EURO 2020 | GRAEME SOUNESS
The only thing missing from Gilmour’s game was a goal - add that to a repeat performance and Scotland can go through.
England will get nowhere with two steady Eddies in central midfield. They need someone like Billy Gilmour.
Graeme SounessSaturday June 19 2021, 12.00pm, The Sunday Times
If Billy Gilmour were English, he would be in Gareth Southgate’s side for Tuesday’s match against the Czech Republic. Factor in that Friday at Wembley was his first start for Scotland, that he has not played much for Chelsea this season and that he is only 20, then that was as good as it gets for a competitive debut. He has a lovely habit of passing to the same colour of shirt. The only thing missing from him was getting the winning goal.
Scotland have found a playmaker to build around for the next decade, a proper footballer who can keep the ball in tight areas and does not give it away, which is a wonderful thing to have as a midfielder.
All Scotland’s players gave Steve Clarke, their head coach, eight-out-of-ten performances, so I would stick with the same side for the final group game against Croatia. The expectation will go through the roof again, as it tends to, but Scotland do not want the point they definitely deserved against England to ultimately prove pointless.
They must follow it with the same standard and not sink back to how they played against the Czechs. It is simple for them. They need to score their first goal of the tournament, hope it provides their first win and that, in turn, is enough to make them the first Scotland team to get out of their group at a major finals.
They need to pick up where they left off against England, play with some style and create chances. The hard part now is winning on Tuesday. They will get plaudits for their performance at Wembley, but not any more points.
It reminded me of our 3-2 win against Holland at the 1978 World Cup. We played poorly against Peru and Iran and nobody gave us a chance against a side that would go on to lose a final to the host nation for the second time in four years, but we came out with a point to prove and finally performed as we should have in the previous games. There is always something about Scotland that suddenly surfaces when they have been written off.
Scotland’s midfield was a footballing midfield and that is why they looked to have more rhythm to their passing than England. Gilmour, Callum McGregor and John McGinn were passing and moving around each other really well. McGinn has an incredible engine. He looks knackered, then all of a sudden goes on another sprint. I will tell you how good Scotland’s midfield were: England’s best pass in the game was from Jordan Pickford when he nearly played Raheem Sterling in. That is how Scotland limited them in midfield.
Gilmour outshone Mason Mount and the rest of England’s more illustrious midfield
JOHN PATRICK FLETCHER/ACTION IMAGES/REX
It was easy to forget by the end which team had come into the game low on confidence after being punched on the nose in their first game and which came into it with their tails up after a win. Scotland grew into the game. Grant Hanley was outstanding at centre back and Stephen O’Donnell had a wonderful strike that needed a great save.
I said before the tournament started that England lacked a deep-lying playmaker in the Paul Scholes mould and nothing I have seen so far from them has changed my mind. The make-up of England’s midfield is not right and they were way too pedestrian and predictable against Scotland.
It should be either Kalvin Phillips or Declan Rice as a defensive midfielder, but not both together. They are steady Eddies but there is no real cuteness to their play. If I am playing against them, I know they are in front of me all the time and often so close to each other they could be holding hands.
They are similar but not identical. Rice is a one-dimensional holding midfielder. Phillips has more to his game, he is more of a threat, he has a cuter pass but will not sense danger as much as Rice does.
Kane’s impact on the tournament so far has been minimal
SIMON STACPOOLE/GETTY IMAGES
It could be a case of horses for courses. Rice for the stronger teams and Phillips, who gets forward and contributes as we saw against Croatia, in games where England have more possession. You could use them depending on the circumstances. Bring Rice on to protect a lead or Phillips if you were struggling to score but, I repeat, not both of them when you are trying to create — that simply does not work.
Harry Kane’s performance was lacklustre. A striker relies on his midfield for service 90 per cent of the time and there was not that creativity but he still looks a shadow of himself. He does not look sharp and he is playing so deep it is like he wants to be another midfielder.
On the television gantry, I was watching and expecting him to run the channels when Reece James or Luke Shaw had the ball and he was not. He was playing like a striker coming towards the end of his career, who wants to come to the ball all the time rather than run into the warzone against big, aggressive centre backs.
He should be flying in this tournament if he wants a big-money move from Tottenham Hotspur. The question for Southgate is: does he keep picking Kane until he plays himself into form or try someone else? He could be carrying an injury for all we know.
England have to play with more polish and cohesion, more imagination and cuteness, if they expect to do well. I have not seen it from them so far, but teams can grow into a competition and find some form three or four games into it.
With two holding midfielders, they are set up as if they are playing away rather than at home. They also have to handle the expectation of playing at Wembley, if they want to make it an advantage
