Gareth Southgate met the England squad at their training base St George’s Park earlier this week and reminded them of how far they have come.
The comparison he made was with the last game The Three Lions played in Brazil, also at Wembley, in November 2017, when they played a brave goalless draw just seven months before the World Cup.
However bravely England played, along with a group of young players, it was claimed that this also exposed the gulf between Southgate’s team and the leading football team, just as they had been held to a goalless draw against Germany in another prestige friendly a few days earlier. Nations.
At the event, England reached the semi-finals of the tournament in Russia; They left behind both Brazil, which reached the last eight, and Germany, which finished last in their group.
In 2017, Germany ranked first in the FIFA rankings, while Brazil ranked second. England? They dropped to 12th place. The odds have changed. England are third, Brazil fifth but are now damaged, fragile and inexperienced (11 players missing from the squad) and have lost three of their first six World Cup qualifiers, with the Copa America looming.
Germany? They dropped to 16th place due to an existential crisis in their national team before hosting the European Championship this summer.
What does it mean? Rankings are not measured in trophies, and despite the gradual decline in fortunes of the Brazilian national team and the narrowing of the gap, they have once again won more than England since the start of the downturn; They won the 2019 Copa America as champions. Southgate lost on penalties to Italy in the last Euros. And silverware obviously means more than just ranking points.
Meanwhile, Southgate is being told that England are favorites to win the tournament in Germany and have the strongest squad, while France are still ahead of them in the Fifa rankings, with Belgium, their friendly rivals next Tuesday, just behind. Just saying.
But rankings are a sign of progress and whatever his critics think, Southgate has made huge strides in transforming England’s prospects and he knows more than anyone that it is now a matter of finally winning the first major tournament since 1966. HE.
“I always guide players based on the progress they’ve made,” Southgate said of this week’s meeting. “The fact that we have overcome so many obstacles as a team and created a significant history of breaking down some of the fixtures that have been obstacles over the years.”
Saturday evening will be England’s 27th meeting with Brazil and they may be in transition with a new manager Dorival Junior (supposed to be Carlo Ancelotti) and depleted by a host of injuries, with Southgate also hampered. They require defensive debuts and although they are not the force of old and they are not even wearing that beautiful iconic yellow jersey… they are still Brazil. And in all those encounters England have won just four times (losing 11), so another victory would be important and timely.
“So it’s a big challenge for us as a team to get another point,” said Southgate, comparing the team he played for in 2017; this was only his 14th match and this was his 92nd, just three behind Sir Bobby Robson. To the person he hopes to take to the Euros.
John Stones, one of the survivors, suggested there was a significant difference.
“At that point we didn’t realize or didn’t believe enough that we were better than them and we hadn’t faced them before, and neither had this group,” the defender explained. “The result we got from that game was really positive at the time and when you look back I think we could have done a lot of things differently, done better and believed more.
“We’re excited and we believe we can win against the best because, you know, we’ve been talking for years about getting into this elite group or the number one team in the world and to do that we need to beat the best teams and players.”
For all the controversy surrounding Southgate’s management, much of it misguided, there remains the belief that he possesses an indescribable quality that England lack in big moments in big games. And this goes back decades. This also goes back to the semi-final against Croatia in Russia and even the last Euro final against Italy, but the disappointment of the quarter-final defeat to France in the last World Cup was felt so keenly that England It is suggested to do this now. own it. They know they have to win.
Yes, there were tactical issues that could be discussed – particularly against Italy – but there is no denying that England have been transformed under Southgate. Ask other national team coaches what they think.
A high-profile win over Brazil, even if it is just a friendly, would further strengthen this, especially if achieved without the likes of Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, Germany’s sure-fire starters.