark, it’s time to analyze if England is truly ready to take the next step. 

The England National Team has gone through an entire process led by Gareth Southgate that has taken them to this Euro 2020 semifinal. During the World Cup in 2018, the Three Lions already left a great impression by reaching the same stage of the tournament. It’s only normal England fans would expect them to continue their evolution in this tournament. But we all wonder if they are truly ready to take that next step towards a higher level of performance.

Contrary to what they had three years ago, this England side has many more exciting talents who are adding up to the already brilliant roster. Gareth Southgate has done a good job by rotating between all the new faces whilst keeping the established leaders on the pitch. Denmark is a major test for them to take but the ultimate goal is very different this time around. Gareth Southgate knows that pressure is much higher due to the steps they’ve taken towards more demanding results. The gaffer thinks his players are ready for the challenge. 

Southgate confirms his team is ready to play. 

This is what Southgate said via the Evening Standard: “We’re very excited about the game. That’s for sure and we know that we are going to have tremendous support throughout the country so it’s a great feeling for us. We are ready for the game. The players are ready. We’ve got tremendous experience now themselves having been in this situation themselves. The preparation has been calm. We know we are playing a really good opponent. So it is going to be a really tight game and an exciting game for everybody. We’ve got everybody available. We have got one or two checks to make tonight.

“In terms of the system over the last three years we’ve always been flexible with our approach. We always have to try to pick the right approach for the opponent. Denmark have been changing during matches so they’ve got real fluidity with their selection. We will have to be aware of that. We’ve got players that make good decisions on the field. They’ve got good experience coming up against different systems. They know how to counter that and they know where to create the spaces. We’ve been working together for quite a long time now. We understand our own patterns of play.”

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