A man of the match performance from Bukayo Saka helped England to a 1-0 win over Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night.
The win saw England top Group D on 7 points, setting up a round of 16 tie against Germany. Croatia finished 2nd in the group with Czech Republic progressing as one of the best 3rd place teams.
Southgate made 4 changes from the side which struggled in a 0-0 draw against Scotland, bringing in Walker, Maguire, Grealish and Saka for James, Mings, Mount and Foden.
The biggest surprise was Saka coming in for Foden, having not featured at all for England in their first two games. Saka had previously played against Czech left back Boril in a 4-0 win for Arsenal over Slavia Prague in April, resulting in Boril being substituted at half time, potentially factoring into Southgate’s decision.
Saka seized his opportunity, providing England with 3 important assets that they will need for the rest of the tournament: drive, control in tight spaces, and defensive intelligence.
Drive:
In the lead up to England’s goal, Saka demonstrated his ability to receive the ball, drive at the opposition defence, and get England up the pitch to create an attack.
Saka received the ball from Walker in his own half, taking the ball on his back foot which allowed him to turn away from the nearest Czech player and progress the ball forward.
Once turned, Saka is then able to dribble the ball up the pitch, into the Czech Republic half, before releasing the ball wide to Phillips as a defender comes to put pressure on him.
Stuck in a 2 vs 1 created by Saka, the defender decides to go out wide to pressure Phillips, allowing Saka to sprint beyond him and receive the ball back as he entered the penalty area.
Saka then turned in the box, creating space for a right footed cross which he overhit, but Grealish at the back post kept the attack alive.
Saka did not stop once he has played the cross, getting himself back onside and running across a defender as Grealish put the ball in from the other side. Saka’s run dragged a Czech defender with him, leaving Sterling with an uncontested header at the back post to put England 1-0.
The goal was made by Saka’s ability to turn on the ball, drive England from their own third into the penalty box, and continue to be a threat off the ball. England lacked these qualities in their first two games.
Control in tight spaces:
Midway through the first half, Saka demonstrated his ability to operate in tight spaces, an asset that will become increasingly useful as England face tougher defences later in the tournament.
Following a corner, the ball flicked up into the air towards Saka on the edge of the box. He plucked the ball out of the air perfectly, despite pressure from a Czech Republic defender.
Saka quickly turned away from his man, creating some separation to allow him to weigh up his options on the edge of the box.
Saka’s control forced a Czech Republic defender to close him down, but Saka was able to use his quick feet to get past the defender, only to be tripped from behind before he had the chance to find Shaw out wide.
During the game, the referee did not give the decision, but the replays clearly highlighted the contact which should have resulted in a foul and a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. With England struggling to score from open play, set pieces could be crucial, therefore Saka’s ability to win them is an important asset.
Defensive intelligence:
A trait Saka has displayed throughout his time at Arsenal, and once again against Czech Republic, is his defensive intelligence. Both in the press, and on the cover, Saka is able to impact the game and help his team in a way other attackers do not.
As Czech Republic begin to break on England’s left side, Saka begins his sprint back in a central position, staying in the play and giving him flexibility of where to cover.
With the ball about to be played to the byline, Saka is positioned on the edge of the box. Walker has drifted in field to mark an attacker, leaving a man free at the back post.
As the cross is played in, Saka’s positioning compliments the positions of the rest of his team. Maguire is pressuring the cross, Walker is covering the 6 yard box, Pickford is covering any aerial crosses across the 6 yard box, and Saka slots in to cover both of the options on the cutback.
The ball gets cut back towards the free man at the back post, but because Saka had tracked back and positioned well, he was able to intercept the cross and clear the ball.
Whilst a winger’s role is not primarily to defend, having the instinct to track back and sniff out danger is another skill which will become increasingly vital as the tournament goes on and, with Raheem Sterling likely to continue on the other wing, having Saka track back helps the balance of the team.
Saka provides England with unique qualities, and crucially qualities that they need. What he showed against Czech Republic was a continuation of what he has shown for Arsenal all season and he is not going to shy away from the moment.
As a minimum Saka should be involved in England’s knockout games from the bench, but given his display against Czech Republic, he deserves to start against Germany in the next round.
Germany represent England’s toughest test of the tournament so far. The German’s escaped a difficult group, having beaten Portugal 4-2, drawn to Hungary 2-2 and lost to France 1-0.
They have been playing a 3-4-3 system with Gosens and Kimmich as wing backs, and a combination of Havertz, Müller, Gnabry and Sané up top. Against Portugal, their system worked to perfection with Gosens getting a goal and an assist from left wing back in just 62 minutes.
England are going to have to monitor Gosens out wide and including Saka on the right wing could be the perfect way to do that. Saka has both the intelligence to help out defensively and help cover England’s right back, as well as the attacking threat to exploit the spaces left by Gosens.
On the other flank, it is vital that Sterling offers a threat in behind with Kimmich, Ginter and Hummels all slower than the England man, and the potential to dovetail with Kane dropping deep and moving the defence should afford England space to work with.
Another option England have is to match Germany with a 3-4-3 of their own. James could come in at right wing back, with Walker dropping to centre back to nullify the threat of Gosens. Whilst on the left side, Saka could operate as a left wing back, looking to exploit the space behind Kimmich, with Grealish drifting infield ahead.
It is set to be an interesting tactical battle and with England favouring being solid at the back, it is likely to be a close game.
Prediction: England 2-1 Germany *after extra time
In Arsenal news, Mavropanos re-joined Stuttgart on loan on Thursday, with an obligation to buy should Stuttgart stay up, in a deal which could be worth up to £5 million.
Mavropanos joined Arsenal in January 2018 for £1.8 million from Greek side PAS Giannina. Despite being scouted by Sven Mislintat, it never really worked out for Mavropanos at Arsenal, only making 8 senior appearances for the club.
By all accounts Mavropanos had a successful time at Stuttgart last season so a return seems a good move for the player and Arsenal will make a profit at the same time.
Adam Perry – 25/06/2021