From 3-5-2 to 4-3-3: Key winners and losers from England boss Gareth Southgate’s potential system switch

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Gareth Southgate abandoned his tried-and-tested 3-3-2-2 formation against Croatia and deployed a 4-3-3 system, possibly heralding the start of a new tactical era.

Southgate’s three-at-the-back philosophy flourished in Russia during the World Cup, providing the platform for relative newcomers Harry Maguire and Kieran Trippier to flourish, whilst providing the added the protection they needed.

However, the Three Lions boss opted for a tactical restructure against Croatia in a Nations League match on Friday evening, switching to a more traditional back four; the 0-0 stalemate provided an improved scoreline compared to that of the World Cup semi-final, but there remains discernible question marks over the formation’s long-term capacity.

Having said that, Southgate has lauded the reshuffle, believing this new formation will allow his side to ‘dictate the flow of play,’ as demonstrated on Friday night.

So, should the 4-3-3 be Southgate’s preferred system for the foreseeable future, then there will undoubtedly be winners and losers from the switch, but who are they?

Winner: Jordan Henderson

One of the main issues that affected Southgate during his World Cup selection process was the clear lack of any central midfielder who could keep possession and control the tempo of the match while under pressure, hence the emergence of a single anchorman, with Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard being deployed in front.

While this allowed the two attacking midfielders license to drive forward, Henderson was restricted into primarily protecting the defence, offering a bulwark against counter-attacks, without necessarily surging forward himself.

However, with the reshuffle to a more balanced central midfield on Friday night, the shackles were slightly loosened off England’s skipper, who was given more room to contribute higher up the pitch in the knowledge that Eric Dier would offer protection and support alongside him.

The duo worked well in tandem, with Ross Barkley offering adequate support, as well as a more attacking propensity to drive forward on the left of the midfield trident. Overall, England looked more controlled and composed with 53% possession, compared to the previous encounter, where they only mustered 44% possession.

Whilst the Liverpool captain looks to be Southgate’s preferred option to fill one of the two No.8 roles, thus making him a winner of the switch, pressure from emerging talents such as Harry Winks, James Maddison and Mason Mount means questions will be asked whether he is the ideal choice.

Should Henderson fail to deliver – Harry Winks has already been reported to start in his place against Spain – he could quickly become a loser from the tactical reshuffle.

Loser: England’s set-pieces

A prominent facet of England’s success in Russia was the sheer brilliance of their set-pieces. In fact, nine of their 12 goals came via a dead-ball situation, which is the most of any nation since Portugal netted eight set-piece goals during the World Cup in 1966.

At the heart of those deadly deliveries were Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young, who both provided an assist each, with the former also netting that sensational free-kick in the semi-final. With this new formation, however, that threat is in serious jeopardy.

Already, Young has been dropped from the squad, while Trippier was dropped from the starting XI on Friday, with Southgate preferring to utilise Walker at right-back. This also places Trent Alexander-Arnold – another dead-ball specialist – further down the pecking order.

It should also be noted that since the beginning of last season, no Premier League player has provided more assists for another player than Kieran Trippier has for Harry Kane, with the full-back teeing up his Spurs team-mate on seven occasions.

Winner: England wingers

Marcus Rashford will be given more playing time with this new formation, functioning as an inside forward on the left wing, while Raheem Sterling will feel more at ease reverting back to his natural position as a winger on the right – this also presents an exciting opportunity to test Jadon Sancho.

And this was perhaps the catalyst for change, as Southgate now has very capable and potent wingers at his disposal, with Rashford, Sterling and Sancho all providing excellent options on the flanks. And they are all still young – Sterling the oldest at 23 – which suggests Southgate is exploring formations that will allow all three to flourish.

The previous 3-3-2-2 formation certainly offered plenty of width in the form of both full-backs, but the 4-3-3 will give England’s natural wingers room to thrive, rather than Southgate trying to shoehorn players into positions they are not familiar with.

