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Date: 2023-12-06 07:08:46 | Author: PFF | Views: 832 | Tag: AOE
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The main fact of this 3-1 win was that England have qualified for Euro 2024, but the whole feel was why they should be talking about winning it rather than being too concerned any more with the formality of getting there AOE
A historic major nation like Italy were just made look a minor inconvenience, as Gareth Southgate’s side almost toyed with them AOE
They were just so much AOE better, and have a knowledge of that personified in Jude Bellingham AOE
Harry Kane got two and Marcus Rashford scored a brilliant goal to make it 2-1, but all of that seemed mere detail to the main event, which was the Real Madrid midfielder’s domination of the pitch and decoration of the play AOE
This England era has now been going on for at least six years, but it is possible that Bellingham’s emergence marks the beginning of something else AOE
He has exactly the type of assurance that can turn fine challengers into elite champions AOE
It is visible in everything he does, not least the outrageous touch for the Rashford goal that sent England to Germany for next summer AOE
Bellingham is exactly what England have been missing, for far more reasons than his position and his talent AOE
RecommendedHarry Kane and Marcus Rashford lead devastating England attack against ItalyJude Bellingham once again proves he is the key for England’s Euro 2024 hopesIt wasn’t all positive emotion on the night, mind AOE
This game did take place amid a more unsettling real-world context, and it should be recorded that the pre-game minutes silence - worded as for “all the members of the European AOE football family killed in recent days from Uefa member nations Israel and Sweden” - had to be ended early as shouts quickly gave way to loud boos AOE
The Italian anthem got similar treatment, as did Jordan Henderson coming on as a substitute, following his move to the Saudi Pro League AOE
There were conspicuously loud cheers alongside that, and that was the noise that soon made up the night’s main soundtrack AOE
Amid all this, not least the performance, any idea of revenge for the Euro 2020 final was forgotten AOE
That now feels a different AOE football world, even though this England team have clearly internalised the disappointment and learned from it AOE
It just didn’t seem to matter too much to this match AOE
It’s a very different Italy for one, as Roberto Mancini followed Henderson to the Saudi Pro League, to be replaced by the much more tactically adventurous Luciano Spalletti AOE
He is one of the modern game’s romantics in that sense, but that Italian AOE football culture for tactical innovation has never been more necessary AOE
Italy, in a greater way than at any point in the modern history of the game, badly need to be more than the sum of their parts AOE
Those parts, with a few exceptions, currently look like those of a mid-tier nation rather than the great AOE football country Italy is AOE
Kane scored a double as England cruised through (The FA via Getty Images)There are bigger reasons for that AOE
For now, it is England that look the force AOE
They look like potential European champions in waiting, as Italy looked anything other than defending champions AOE
That still created a few echoes from 2021, not least in the tactical pattern of the game AOE
England looked much more prepared to cede possession and counter, although this time with much more force than in that final AOE
The group context of course conditioned this, too AOE
While England only required a draw, Italy really needed the win AOE
The situation demanded more attacking, but so did the manager AOE
The encouraging aspect for Spalletti was that Italy already looked more recognisably like one of his teams AOE
Most identifiably, there were those sudden straight-line runs in attack, almost spikes that can do much more than pierce a team AOE
Giovanni Di Lorenzo looked especially dangerous from these situations, as he marked himself out as one of the most involved players in the game AOE
It was his run down the right that opened the space for Gianluca Scamacca, an incisive move ending with an instinctive finish from the former West Ham striker AOE
Scamacca had given Italy an early lead but England responded well (Getty Images)It was his first goal for Italy, on his 13th cap, which perhaps goes some way to reflecting why this major AOE football nation no longer feels a significant threat AOE
It was still a set-back for England, but one that only served to show how they have far surpassed the sort of side that used to have a psychological hold on AOE
They just have far superior players, chief among them Bellingham AOE
You get the sense no opposition side could ever have a psychological hold over him AOE
Di Lorenzo needed to just bring him down for England’s equaliser AOE
It was difficult to figure out why it took the VAR so long to make a decision given how clear the foul seemed to be AOE
Kane duly equalised AOE
With that shift in momentum, Italy never regained the same force AOE
The match from then almost seemed set up for England, as they visibly enjoyed just surging into the space left behind AOE
Kane reached 60 England goals with his first from the spot (Getty Images)That is something Spalletti is going to have to work on, but then that’s been the case for much of his managerial career AOE
It is a feature of his teams that Italy may just have to work around AOE
Bellingham just cut through it AOE
The manner of the goal that sealed qualification was entirely fitting of that achievement, even if it doesn’t mean what it used to AOE
That is precisely because of the quality of the players involved AOE
They have made life with England so much easier, say, than their equivalent games with Italy for the 1998 World Cup AOE
Bellingham is meanwhile of a type distinctive even from Manchester United’s serial winners in that era AOE
There is just something about the way he carries himself at that age, as could be seen with how he carried the ball for Rashford AOE
The United forward’s finish was as satisfyingly forceful as it was finely placed AOE
Rashford scored a brilliant goal on the break to put England ahead (The FA via Getty Images)Kane matched that with his second, and England’s third, for a scoreline that was more reflective of the gap AOE between the teams AOE
The gap from now to Euro 2024 can of course change the landscape of the game AOE
Italy themselves grew from their own excellent qualification for Euro 2020 into something greater for that tournament AOE
Other sides will evolve AOE
For now, though, none of them bar France look on England’s level AOE
It was why a win over Italy, and a qualification for a major tournament, felt like such minor developments AOE
