ENGLAND
FIFA World Ranking: 4
Previous Best: Third Place 1968
Last 5 Euros (Latest first): L16-QF-DNQ-QF-Groups
How Qualified: Winners Group A
Qualifying Record: P8 W7 D0 L1 F37 A6 GD31 Pts21
Tournament Odds: 5/1
Squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (West Bromwich Albion), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Atlético), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Brighton)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Dortmund), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Declan Rice (West Ham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Dortmund)
Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Group Fixtures
June 13 vs Croatia (2pm – London)
June 18 vs Scotland (8pm – London)
June 22 vs Czech Rep (8pm – London)
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History
England have something of a chequered past with this tournament with the best they have done being their third placed finish in 1968. They did reach the semi-finals again in 1996 when they hosted the tournament but that is the last time they have been beyond the last eight in the Championships, which feels a little of an underachievement for a side who are regularly ranked among the best on the continent. They will be looking to use home advantage to maximum effect and finally get their hands on that trophy here.
Qualifying
The qualifying competition could barely have gone any better for England. It was a group they were expected to dominate and that is exactly what happened, winning seven of their eight matches with their solitary defeat coming away to the Czech Republic on a night when plenty went wrong for them. They scored four or more in all the other seven matches in the group and made it through in the style they were meant to. Harry Kane was their leading scorer in qualifying. The World Cup Golden Boot winner notched 12 times in the group.
Pandemic Effect
I think the pandemic has worked out well for England in terms of delaying the tournament for a year. Not only have an exciting crop of youngsters been able to be blooded into this environment and get them ready for the competition, but Covid issues put paid to Dublin hosting the tournament which means England could get a home round of 16 match if they win their group, a tantalising proposition for a team who are generally hard to beat. The one negative to the delay is the injury to Harry Maguire.
Strengths
England have arguably the best core of attacking talent in the competition with experienced players in front of a very exciting group of youngsters who include potential superstars in Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho. England can also pick from the best set of right-backs in the world. The other strength of this England side is home advantage in all but one of what they hope will be seven matches in the tournament. Wembley is often a fortress and with crowds back after 16 months away from the action the atmosphere at each of their matches will be electric.
Weaknesses
The goalkeeper and the centre of defence has been an issue for England for a while now. .Jordan Pickford has the trust of Gareth Southgate but not many fans have the same faith and defensively England look light in comparison to the other teams in the tournament. An overreliance on Harry Kane through the centre of the pitch in attacking areas could be seen as another weakness given his injury record. A potential nightmare last 16 draw could be another problem.
Manager
Gareth Southgate took over from Roy Hodgson after the embarrassing defeat to Iceland in the last European Championship. The former Middlesbrough manager had spent three years in charge of the under-21s so all the players coming through the ranks will have been coached by him at some point. He took England to the semi-final of the World Cup in 2018 the last four of the UEFA Nations League a year later, and will be looking to match that if not better it over the course of the month of this tournament. Southgate’s England record reads: P54 W34 D10 L10.
Key Players
England have a number of player of the tournament candidates in their squad but you suspect they won’t get very far if anything happens to Harry Kane at any point. The World Cup leading scorer captains this side extremely well and doesn’t just lead the line but links up play and brings the other star attacking quality into the game too. In the absence of Harry Maguire in the early stages of the tournament, all eyes will be on John Stones to see if he can be the leader in the heart of the defence which England will need.
Team Bets
There is a lot of optimism around England in this tournament and quite rightly so but I’m still a little surprised that their goal line is as high as 9.5 for it. If you think they average two goals a game in the group stage, which isn’t a certainly if teams sit in on them, then they would need four more goals in the knockout stage which is a goal in every game on the assumption that they make the final, something that is far from guaranteed.
If they don’t make the final they will need to find a couple of goals in a knockout game somewhere and although they scored twice against Sweden in the quarter final in Russia in 2018, England haven’t scored more than once in 90 minutes of a knockout game since they beat Denmark 3-0 in the 2002 World Cup in Japan. Therefore England could make the final of this tournament and still not bag nine goals. If they don’t make the final, and without wishing to repeat myself with that round of 16 horror tie staring them in the face there is every chance they won’t, it is hard to see them getting 10 goals. I’ll play the under.
Tips
Back England Under 9.5 Tournament Goals for a 2/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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