Euro 2020 being postponed to 2021 could provide some of England’s best players with a better chance of being fit and in top form when the continental championship comes around.
There isn’t a great deal of certainty washing around soccer right now, but one thing was made certain this week – Euro 2020 won’t be played this summer. Or in 2020 at all. Indeed, Europe’s most prestigious international tournament has been postponed until the summer of 2021 in light of the global coronavirus crisis, giving the continent’s suspended leagues a chance to now be completed.
But while the preparations of many national teams are now in tatters, England could benefit from the decision to shift the European Championships back a year.
The news of the postponement was surely welcomed by the country’s captain and top scorer Harry Kane, for one. The Tottenham Hotspur striker was widely expected to miss the rest of the season through injury, leaving him scrambling to be fit for the Euros. Now, Kane will have another 12 months to find fitness and form.
Marcus Rashford finds himself in a similar situation. Had this summer’s Euros gone ahead as originally planned the Manchester United forward would have been an injury doubt having missed the last two months of action due to a back strain.
Southgate faced being without his two best strikers for Euro 2020. Of course, there’s no guarantee that England’s injury fortune will be better next year than this, but Southgate will surely relish another roll of the dice.
What’s more, a number of England’s young players will benefit from another year of elite-level experience.
Jack Grealish, for instance, could be playing in the Champions League by this time next year. The 24-year-old has marked himself out as one of the country’s brightest young talents this season, impressing for Aston Villa in the Premier League, and is widely to make a big money switch this summer, whether it’s to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham or one of the other top tier clubs to have been linked.
It’s in midfield where England must improve most urgently. This was evident at the 2018 World Cup. Southgate led the Three Lions to the semifinals, but struggled against a Croatian side that was able to control the match through the center of the pitch. Up against the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, England had no answer.
The emergence of Grealish could help to address this. He is someone who can unlock opposition defenses from the edge of the box, make late runs into the area and is a goal threat himself. Phil Foden is another who could fit the bill. Long billed as England’s very own Andres Iniesta-lite, the 19-year-old had forced his way into the Man City first team before the suspension of the season.
With David Silva set to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer, Foden is widely expected to be installed as a key figure for City from next season. Euro 2021, as it is now, could come at the ideal time for the young midfielder, at the end of a potential breakout season for one of the best teams in the country.
While Southgate lacked central creators at the 2018 World Cup, he could have two of the highest caliber for the European Championships.
The country’s goalkeeping situation might also be a little clearer by 2021. As things stand, it’s the one position where England look somewhat vulnerable, with Southgate’s number one Jordan Pickford suffering a disappointing campaign and Dean Henderson, widely seen as the best option to replace him, unproven at international level. It’s not completely out of the question that by Euro 2021 Henderson, currently on loan at Sheffield United from Man Utd, will be first choice at Old Trafford. He will surely have been inducted into the England side by then.
England boast a group of young players that could feasibly take them to the top of the international game. After a Round-of-16 exit at Euro 2016 and then a World Cup semifinal in 2018, another year to forge an even better team out of that group will almost certainly serve Southgate well. The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Maddison, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling are among Europe’s best and England now have an extra year to prepare to become the same.