Semi-finalists at the last World Cup in 2018 and beaten finalists at Euro 2020; can England go one better at Qatar 2022? One thing is for sure, the pressure is building on Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate.
For the first time, he not only has to live up to the expectations his squad has set in the last two tournaments, but he also has to follow the Lionesses’ success on home soil this summer at Euro 2022.
England’s men were just 12 yards away from lifting the European title last summer. Bukayo Saka missed the decisive penalty in a tense shootout in the final against Italy at Wembley. And yet while it’s clear England aren’t far from going all the way, their recent form will be of some concern.
Without a win in four Nations League fixtures, England have scored just once, in a 1-1 draw with Germany. Moreover, and most recently, they were humbled 4-0 at home to Hungary, a result that has ramped up the focus on the England manager, now entering his third major tournament.
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HOW ENGLAND QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CUP 2022: (Group I) March 25, 2021. England 5 (Ward Prowse 14', Calvert-Lewin 21', 53', Sterling 31', Watkins 83'): England began their qualification campaign by brushing aside San Marino at Wembley with substitute Ollie Watkins scoring on his debut. Manager Gareth Southgate said: "Of course, it's an opponent we should beat, but I thought they went about the job really well." Reuters -
March 28, 2021. Albania 0 England 2 (Kane 38', Mount 63'): Two out of two for Southgate's men who stretched their unbeaten run in World Cup qualifiers to 23 games after Harry Kane scored one and supplied the other. Southgate said: "We had opportunities to make it three and should have killed the game off. I didn’t like the way we managed the game in the last 15 minutes, charging forwards when we didn’t need to." Reuters -
March 31, 2021. England 2 (Kane pen 19', Maguire 85') Poland 1 (Moder 58'): England overcame a dreadful error from defender John Stones that led to Poland - who were without Robert Lewandowski up front - scoring to make it three wins out of three. Southgate said: "We need to play top opponents and you could see tonight we still have a lot of improvements to make. That’s not anything I didn’t know." Reuters -
September 2, 2021. Hungary 0 England 4 (Sterling 55', Kane 63', Maguire 69', Rice 87'): Impressive England destroyed Hungary with four second-half goals in Budapest in a match where England players had objects thrown at them while some players suffered racist abuse from the home crowd. Southgate said: "We showed great maturity and kept the ball well. The attacking play was really exciting in the second half and we could have had more." Reuters -
September 5, 2021. England 4 (Lingard 18', 78', Kane pen 72'), Saka 85') Andorra 0: Three late goals made it five wins out of five for England, who made 11 changes from the side that won 4-0 in Hungary. Southgate said: "It was difficult for the players picked who didn't have as much games together. You have to keep moving the ball, keep being patient. It wasn't an easy task." AFP -
September 8, 2021. Poland 1 (Szymanski 90+2') England 1 (Kane 72'). An injury-time leveller ended England's 100 per cent record but still found themselves four points clear at the top of Group I with four games left. Southgate said: "It was no surprise that this was the hardest game in the group. Early in the game, we were a little slow to move the ball ... in the second half we controlled the game." AFP -
October 9, 2021. Andorra 0 England 5 (Chilwell 17', Saka 40', Abraham 59', Ward-Prowse 79', Grealish 86'): A stroll for England against a country ranked 156th in the world. Manchester City forward Phil Foden was the star of the show as Jack Grealish scored his first England goal. Grealish said: "In the back of my mind there has been that feeling that I've just wanted to score, just to get off the mark. Obviously I've done that tonight, I'm delighted." Reuters -
October 12, 2021. England 1 (Stones 37') Hungary 1 (Sallai pen 24'): A stumble in England's quest for Qatar as Southgate's side produced a disjointed display at Wembley with an out-of-form Harry Kane taken off despite the Three Lions still searching for a winner. Southgate said: "I don't think we played at the level we have done and Hungary defended very well. We didn't do enough to win the game." EPA -
November 12, 2021. England 5 (Maguire 9', Kane 18', 33', 45'+1), Henderson (28') Albania 0: Harry Kane was back in the scoring groove, hitting a hat-trick that left England needing only a point from their final qualifier in San Marino to qualify. Southgate said: "The first-half performance in the main was outstanding. Harry gave a fantastic centre-forward's performance ... I thought his all-round game was excellent." Getty -
November 15, 2021. San Marino 0 England 10 (Maguire 6', Fabbri og 15'), Kane pen 27', 31', pen 39', 42'), Smith Rowe 58', Mings 69', Abraham 78', Saka 79'): England reached double figures for the first time since 1964 and secured their spot in Qatar. Southgate said: "We gave a performance that was enjoyable for the supporters that travelled, was clinical in the way we went about it, and then showed some exciting young players coming through." Reuters
The nature of that defeat, and England’s dismal form generally in 2022, means that they will need to turn things around in Qatar to have any chance of realising their dreams.
Southgate will be hoping some of his players can find their form. Harry Kane recently set a Premier League record for most goals scored at a single club, but those around him have been misfiring.
In particular, England will hope their defensive options rise to the challenge, with Harry Maguire, John Stones and – in front of them – Declan Rice, all in need of a pick-me-up.
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Star player: Harry Kane
One to watch: Phil Foden
World Cup finals appeared in: 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966 (winners), 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
Fixtures: Nov 21 - England v Iran; Nov 25 - England v USA; Nov 29 - Wales v England
