Three Lions disappoint in the preliminary round: are England still favorites?

Tagesspiegel Three Lions disappoint in the preliminary round: are England still favorites? Story by Kit Holden • 10 hours • 4 minutes reading time After four points from two games, England has one foot in the round of 16 but is still being booed by their own fans. The pressure on the coach is growing. At the final whistle there were boos from the stands and later at the press conference there was a kind of apocalyptic mood. With head shaking, eye rolling and a lot of frustration, the English then said goodbye to the Frankfurt evening. It almost seemed as if their team had already been completely eliminated from the European Championship after two games. The Three Lions had played 1:1 against Denmark and had practically qualified for the round of 16 with their fourth point in the second game. But their performance was not right again. After the unconvincing opening win against Serbia, the English had played almost worse in Frankfurt. And now they are slowly starting to doubt their own title dreams. "If we want to achieve what is expected of us, we have to improve," said coach Gareth Southgate after the game. Before this tournament, England was still considered a major favorite: the time seemed ripe for the first European Championship victory and the first title since 1966. Instead, old neuroses are now being unpacked. A toxic brew of too high expectations, too little patience and too much know-it-all attitude is simmering again. Southgate sits like a sinner in the confessional Even in the tram before the game, the England fans were moaning about their coach. Southgate was too conservative, too unimaginative. He was not able to properly use the incredibly talented attackers in the English ranks. The experts saw it similarly, and so after the game the coach sat like a repentant sinner in the confessional and asked for forgiveness. "I can completely understand the fans' frustration. We have to accept that this is our reality now. We are expected to win at the highest level. If we don't reach that level, we have to accept everything that comes our way," said the 53-year-old, taking responsibility for himself. "We have to accept this challenge, and that is ultimately my job." More and more observers are beginning to doubt whether he can still master this task. Against Denmark, England not only looked pale, but also haphazard. They relied too much on exceptional talents such as Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden and hardly acted as a unit, especially when pressing. The goal was also only scored because of a serious mistake on the opposing side. It must be acknowledged that, despite all the quality in the squad, Southgate is struggling with personnel problems. Captain Harry Kane is still not fully fit in attack, while other positions are simply poorly staffed. Trent Alexander-Arnold, a trained full-back, is still playing in the double six. Right-footer Kieran Trippier is playing on the left wing because Luke Shaw is currently injured. "Tripps did a great job, but if your best left-back isn't available, you don't get balance," said Southgate. To achieve something extraordinary, you have to go through difficult moments. And today was undoubtedly a difficult moment. Gareth Southgate Nevertheless, many are baffled by the way England approach their games. Against both Serbia and Denmark, they took an early lead and then immediately retreated to manage the game. In the first game, that worked well. In the second, it backfired. While Spain and Germany inspire with lots of goals, England's negativity dampens the mood. Southgate is self-critical and defiant But what do the British always say about the Germans? You shouldn't write them off too soon. Tournaments aren't won in the first two games, and certainly not with unrestrained attacking football. Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament - England could end up in the same tournament bracket as France and Italy as group winners - it might still be worth saving energy in the group stage. After all, they now have four points and therefore the best chance of progressing and winning the group. In the midst of Thursday's misery, you had to ask yourself whether everything was really that bad. Despite all the self-criticism, Southgate was also a little defiant - if only between the lines. "To achieve something extraordinary, you have to go through such difficult moments. And today was undoubtedly a difficult moment," he said. "But England have never won the first two games of a European Championship, and there is a reason for that." That almost sounded like a little dig at the journalist sitting in front of him.