World Cup: England can make it to the quarterfinals

We are just a few sleeps away from the World Cup. There are a few teams that have decreased in quality over the past 4 years. England is not one of them and they look to be a serious contender in this competition.

I am not English and I couldn’t care less whether they win or lose. In fact, I’m hoping Messi will finally be holding a World Cup trophy. Still, England’s chances for going far this time around are undeniable. In fact, they have good odds of making it to the quarter-finals. This is due to two major factors- how strong their team is and how weak their groups will be.

Strength of the Lions

In preparation for the World Cup, the Three Lions won their last two friendlies. These victories were both against decent teams and brightened the hopes of many fans. They allowed less than five shots on target in each game and retained the majority of possession.

This is good news since the defense has been a concern for England at times. They have some quite capable players in Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill, Harry Maguire, and John Stones. Walker is the most skilled of the four after a dominant season with Manchester City.

While on paper England play with three players in the backfield, it is actually more like five since Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose serve as wing-backs. This a good formation by manager Gareth Southgate since it strengthens the defense while dangerously pushing up the sides. This was on full display against Nigeria where Trippier got an assist in the 7th minute.

Of course, England has two world-class attackers in Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling. These players will be among the greatest in this World Cup, each coming off of red-hot seasons. Kane scored 30 times and Raheem contributed 18 goals with 11 assists.

Backing these two is a talented supporting cast featuring Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, and Danny Welbeck. While these players may not be the best in the Cup, they certainly give England a fighting chance. The Three Lions are spoiled for choice when it comes to the attack.

Between the attack and the defense, though, we find the Achilles’ heal. If you look at the formation Southgate has been using lately, it looks as if he’s completely ignored filling in the midfield. Alli, Lingard, and Welbeck are all attackers and Eric Dier plays more as an extra defender. All there really is in the midfield is Jordan Henderson and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

As central-midfielders, Henderson and Loftus-Cheek would not make the starting 11 on many World Cup teams. This season, Henderson started many of Liverpool’s attacks with long-balls and crosses into the box. Still, he only racked up one assist and scored only one goal.

Loftus-Cheek didn’t fare that much better for Crystal Palace this year. In the 2017/2018 campaign, he scored only two times and assisted a decent five times. Still, quite underwhelming for a nation’s starting central midfielders.

Southgate seems to have ignored this part of the pitch in his strategy. He has instead focused on driving up the wing and play in the box. Why wouldn’t he? His team certainly lends itself to this kind of play and England has the players to make it a success.