This is something that’s taken out of Pep Guardiola’s book, especially from this season at Manchester City. In the Manchester derby at Old Trafford in December, Pep Guardiola played a 433 with a front 3 of Sané, Jesus, and Sterling. However, throughout the game, these players continuously swapped positions on the pitch, and dropped deep to get the ball and run at the Manchester United defense, a tactic that forced Mourinho and the players to think twice about their decisions.

The manager & players

Southgate derives a lot of his tactics from Premier League managers, and it’s no surprise to see it pay dividends. From his tenure as England U21 manager, Southgate had already worked with Harry Kane, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jesse Lingard, and more. By the time he was England manager, he knew how the England youth ranks are set up, what sort of players he needed, and what system to play. Add that and watching continuous matches of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and you have the foundations that Southgate has built this England team on, fast, interchangeable, and versatile football.

Not only has Southgate found the right system, but he’s also getting the best out of his players. In his first World Cup, Harry Kane has already scored 6 goals, Jesse Lingard is building off his great form with Manchester United by playing in a free-roaming #10 position, and Ashley Young, at 32 years, is proving why he’s been called up. And the positivity from the players is certainly translated onto the pitch.

A bright future

A bright future lies ahead for England. It’s a young squad, and should they win their crucial encounter against Sweden, they’ll be in the semi-finals, something that no England team has achieved since the 1990 World Cup finals. This team is young, fresh, and determined to win it all. These players have entered this World Cup with no fear, no shadows haunting them, and nothing standing in their way. This is a team that England hasn’t seen for a long time. Even in the golden generation that had Lampard, Scholes, Gerrard, and more, something was missing, whether it was the right manager or team cohesion.

England before has never been in such a position that they enter the last group game already qualified. England before has never won a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup finals. Things are looking on the up for England. It’s coming home is no longer a joke and may become a reality. As Skinner and Baddiel have said in their famous football anthem “Three Lions”,

It’s coming home, it’s coming

Football’s coming home

It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming

Football’s coming home

And that has never been more relevant than before. Before the tournament, England had an outside 7% chance of winning the World Cup. Now, they have a 15% chance of winning, a higher chance than the likes of Croatia and Belgium.