Euro Cortado #21: Arise, Sir... Felix
Questionable refereeing decisions and "genius" tactical decisions secure England a place in the final at the Netherlands' expense
There is perhaps nothing more English than celebrating the genius of the manager you were throwing beer cups at just two weeks ago.
Yes, somehow, England have navigated their way into a second consecutive European Championship final, beating the Netherlands 2-1 in Dortmund last night thanks to another late late show.
For the penultimate time, here’s my thoughts on last night’s action in Euro Cortado.
VARious strange goings-on
Gary Lineker was on his podcast last night listing the plethora of times England have been hard done by in major tournaments, while conveniently overlooking all the fortunate decisions to have gone their way down the years. Nothing new there.
But even one of England’s top cheerleaders could not help but admit they “finally” got the bit of luck they deserved, which tells you all you need to know about the decision to award England a penalty in the first half, which Harry Kane dispatched to cancel out Xavi Simons’ early screamer.
VAR has barely been a talking point in this tournament, which maybe is testament to its positive application over the past few weeks, but we could not quite get through the whole month without it rearing its ugly head.
“Clear and obvious, CLEAR and OBVIOUS” we were told was going to be the mantra for VAR to follow when intervening on refereeing errors. Not a soul would describe Denzel Dumfries “foul” on Kane as such.
Following the same application of the law, Bukayo Saka’s flick with his left hand to knock the ball into Kane’s path should have cancelled out the incident and given the Dutch a free-kick, but that was missed by referee Felix Zwayer and the VAR, probably because that didn’t merit a Dutch player to roll around in faux agony, as Harry Kane did moments later.
The build-up to the match was overshadowed by Zwayer’s history of malpractice, history with Jude Bellingham and the decision to give him a game of this magnitude.
I have no evidence to believe he was attempting to atone for past errors, but when John Stones’ header over his own goal line gets given as a goal kick, while pushing and grappling in the box on Cody Gakpo and Nathan Aké are not checked by VAR, one must have some sympathy with Netherlands fans feeling hard done by.
Two subs don’t make a summer
It’s official; in the eyes of English pundits and many fans, Gareth Southgate is now a tactical wizard.
The reason? He made a double substitution.
It was a “brave” decision to take off Harry Kane - who has looked unfit all tournament - and Phil Foden - bright in the first half, passenger in the second - with 10 minutes to go for Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins.
And wouldn’t you know it, Palmer slipped a ball through to Watkins who turned a fired the ball right into the bottom corner, past Bart Verbruggen, to win the match after 89 minutes 59 seconds.
I’m sorry, but making two like-for-like changes in which you bring on two of the best performers in the Premier League this season for two spent bodies is not exactly a masterstroke.
Again, I must reiterate, I have been a defender of Southgate for the past few years, but while he does not deserve the abuse he gets, I believe England are succeeding this summer in spite of him.
England have played better with three at the back, the style Southgate did not want to play. His only other substitution before then was bringing Luke Shaw on at half-time for Kieran Trippier, which made absolutely no difference.
Take nothing away from Watkins, it was a brilliant finish worthy of winning any game, but given that every man and his dog knows that was very much an “Ollie Watkins goal” in a match that was “crying out for Ollie Watkins”, let’s not go overboard on Southgate’s decision to bring on Ollie Watkins.
Anthony Tomas is a football writer and commentator, who writes for Flashscore and World Soccer Magazine.