So near and yet so far. The usual story for England at international tournaments.
Whilst the Three Lions have come the closest they ever have to adding to their 1966 World Cup win under Gareth Southgate’s stewardship, the plain fact of the matter is that the national team still haven’t got over the line.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were particularly underwhelming, and when you consider the calibre of player that has pulled on the shirt over the years, that’s nothing less than a disgrace.
But how can it be changed?
Kane and Bellingham were disappointing for England
Stan Collymore believes it’s time that the big names fall in line with the rest of the squad.
“In terms of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham’s individual performances, I’m not so worried about Jude because I think that this was his first tournament on the back of the elation of winning La Liga and the Champions League and being the best player for Real Madrid,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“I think that he came flying out of the blocks in in the first half of the first game at the Euros, but then the drop off in the second half of the first game was was noticeable. He’s got to manage his minutes, his emotional state and his physical state much better.
“Harry had an excuse of already playing year in and year out, whether it be for club or country, in the Premier League, Bundesliga, at World Cups, pre and post-season tournaments, and I think he was genuinely knackered.
“We’ve had this sort of problem before of course, going right the way back to Jimmy Greaves. He got injured before the World Cup in 66, Geoff Hurst comes in and scores a hat-trick in the final, and then stays in the side forever. It happened with Gary Lineker too, and Alan Shearer.
“We had at least 10 strikers waiting to step into Shearer’s shoes at international level, but no one could get a look in even when he went 12 England games without scoring, which would be unthinkable now for any striker.
“From my perspective, I’d like to think that the next coach would look at Harry Kane and say, ‘ok, you’re the number nine, you’ve scored a load of goals over the last decade, but if you’re not doing the business, we’re going to take you off at 60 minutes’ etc.
“Gareth Southgate, to his credit, has smashed the glass ceiling now, and although subbing Kane or leaving him out entirely could have been done sooner, the precedent has been set.
“In future, no matter the name, if you’re playing poorly, the national team coach has to have the bravery to make those big calls for the good of everyone, including themselves.”
It’s hard to disagree with Collymore’s opinion. If it’s all about winning games and winning tournaments for a manager, than outside pressures need to take a back seat.
Managers do have to be brave in making what might ostensibly be considered as bold decisions, whilst players themselves have a duty to hold their hands up if they’re not at it.
Bellingham’s ‘who else’ statement after putting away that last minute overhead kick came back to bite him later in the tournament, because there were a number of players on the bench that could’ve arguably given more to the cause than the 21-year-old.