England have had a limp in their attack as their forwards have looked quite casual going front and are missing the creativity to cause any sort of threat in the opposition half. However, Southgate needs a few changes in his plans, one of which might include playing Cole Palmer in the next game against the Swiss.
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – JUNE 30: Cole Palmer of England in action during the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between England and Slovakia at Arena AufSchalke on June 30, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
New Delhi: England have made it through to the quarter final of Euro 2024, but they have shown some vulnerabilities throughout the campaign. The major issue that has been exposed in Southgate’s tactics is their lack of inventiveness and the lack of attacking threat. It sounds like a major problem when you have few of the best attacking forwards in the world, including the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham. However, one player that Southgate has not yet utilised is Cole Palmer.
England have looked like a team with no urgency going forward and Southgate’s tactics have recieved a massive amount of criticism. One of the main ones include, not playing Cole Palmer, who had wonderful season with Chelsea having 30+ goal contributions in the league. The 22-year-old forward has been completely sidelined from the English squad, playing just 73 minutes in this Euro campaign. However, within that playing time, the English youngster has already shown a few glimpses of his abilities.
Palmer’s involvement so far
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – JUNE 30: Cole Palmer of England controls the ball during the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between England and Slovakia at Arena AufSchalke on June 30, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
England have missed the finishing touch, but above all they have missed Creativity up the field which has resulted them in sitting back and not producing anything close to real threat for the opposition. Cole Palmer has barely had any sort of involvement till now, but he has certainly looked like the most lively on the pitch for England, whenever he has been given the chance to play. The Manchester City product missed out on most of the group stage matches as he only managed to get 19 minutes of playing time. During the match against Slovakia, Palmer was brought on in the second half as the match proceeded to extra time.
He was the only player since coming on, who looked lively throughout the 54 minutes that he had played and ignited the creativity and caused some problems for the Slovakian defence. Palmer is fresh off from a season full of highs at Chelsea and Southgate needs to understand that his attacking ability is eaxactly what his team needs at the moment.
What can he bring to the squad?
Palmer is a gifted playmaker who knows his business on the pitch. He has been a sensational player for his club and if utilised properly by Southgate, he can cause a lot of damage playing wide towards the flank. His versatility makes him a brilliant squad player who can fill up for any of the forward players and can play on both the flanks, as an offensive midfielder, or even as a false nine. He can prove to be an influential player with his play making abilities and his off-ball running that can create spaces for the his team mates to get into a position where they can cause menace.
Besides, his own positioning is brilliant as he can get into those spacing and with his attacking awareness, he can get into those goal scoring positions. One thing that is lacking in this English side is the creativity and chances which may get sorted if Palmer gets to start their next game against Switzerland in the quarter finals. Palmer has the ability to read the game well and make those insicive runs to attract the opposition defenders to create spaces for other attackers to run into.
Besides creativity, he has already proven himself as a goalscorer, who can get the job done for his side. His playing style grants him the freedom to roam around the opposition box and pounce on any sort of opportunity that he gets. Southgate needs to let Palmer play with the freedom and utilise his attacking abilities
What role can Palmer fit into?
In order to fit him into the starting lineup, Southgate needs to take a risk and drop one of the starters that include the likes of Foden or Saka if he plans to play with the same formation. Southgate has an option to shift Bellingham into a deeper role as a cental midfielder, where he has played majority of his career and play Palmer as a winger where the formation would be 3-4-3. In that case he will have to play Saka as a right wingback as Southgate might drop Mainoo to the bench.
Another option that Southgate should consider is dropping either one of Foden or Saka to replace them with Palmer. Both Saka and Foden have had an underwhelming campaign, as their involvement in the forward plays has looked completely different from how they play for their club. This is a less likely option as Southgate might not be keen enough to drop either os the two.
Palmer’s most productive position would the right flank where he would be getting the freedom to move forward in trying to create something. Chelsea have made the most out of his abilities from that postion where he tends to get into positions where he can play a killer pass or himself be the target.
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