The England national team have consistently been nearly men under Gareth Southgate. Their best FIFA World Cup run ended in the semi-finals of 2018 against Croatia, and their Euro 2020 campaign ended in a devastating penalty shootout defeat in the final against Italy.
Going into the European Championship in Germany next year, however, England looks well suited to finally go all the way and secure major international glory.
England’s immense depth
England has arguably the strongest national pool across the European continent at present. A number of Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League winners notably make up the team’s core.
Kyle Walker, John Stones and Jack Grealish all regularly start for their club as well as England. The trio’s experience of winning the greatest club trophies could be invaluable to the England setup.
Kyle Walker with his first Champions League trophy. pic.twitter.com/nlJe7dZFxD
— City Report (@cityreport_) June 10, 2023
They’ll focus on the UCL again this year before they head off to the Euros. According to the current markets for Champions League bets, City is the 2/1 favourite to win the competition. Champions League tips also suggest that Bayern Munich could provide the strongest opposition – incidentally, they’re led by England captain Harry Kane.
It’s a huge positive for the English national team to have its regulars competing for the top club honours in between their international endeavours. Building a winning mentality is crucial if England are to triumph next summer.
Besides the standout seasoned winners, England also has a wide range of quality all over the pitch. Jordan Pickford will likely be positioned between the sticks for Southgate, and in defence, the likes of Kieran Trippier and Fikayo Tomori may not even be starters for England, despite being regulars for Champions League clubs.
In midfield, England has the vastly experienced Jordan Henderson, who is the perfect leader to help the less experienced talents in the squad gel and perform under the highest pressure levels for their nation.
When it comes to the wingers, Jarrod Bowen, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford are the top dogs with experience on the starting squad. In contrast, Ollie Watkins and Callum Wilson are examples of more remarkable attacking talent who will probably have to settle for the bench.
England could likely construct a backup 11 that could compete at the latter stages of the Euros. Southgate has control of a golden generation that is rapidly approaching its peak, and 2024 has to be their time to mark that with major success.
France is also strong
England may have the edge as they seemingly have no flaw in any single position. Nonetheless, France also has a well-rounded squad that certainly has ambitions of beating England to the honours in 2024.
Most notably, the French have Antoine Griezmann, who is one of the world’s best players based on this season’s form.
Coucou @equipedefrance 👋🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/dXwero6460
— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) November 13, 2023
In defence, the likes of Jules Kounde, Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Lucas Hernandez and Theo Hernandez are available to Didier Deschamps, as well as a plethora of other options from Europe’s top clubs.
The midfield area has bypassed the days of a Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante pivot, but Adrien Rabiot is a fitting leader alongside the nation’s numerous developing talents.
Griezmann is joined in the attack by key members of the 2018 World Cup-winning squad such as Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele.
France are realistically the only team that could genuinely challenge England at the European Championships. They have an excellent range of starting players, but their substitute bench certainly does not stretch as far as the Three Lions.
It will surely be England or France next summer, although Southgate’s team have the edge when it comes to the depth of quality within their ranks. 2024 simply has to be their crowning moment, they will not get a greater chance to conquer Europe under their current coach.
