- Author, Phil Cartwright
- Role, BBC Sport journalist
So close, and yet so far for England – again.
Gareth Southgate’s side reached the final for a second successive European Championship, only to fall short of ending the men’s team’s wait of more than half a century for a major trophy.
Their journey to Berlin, where they were beaten 2-1 by Spain on Sunday, was far from smooth. At times there was criticism of England’s style of play and the failure to best utilise a squad packed with young, attacking talent.
The final followed a similar pattern to their other knockout games – concede the first goal and then mount a comeback – but it was Spain who found a late winner on this occasion.
Were England “brave enough”? Did they “roll the dice” when required in Germany? Should this disappointment be the cue for a tactical reset?
‘Spain played the beautiful game and England didn’t’
In the final, England had 35% possession, nine attempts at goal compared to Spain’s 16, and 16 touches in the opposition’s penalty area compared to 30 for Spain.
Ex-England striker Gary Lineker said on BBC One that it was a “heartbreaking defeat for England, but in some ways a victory for attacking football”.
Rio Ferdinand and Chris Sutton were among those of the opinion that England had not been sufficiently “brave” during their time in Germany.
“Whenever these players in this England team have won things with their clubs, they’ve got the quality, but they’re all brave in the big moments,” said former England centre-back Ferdinand on BBC One.
“They’re courageous, they take risks, they take chances. They don’t wait to go behind, they take chances when the game’s in the balance and when it’s most difficult.
“When you win stuff, you have to have that courage and just lay it out there, roll the dice at times and you can’t always play from a conservative position.”
Former Premier League winner Sutton, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, added: “England were not brave enough on the evening to make the next step.
“It is a good thing for football that Spain won the tournament with the brand they have played. Spain played the beautiful game and England didn’t – the beauty of Gareth’s team has been getting over the line.
“Spain are a team. England are bits and pieces.”
‘If you’re going to play conservative, you have to win’
Former England defender Micah Richards believes this is the time for a tactical rethink.
He said on BBC One: “I’ve said from the start that I think England have the best squad but I don’t think we’re the best team, in terms of all the combinations we expect to see.”
Asked why he had that opinion, Richards said: “Because we have a manager who has been successful being defensive, getting into a semi-final of a World Cup and two Euros [finals], and we’ve not been able to push this team forward in the way it deserves.
“That’s no slight on Gareth Southgate, that’s just his tactics.
“Now we have to move forward in the right direction and play the football these players play at club level.”
On ITV, ex-defender Gary Neville said England “didn’t keep the ball well enough and every England manager has said that – it’s the same pattern”, while his former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane said England “lacked quality” and their “fight and desire off the bench” helped to get them to the final.
With Southgate’s side having failed to lift the trophy, Ferdinand said questions about England’s more “conservative” approach would have to follow.
“We said after the group stage that if you’re going to play on the conservative side of things, with the amount of talent we have in this squad, you have to win,” Ferdinand said, “otherwise it will be dissected and be looked at as quite a negative approach.
“That falls on the manager’s toes because he sets his team out in a particular way to play and that’s his style of football.
“But you have to win playing like that, because these players play too well for their teams in club football to then come here and look a shadow of themselves a lot of the time.”
Southgate ‘has dragged us from the very bottom’
Southgate said after the match that it was too soon for him to be considering his future as England manager.
Since taking charge a few months after a humiliating Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland and following Sam Allardyce’s one-match reign as manager, Southgate has led his country to two European Championship finals, as well as a World Cup semi-final in 2018 and a quarter-final in 2022.
“When Gareth started off, England were in big trouble,” said ex-England captain Alan Shearer on BBC One.
“He has dragged us from the very bottom and taken us to nearly a team that can be successful. But we’ve had that three years ago, we’ve got a better team and squad now, so when that happens, expectations are higher and you’ve got to cope with that.
“Getting to finals when you have got the quality of players like England have, and not winning it, is not going to be good enough.
“They have got a togetherness, they have got a steel about them, but I think they are better than what they have shown us.”
Richards added: “In the early part of his tenure, he probably overachieved. Now the expectancy level has gone up with these players, it was always going to be difficult.
“He got us to a final and we’ve had a great day, but I just think we needed a little bit more urgency and spark.”