{"id":1092975,"date":"2019-06-09T17:25:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-09T16:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1092975"},"modified":"2019-06-09T17:25:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T16:25:27","slug":"england-switzerland-nations-league-five-things-learned","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/england-switzerland-nations-league-five-things-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Southgate lacks a midfield spark: Five things learned as England seal third place at Nations League Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

England confirmed third place in the inaugural Uefa Nations League finals, beating Switzerland 6-5 on penalties.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With neither side able to break the deadlock after 120 minutes, the first-ever penalty shootout in the Nations League took place. Both teams scored their first five penalties, taking the shootout to sudden death, with Jordan Pickford saving from Josip Drmic to win the game.<\/p>\n

So, what did we learn?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7278637-klopp-must-solve-wenger-s-dilemma-to-take-liverpool-forward<\/p>\n

1. England missing midfield magic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For some, the Uefa Nations League was meant to cap off a wonderful season for English football. After the two all-English European cup finals, football was bound to come home again with a first trophy since the 1997 Tournoi de France, but it was not meant to be.<\/p>\n

England’s semi-final defeat against Netherlands came largely due to being outclassed in midfield and the third-place playoff against Switzerland brought more of the same.<\/p>\n

The midfield trio of Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Fabian Delph were lacking the spark England needed to get through a well-disciplined Switzerland side, set up to pack the middle of the pitch with three centre-backs.<\/p>\n

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And to make matters worse, apart from Jordan Henderson, Gareth Southgate didn’t really have anyone to call upon, capable of changing the game which begs the question of who should be England’s starting midfielders looking ahead to Euro 2020?<\/p>\n

After the defeat to Netherlands, Harry Winks’ name was mentioned a lot as the missing midfield man, but there is also the small matter of Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Had it not been for an Achilles injury, the Chelsea midfielder would have undoubtedly been starting against Netherlands and could have made all the difference.<\/p>\n

Then there’s James Maddison, who is only not in the England senior squad so he can focus his energy on the Under-21 European champions later this summer. The future in midfield does look bright, England just need to have the right players in the squad.<\/p>\n

2. England’s lop-sided full-back problems<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At right-back, England look set for the future with Trent Alexander-Arnold – who tormented Switzerland with his exquisite crossing – but the Uefa Nations League has shown the Three Lions may have problems on the opposite flank.<\/p>\n

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Trent Alexander-Arnold has created more chances so far against Switzerland (7) than any other England player has managed in total during the entire Nations League campaign.<\/p>\n

It really is first-class delivery. ? pic.twitter.com\/ESKTyYk20H<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) June 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n