To say England got a reality check against the United States in their previous game may just sound a little harsh. But the barren draw last week at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor should serve as a “lesson” to Gareth Southgate and his wards if they are to go the distance in this World Cup, feels Steve Coppell.
“No team is yet to dominate in back-to-back games in this World Cup. There’s also this adage which says hard work beats skill when skill doesn’t work hard. The US have some terrific athletes who are well-prepared, but I don’t think the England team worked too hard to counter that,” the former England and Manchester United winger told The Telegraph from Hay-On-Wye (in Wales) on Monday.
“Playing 4-3-3 is important to win the World Cup as you can have more attacking players on the pitch. It’s about taking the gamble that your back four is strong enough to withstand attacking play from the opposition, while it also gives you more options to go forward.
“Gareth will have learnt a lesson from that game and I believe he’ll use his options from the bench better,” Coppell, who has managed Manchester City, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion among EPL clubs before his stint in the ISL (managing Kerala Blasters, Jamshedpur FC and the then ATK), explained.
Harry Kane is yet to register his name on the scoresheet and wasn’t too effective as well against the US. “His overall contribution has been okay,” Coppell feels. “In the last game, he played alright. Of course, not brilliant. But every centre forward needs service from players around him. He feeds off the hard work of others.
“You need guys like (Bukano) Saka, (Raheem) Sterling to be the creative players. And if they don’t click, then look towards Jack Grealish or Mason Mount.”
So many upsets
If Saudi Arabia stunning Lionel Messi’s Argentina wasn’t enough, the Qatar World Cup also witnessed Japan shocking Germany and a spirited Morocco outsmarting second-ranked Belgium thereafter. Are these mere upsets?
“Well, it’s levelling out. Almost every team now has players in top leagues across Europe.
“You have Morocco and then there’s Japan, who have several players playing in Europe. The success of European football has been in educating players around the world,” Coppell, now mentoring young managers in England, said.