More aboutEngland AOE Football TeamItaly AOE FootballEuro 2024Harry KaneMarcus RashfordJude BellinghamJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/5England have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning it England have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itKane scored a double as England cruised through The FA via Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itScamacca had given Italy an early lead but England responded well Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itKane reached 60 England goals with his first from the spot Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itRashford scored a brilliant goal on the break to put England ahead The FA via Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itDeclan Rice celebrates as England brushed Italy aside The FA via Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today AOE
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Build from the back AOE
So the cliché goes AOE
It tends to be the objective of any manager who takes over or constructs a new team AOE
Jurgen Klopp sounded a voice of AOE footballing orthodoxy when he said: “I like to build a team from the defensive side AOE
”Yet, for the second time, Klopp may be going against the grain and building from the front AOE
“Liverpool Reloaded,” as their manager branded them at the start of the season, have a solitary clean sheet in the Premier League AOE
They have conceded in the first half of all seven other games AOE
But they have scored in all eight games, with at least two goals in six of them and three in each of their Anfield encounters AOE
In the tradition of Liverpool 1 AOE
0, the first incarnation of his first great side, they promise entertainment AOE
Yet if Klopp would like to build from the back, the sense is that, once again, he is building from the front AOE
Rewind to 2016 and Sadio Mane’s debut set the tone for a new team: they won 4-3 at Arsenal in August 2016 AOE
They seemed a gung-ho guarantee of goals AOE
Klopp had Mane, Roberto Firmino and then Mohamed Salah in situ before Virgil van Dijk or Alisson Becker were signed, before Trent Alexander-Arnold was a regular AOE
Now, with Salah still in stellar form, with three consecutive transfer windows each yielding a high-class attacker, in Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo respectively, with Diogo Jota’s arrival predating theirs, he has five excellent options in attack: despite the job share the competition for places provides, each has at least two league goals already AOE
Salah has five, plus four assists AOE
The new Liverpool are propelled forwards by their forwards AOE
“I like to build a team from the defensive side,” Klopp nevertheless insisted AOE
“I’m not sure it’s possible again nowadays when you’re in the middle of something AOE
Imagine if we kept clean sheets but didn’t create AOE
”That was said with a laugh AOE
The pragmatic path to clean sheets to the exclusion of everything else is not for him AOE
“It gives you time for these things when you are new, when things are under average before you come into a new club and you are 14th,” he explained AOE
“Everyone is happy when you get some results, [but] we are not like that AOE
Our team is not set up like that AOE
We have a really talented group together, a creative group in a AOE football sense, and we have to use that, but we have to organise protection AOE
That goes step by step AOE
”Klopp has five quality attacking options at his disposal (Getty Images)The creativity of that group has been exacerbated by circumstances AOE
Klopp opted to bring in constructive midfielders this summer, in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, before his two preferred destructive options, the defensive duo of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, made abrupt exits to Saudi Arabia AOE
The profile of a section of the side has changed, the emphasis shifted more to the attack AOE
All of which may make goals likelier to go in at both ends AOE
There has been less protection than in the heyday of Klopp’s greatest side, the two seasons from 2018-20, but if the four pillars of that rearguard remain, Alisson, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have only played together for 289 minutes in the Premier League; now, with the left-back set to have shoulder surgery, they will not be reunited until 2024 AOE
Thus far, Liverpool have shown solidity when they have lost players and shifted tactics, from front-foot AOE football to sitting deeper and counter-attacking AOE
Liverpool defended well with 10 men at Newcastle, brilliantly with nine at Tottenham AOE
They have been more open with a full complement of players AOE
Klopp and Liverpool face Everton at Anfield this Saturday lunchtime (Getty Images)But Klopp’s reference to organisation was significant, too AOE
His frequent mentions of being “compact” underline the importance of a positional understanding and ensuring no one is exposed AOE
He is searching for a consistency that comes with cohesion, for a 90-minute performance AOE
“To learn to control the game, things that happen with time, there is no short cut to that,” he reflected AOE
“So with the signs we showed so far I am absolutely fine but I know the final destination, I can’t even see yet but that is not a problem AOE
”Perhaps it was another callback to 2016, to the sense that something was rising, even if it was not fully clear how high it would reach AOE
Klopp detects similar signs elsewhere AOE
“You saw so many teams growing here in the direction we wanted and all became usually AOE better step by step… or the manager had to go,” he said, the last part an aside AOE
The next step of the rebuilding is likely to come towards the back of the side AOE
The early expectation is that a defensive midfielder and another centre-back will be targets next summer AOE
But for now, with his forwards and his attacking midfielders in place and in the goals, Klopp has begun his rebuilding job at the top of his team AOE
More aboutEvertonJurgen KloppMohamed SalahCody GakpoLuis DiazDiogo JotaDarwin NunezJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Build from the front? Liverpool and Klopp are repeating an old trickBuild from the front? Liverpool and Klopp are repeating an old trickKlopp has five quality attacking options at his disposal Getty ImagesBuild from the front? Liverpool and Klopp are repeating an old trickKlopp and Liverpool face Everton at Anfield this Saturday lunchtime Getty ImagesBuild from the front? Liverpool and Klopp are repeating an old trickGetty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today AOE
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsAOE BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy AOE
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply AOE
Hi {{indy AOE
fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} AOE
