Follow Me to the World Cup (76)
In addition to my favorite Final Four, there are also popular teams such as England, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal that are expected to produce top scorers.
England's Harry Kane was the top scorer of the last edition. No player in history has been named top scorer twice, let alone two times in a row. So I'm not optimistic about Kane's performance. The last Kane was at his personal peak, when the team's midfield almost frenzied pressing, creating a huge space for him up front. But England's style of play is destined to be unsustainable. In the past two years, with the age of a group of main players that year, this style of play has faded. In this year's UEFA Nations League, England, Italy, Germany and Hungary were in Group C of the A division, and after six rounds, they drew three and lost three, without a win. Kane scored two goals in six games, but two penalties. This result is really eye-popping.
I personally think that England's current problems stem from the midfield. Compared to France and Germany, England's midfield is a bit out of the table - they don't have a core. Although there are many people available in England's midfield, and all of them have some names, there is no one who can command the three armies.
Seeing that the momentum in the UEFA Nations League was gone, Southgate sacrificed his training skills in the last two matches. In the match against Italy, he discharged a 343 formation, with Saka, Rice, Bellingham and James in midfield; Against Germany, he fired a rare 3421, with Luke Shaw, Rice, Bellingham, James, Sterling and Foden also pulling back, leaving Kane alone.
It seems that in Southgate's mind, the midfield midfield Rice + Bellingham combination has taken shape, and there are multiple options on both sides. Compared with the previous midfielder, Bellingham is indeed much better in terms of passing creativity, but his defensive and tackle-tackling abilities are also weaker. He is not yet 20 years old, and his experience in the competition is also a big weakness. Whether he can fit the pace of the game into the trajectory that Southgate wants is still a big question.
The last time England were able to reach the last four, it was due to the fast-paced confrontation. Now their rhythm can't be played, passing and control is not their strong point, and it is difficult for strikers to have a particularly bright performance in this state.
