England’s motto at the Euro: Youth Forward! But does it have a chance of success?

England managed to beat Croatia in their opening game, thanks to a goal from Raheem Sterling. The starting line-up sent out by Gareth Southgate was surprising to many, but in the end it proved to be the right choice.

Revenge for the semi-final loss

England clashed with the Croatians in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and it was expected that it would be Albion players who would look to reach the final and face a rampant France. In the end, however, the hopes of Albion fans were ended in extra time by Mario Mandzukic.

So now the English footballers got their chance for revenge and although it was an evenly matched game decided by a single goal, coach Gareth Southgate’s players took a very important first step in their quest for promotion.

Excellent performances by young talent

The very first game made it clear that England’s success will depend on how the young players who have been given their chance by Gareth Southgate handle their role.

In particular, we have to highlight Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who put in a really great performance and was by far the best player on the pitch according to WhoScored.

Southgate proved that he is not afraid to rely on young players with his substitutions, sending on Jude Bellingham, this season’s comet, and the pair of strikers Marcus Rashford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The English national team is oozing energy. But against a strong and experienced team, he could crash! Experience counts double in the knockout phase and personally, based on the first game, I can’t see England being able to beat Belgium or France.

The much-criticised Harry Kane

The Tottenham striker was criticised by many after the game. However, this did not please the Albion head coach at all, who stood up for his key spearhead striker.

“It was a game in which he had to fight a lot of very physically demanding battles. Today was about creating space for his teammates, which he did during the goal. There are days when you get chances, but today he was defended very tightly,” Southgate defended his player.

What next?

On Friday, England will face a very hard-playing Scotland, who will most likely present a similar game to the Croatians. But the North’s toughness will be tested first by our team.

The English have mastered the most important matches in the group and progression should be practically a formality for them. The team will get comfortable and coach Southgate will have plenty of time to prepare for the tougher caliber players, who will be quite different to play against.

We shall therefore see how far the young guns can go in a championship where they could play the final at Wembley.

Source: UEFA, WhoScored