Southgate’s three key problems to fix when England take on Serbia if they are to get off to a winning start at Euro 2024

LOSING their final warm-up match 1-0 at home to an Iceland side who have not even qualified for Euro 2024 is far from ideal for England.

But it is also not a reason to start to panic. 

PA

Gareth Southgate has the weight of a nation’s hopes on his shoulders[/caption]

Gareth Southgate’s men still go into this summer’s Euros finals as one of the favourites to win the whole thing.

There are few teams in the tournament who can match the English in terms of sheer depth in their squads, although there is one notable area of weakness.

Nor in the creativity and attacking threat that they carry within their squad. 

The questions around selection around England are coming more from a position of strength with the sheer number of options that Southgate has to choose from coming into their group stage matches.

In their first Group C match, England face a tough opponent in Serbia in Gelsenkirchen. 

While England will be favourites they will have to be aware of the threat carried by a physically and technically strong Serbian side who have a number of talented attacking players.

Here are three key areas where England need to dominate if they are to open their campaign with a morale-boosting win.

England’s need for creativity

One of the biggest question marks for Southgate surrounds the way that they set up their midfield and wide attackers. 

The strength of depth that England have in these positions is frightening.

But getting the setup right will have a huge bearing in this game as England are likely to have to work had to break down a stubborn and well-organised Serbian defensive unit.

In the wide attacking areas Southgate will probably play Phil Foden from the left, although he will drift inside, with Bukayo Saka from the right as a more traditional wide attacker. 

This means places on the bench for the likes of Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer who also have the quality to start the game. 

In the midfield, the big question will surround who partners Declan Rice at the base of the midfield as Jude Bellingham plays as the central attacking midfielder.

We can expect England to be possession-dominant in this match as Serbia are likely to defend in a medium to deep defensive block.

Southgate’s side will have to find a way to unlock the Serbian defensive structure through clever movement and passing to break the lines. 

This means having players like Foden and Bellingham, who are capable of finding and exploiting space in the opposition half of the pitch.

Their success at moving out of their positions to create moments of danger will be key for England.

While Foden and Bellingham, and even Saka and Harry Kane, will rotate in and out of space as they look to find space that can be exploited in the Serbian half of the pitch it is important that England have players who can find their runs as they move. 

Rice is, of course, capable of this with his progressive passing and ability to break lines to send teammates into space. 

Man United’s Kobbie Mainoo could well be the answer alongside Rice as he is also comfortable when in possession and having to break the last line.

Ensuring that they get the right balance between creative passers and players who can make runs to attack and open space will be key for England in this match.

However Mainoo and Rice both had problems picking the lock to open up the Icelandic defence at Wembley last week.

Solving the left-back problem

It is a mark of the issues that England have at left-back that Luke Shaw is the only recognised one in the squad – and he is struggling for fitness having not played for some time. 

In their last warm-up match against Iceland, Kieran Trippier was used at left-back and despite the quality on the ball of the Newcastle man, there was a clear downgrade in using a right-footed player at left-back.

There is an argument to be made that calling up the likes of Levi Colwill, of Chelsea, would have made sense – given his ability to play either as a left-sided central defender or as a left-back.

But instead Southgate appears to be planning to use Trippier on that side. 

The main drawback with using a right-footed player in this position is that it breaks the build-up patterns as they move the ball out from the back. 

A right-footed player will typically look to play inside or narrow as opposed to taking possession and moving the ball outside on his left foot.

For a side like England who can expect to dominate possession in most games, having a player who is this passive in a key position like left-back can slow and break the pattern of their attack.

This can allow the opposition time to recover and reset their defensive block. 

This could see England be relatively one-dimensional in the way that they build their attacks with a clear preference for attacking down the right.

While there is a chance that Luke Shaw will be fit enough to play some part in this tournament it is looking unlikely against Serbia. 

So it looks like Trippier will start at left-back for the Three Lions’ opening fixture, which could be a problem.

Serbia are dangerous in transition

Serbia will come into this match knowing they will see less of the ball and that they will have to defend in a deeper and more structured manner. 

With this said though they do bring threat in transition and on the counterattack with the ability to quickly break out and create chances. 

While England will be in their 4-2-3-1 shape we will see Serbia play in a 3-5-2 with two powerful and technical centre forwards. 

They typically play quickly into the feet or body of their strikers, usually Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, and then move the ball out wide. 

When the ball goes into wide positions they will then push the likes of Sergej Milenkovic-Savic into attacking positions.

If England push forward and into higher positions in order to look to break down the defensive block from Serbia then they will leave spaces behind them that can be exploited. 

The Serbians will be especially dangerous in these positions as they will leave their two strikers high and in advanced positions to help them to transition quickly and aggressively.

Conclusion

Opening games in major tournaments are always difficult, especially for teams that are considered to be the favourites.

England have undoubted quality going forward they will have to answer questions in deeper areas or build up. 

Serbia will also carry a significant threat on the counterattack that the English will have to be aware of.