Rashford is a player who needs confidence, and he looked bereft of it on Friday night, in terms of his finishing, but his positional awareness was second-to-none, which offers huge promise to Southgate, who will be keen to find a system that accentuates his attacking assets.

The Man Utd No.10 would have been hoping for a longer run in the side partnering Harry Kane up front, but with Raheem Sterling’s ever-increasing importance to the side and his form for Manchester City, he will have to make do with a wider starting position. His minutes will no doubt increase because of it, but he may feel aggrieved that playing time in his preferred central position have now seemingly disappeared for both club and country.

Should Sancho continue his blistering start to the season, Rashford may even find himself as Kane’s understudy once again.

Loser: Jordan Pickford

The beauty of a three-at-the-back system is that it allows for greater options when a goalkeeper is trying to play out from the back, which has been an important component of Southgate’s philosophy.

However, a standard back four limits those options, making Pickford’s distribution task of initiating the first line of attack all the more difficult. Playing out from the back can still be used to great effect with a 4-3-3, but when up against a more high-pressing opponent – a la Spain – the system could falter.

During the World Cup, Pickford was often spoilt for choice, with Harry Maguire, John Stones and Kyle Walker all spreading out across the defensive line, with Henderson dropping deep to collect, as well as Trippier and Young offering options slightly further forward on the flanks.

Manchester City and Liverpool have proven that playing out from the back can prosper with four in defence, but these are systems that have been well-drilled into the players day in, day out by Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp – Southgate has no such luxury of day-to-day management.

Pickford even stated himself that he was unwilling to put himself in a position that may make him look silly when building out from the back. Following Alisson’s failed Cruyff Turn against Leicester earlier in the season, the Everton goalkeeper made it clear the same fate would not befall him.

“For me, I’m going to try not to put myself in that position to make those mistakes. You don’t want to get too comfortable if you’re winning and start trying to be a No 10 player,” Pickford said.

Whilst some risk-aversion may be encouraged by his national team manager, Pickford’s unwillingness to take responsibility and committ to building from the back could scupper Southgate’s plan to dominate more matches and see him replaced as England’s No.1.

Winner: Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley has flourished in recent matches under the tutelage of Maurizio Sarri, playing in an advanced central midfield role on the left alongside N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, so it would have been a fluid transition when Southgate deployed him in a similar position on Friday.

This bodes well for Barkley – who is still finding his feet after a long-term injury setback last season – as it allows him to surge forward and offer support in the final third, while also tracking back and helping dictate the tempo of play alongside Dier and Henderson.

Since Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury, England have suffered from the lack of a dynamic midfielder: someone could can play the box-to-box role but also offer a real goalscoring threat. In Barkley, Southgate has that outlet, and fortunately he is playing a similar role in west London.

The 3-3-2-2 formation would have allowed Barkley to play alongside either Lingard or Alli, with Henderson anchoring slightly deeper, but the 24-year-old has looked comfortable in a more traditional and balanced midfield trio at club level, so this could be a system that really gets the best out of Barkley.

Loser: Inexperienced defenders

Southgate has explained that the 3-3-2-2 formation was used as a sort of bedding in process for his inexperienced defenders, stating that with “People like [Harry] Maguire, going into the World Cup, I felt we needed a bit more protection for the defence and the opportunity to get two forwards in the game. Now the players are more established and look comfortable as a back four.”

This transition to a back-four may certainly benefit the likes of Maguire and Stones who have now had time to understand and adjust to the demands of the type of football Southgate espouses, but what of those who have not had this benefit?

Unless adequately trained, a back four can often find defenders, particularly full-backs – who have an innate propensity to get forward – exposed and without the necessary protection to stifle opposition attacks.

It will now be up to Southgate to find a new way of bedding in his defenders without overwhelming them of the task of playing out from the back, getting forward with a high-press, and providing Pickford the requisite protection he needs.

The post From 3-5-2 to 4-3-3: Key winners and losers from England boss Gareth Southgate’s potential system switch appeared first on Squawka News.



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