Saka, Rashford, Sancho – the pressure on penalties against Italy weighed on three young Englishmen. You shot. Coach Gareth Southgate took responsibility.
They are the tragic figures of the 2021 European Championship finals at Wembley: Bukayo Saka, 19 years old, Marcus Rashford, 23 years old, and Jadon Sancho, 21 years old, cried bitter tears in some cases.
All three missed on penalties against Italy (2: 3) and sealed the final defeat of the English national team.
Coach Gareth Southgate feels guilty
But the fact that they were brought into this situation at all is, according to the conviction of many experts and fans, mainly to be blamed on one person: “Three Lions” coach Gareth Southgate. He came on for Saka in the 70th minute, Sancho and Rashford explicitly for the penalty shoot-out in the 120th minute – with this decision he put the pressure of millions of English football fans on the comparatively inexperienced player.
“Southgate’s selection was not particularly happy. The balance between experience and youthfulness bothers me a little,” commented German ex-international Michael Ballack on Magenta TV. Rio World Champion Per Mertesacker found the selection on ZDF “very negligent”. At least Rashford and Sancho are “not the right choice in the constellation at this tournament,” said ZDF expert Kramer. Coach Southgate had largely “ignored them” during the European Championship, and they were also “very young”. Bringing them into the game very late with the task of converting a penalty is “just not psychologically good. They don’t have a good feeling anyway because they couldn’t really help the team throughout the tournament because they weren’t important” said Kramer. “Phew, he also played a little bit of poker with the substitutions at the end,” said ex-national player Fredi Bobic on Magenta TV.
Coach Southgate showed greatness after the final defeat and took responsibility. “Nobody is on their own. We win and lose as a team,” he said. “It’s my decision, not the player’s. We have selected the best shooters who have been on the field.” And further: “It’s heartbreaking for the players, but it’s not their fault, it was my decision as a coach.”
Only captain Harry Kane, 27, and defender Harry Maguire, 28, scored on penalties for England – two men with experience, in contrast to the three young Englishmen.
Racial slurs
In spite of Southgate’s personnel decision, which turned out to be wrong, and the poorly scored penalties, some fans of the “Three Lions” proved that things are much worse after the final defeat. They insulted the three hapless shooters on the Internet in the most violent way, including racist ones.
The English Football Association reacted clearly that night. “We couldn’t make it clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behavior is not welcome as a supporter of our team. We will do what we can to support the affected players while pushing for the toughest possible penalties for everyone. who is responsible, “wrote the FA on Twitter.
Great Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a similar statement: “This England team deserves to be revered as heroes and not to be racially insulted,” wrote the Prime Minister the morning after the final. “Those responsible for these horrific insults should be ashamed.” London police tweeted: “This abuse is absolutely unacceptable, will not be tolerated and will not be investigated.”
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
