England midfield must take control in bid to match Euro 2024 pass masters
If there is a concern for Gareth Southgate after the first round of matches at Euro 2024, it might be a tediously familiar one.
Watching Germany metronome Toni Kroos, Spain pair Rodri and Pedri and France’s N’Golo Kante continue to run games, it remains easy to wonder if England will struggle for midfield control at the business end of the tournament, particularly after their patchy second half against Serbia.
Southgate has acknowledged that England do not have a player such as Kroos or Croatia’s Luka Modric, able “to control the rhythm of a game”, and the manager is instead playing to his squad’s strengths by building a team full of energy, vision and explosive power, with Trent Alexander-Arnold expected to continue next to Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham against Denmark here in Frankfurt on Thursday afternoon.
Like Serbia, the Danes are set to use a back-five out of possession and Southgate believes Alexander-Arnold can unlock packed defences.
“He’s less likely to be a player who dictates tempo,” the manager said. “What I do see is that range of passing and that ability to open up a defence that might be blocking spaces, defending low.”
The tempo-setting, possession-keeping element is still necessary, however, and Denmark have the personnel to test England’s ability to control a game for 90 minutes.
Premier League pair Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are likely to be joined by Sporting Lisbon’s Morten Hjulmand in a ponderous but technical midfield three.
Eriksen is already one of the stories of the Championship after capping an excellent performance with the opening goal in Denmark’s 1-1 draw with Slovenia, his first Euros appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch in their opening game against Finland three years ago.
“It’s heart-warming to see him come back and score,” Southgate said. “It was almost written, but it is only written if you have the mentality and the desire to get back and play at the level he has.”
Eriksen, 32, is not quite the player who was puppet-master for Tottenham, but his display in Stuttgart suggests he is still his country’s difference-maker, and may simply be another casualty of the chronic dysfunction at Manchester United.
“You know that the quality of his passing, his ability to score goals, the quality of his set-plays is exceptional, absolutely exceptional,” Southgate said.
Like Eriksen, Hojbjerg spent most of last season on the bench, for Spurs, but he has a good range of passing and can look after the ball when required. Hjulmand is a hard-working enforcer, comfortable in possession.
Denmark faded against Slovenia and were susceptible to the counter-punch, but they were composed in possession, completing 590 passes — more than England managed on Sunday — and will take encouragement from the way Serbia forced Southgate’s side onto the back foot.
Southgate has acknowledged that England’s new-look midfield remains a “work in progress”, and if they are to compete with the technical masters of Germany, Spain, France and Portugal in the knockouts, they must prove they can control the game against a team that wants to have the ball.
