It’s coming home. At least that’s what just about every English person is saying right now. Laugh at them if you want, but based off how this England side is playing right now, it might actually be coming home.
Many fans would associate England with being one of the most underwhelming sides on the international stage. In terms of World Cup performance, England made the quarterfinals in 2006, followed that up with a Round of 16 finish in 2010 and then in 2014, they failed to make it out of the group stage.
Let's not forget the performances at the European Championships. They did not even qualify in 2008 under the watch of Steve McClaren, yet he had some world-class players that were in their prime. Euro 2012 saw the Three Lions finish in the quarterfinals, while in 2016, they crashed out in the Round of 16 after a loss to minnows Iceland.
The path had been rocky for so many years. High expectations were met with a significantly lower level of performance. But why? Was it because there was too much pressure placed on the side? Was it years and years of purely picking players based on their profile and prestige as opposed to their performances?
The smart answer for this would be a combination of both. It might even be a case of English supporters expecting too much from players that were overrated, pure and simple.
But what set the spark for such a dramatic shift? It starts with Sam Allardyce mutually terminating his contract with the English FA after a scandal where he told Daily Telegraph reporters of ways to navigate around third party ownerships of players.
Had Allardyce remained in charge, it could have been another dismal showing at the World Cup.
Gareth Southgate was subsequently placed in temporary charge of the English national side in September 2016, but after some positive results, he was given the full time gig two months later.
Southgate had experienced success working as the manager of the England under-21 side, and he managed a number of the young players in the current England national team when he worked with the under-21s.
The biggest key for the big turnaround from the Three Lions is the significant amount of youth in the side. The 2018 World Cup squad features only three players over the age of 30: Gary Cahill, Ashley Young and Jamie Vardy. The youth of the team bring a large amount of energy, and they have all performed very well for their clubs this season.
The decision to not pick Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere for the team was seen as a major turning point in terms of not going for the tried and tested.
Nick Pope was originally the back-up goalkeeper to Tom Heaton at Burnley this season, but after Heaton was injured early on, Pope got his chance and never looked back. Now, he is a part of the squad that is two games away from a World Cup final.
Southgate has also tried to play a progressive style of soccer, operating in a 3-5-2 formation for his matches. It offers plenty of excitement for supporters, and Southgate utilises each and every one of his players for attacking and defending.
Previous managers have often gone with a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2, especially Roy Hodgson. We all know how his tenure ended up so I won’t delve into his time as England manager too much. But I will say that he lost to Iceland and couldn’t make it out of the group at the 2014 World Cup.
Anyways, this Three Lions side has brought passion, energy and pride back to the shirt. England are set to take on Sweden in what should be a very interesting encounter, and if all goes as planned for Southgate and co., we could see them in the final four at the World Cup.
With all the positivity around this English side, I am more and more inclined to believe that it really, truly is coming home.
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