Gareth Southgate has received a tacit suggestion for how England should approach their group stage games after the BBC’s punditry team took note of how some of the other big boys have gone about their business so far.
The first two days of Euro 2024 have seen big wins for Germany and Spain – 5-1 over Scotland and 3-0 over Croatia respectively – while an attack-minded Italy hit back to shake off a shock deficit and come from behind to beat Albania 2-1.
Speaking at half time in the BBC’s coverage of the latter game, former Manchester City and England full-back Micah Richards noted that those sides’ willingness to approach their games adventurously had stood them all in good stead – something Southgate has faced repeated calls to do from sections of the media and the Three Lions fanbase.
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Micah Richards: "All the teams that have done well in this tournament have been on the front foot"
Richards said: “I’ve been really impressed with this Italian side, just because when you watch clips of how they defend, even under the previous manager Mancini, at times they’d be in a little bit of a low block.
“But [against Albania] they’ve been on the front foot. All the teams that have done well in this tournament have been on the front foot, and I think that’s why we’ve seen so many goals in this tournament.”
Fabregas added: “I think Spalletti, that’s his mentality as well, since his Roma days, Napoli last year as well, this is what he likes to do: young players, energy, always press forward, and you can see that straight away.”
Albania had taken a stunning lead just 23 seconds in – the fastest goal ever scored at a Euros – but Richards’ BBC co-pundits agreed that the Azzurri were nonetheless deserving of their victory in the end.
Alan Shearer echoed Richards’ sentiments, adding: “[It was] the dream start for Albania, incredible but then I was really impressed with the way there was no panic from Italy. They stuck to their gameplan, they’re believing in what they’re doing, and they’ve got themselves back into the game – and deservedly, because they’ve been the better team.”
Fabregas meanwhile cautioned that a defensive mindset carries its own risks, saying: “For me [Albania] scored too early, I have to say: I think they had a gameplan early, they got surprised by the goal in a positive way, but then they defended too deep too early and that allowed Italy to take control of the game.
“In games like this, when your plan and your mindset is to go and defend straight away, the game can become too long.”
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