Croatian midfield threat poses Southgate dilemma – Football



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By Simon Evans

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REPINO, Russia, July 9 (Reuters) – Manager Gareth Southgate has largely respected the tactical approach of England at this tournament, but the challenge of a semifinal of the World Cup against Croatia Wednesday in Moscow poses a delicate dilemma.

Croatia is arguably the strongest midfielder of the Barcelona tournament, Ivan Rakitic and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric, while England plays with a central midfielder , Jordan Henderson.

The Southgate system is designed to probe weaknesses through a trio of offensive players operating behind and around attacker Harry Kane, all of whom have to contribute to defensive work when the team does not. has no possession.

That means that Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling – none of them are noted for the defensive side of their game – have to put a strain on the closure of space and the harassment of their opponents.

Up to now, this has worked rather well. Taking both a huge responsibility and a huge workload, Henderson was excellent and the attacking trio helped him enough to make sure he was not overwhelmed.

But with Rakitic and Modric operating in the center and Andrej Kramaric inclined to give up behind lone striker Mario Mandzukic, the danger of Croatia dominating the central areas is very real for England.

The obvious option for Southgate would be to strengthen this region by calling on Eric Dier to help Henderson and consolidate the middle of the park.

That would amount to sacrificing one of the three midfield attackers, which may disrupt the balance of training and reduce the effectiveness of England with the ball .

The impression up here is that Southgate trusts its system and its players, and does not want to let the opposition dictate its approach.

But after two knockout games in which they were favorites against Colombia and Sweden, England now faces a high-quality and highly tactical opponent and Southgate must decide if his confidence-building is really suited to such a task.

WHO TO KISS?

Another area of ​​concern for England will be the extensive areas, where Kieran Trippier was outstanding in his role as a right-wing attacker and Ashley Young did an effective job on the left.

Croatia attacked the quality to Ivan Perisic on the left and Ante Rebic on the opposite flank, both of which will give England a lot of defensive work.
Perisic and Rebic can cut inside to support Mandzukic inside the left and right roles, which means even more pressure on Henderson though he's not accompanied.

If Southgate brought Dier, it would be a very difficult decision to decide which of his attacking trio he should sacrifice.

Jesse Lingard was excellent and certainly a beginner, leaving the choice between Dele Alli, who scored in the 2-0 win against Sweden, but who hit a shot and who was quiet, and Raheem Sterling.

Sterling caused a lot of trouble to Sweden, stretching him with his move Saturday, but he missed a great opportunity and the fact that he did not score for the first time. England since October 2015 is a major concern for the most advanced trio.

Southgate is loyal to his players and would be reluctant to leave out the Manchester City striker. He will not want to disrupt training that has taken his team to the last four.

But Croatia is, unlike Colombia and Sweden, a team that can dominate possession for long periods of time while they seek to exploit defensive deficiencies.

Then, as much for Southgate as for his counterpart Zlatko Dalic, to think before their meeting in Moscow. (Simon Evans report, edited by John O & # 39; Brien)

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