England slunk into the World Cup with a late 1-0 win over Slovenia yesterday. Gareth Southgate needs to produce more inspiring performances to retain England’s young talent, including several Chelsea youngsters.
England’s national football apparatus continues its streak of disarray and disunity. Fans at Wembley took to making paper airplanes to pass the time during 93 goalless, pointless minutes against Slovenia on Thursday until Harry Kane slobbered a ball past Jan Oblak.
Under-21 coach Aidy Boothroyd may have been watching that game, wondering how much more challenging his retention issues will become.
Boothroyd – and, by extension, Gareth Southgate – are fending off recruitment drives for some of their top players. Nigeria made headlines for trying to convince Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham to switch his allegiance and make his senior debut for the Super Eagles. Abraham committed to England, but in March Ola Aina made the opposite choice. Aina played for England through the U20 levels, but then switched to Nigeria for his senior international career.
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Boothroyd worries that other players – including Chelsea academy product Dominic Solanke – will follow suit. Chelsea have four other English loanees eligible to play for another country. None are likely to switch, but they represent the challenges at St. George’s Park.
"It’s a hard one because I can’t guarantee they are going to play because the group is so good… Perhaps other countries might see that and try and get into him, promise him the world and get him in the first-team before you know it. – Aidy Boothroyd, The Telegraph"
In many cases, a footballer’s second nationality for FIFA purposes comes through their family and not their personal experience being born or living in the second country. If they have this decision in front of them, they weigh any number of factors, including patriotism, family and community ties and the teams and systems they have always known. Their attachment to the national team may outstrip their attachment to their country, but that could be sufficient.
On the other hand, the football matters, too. They may have a greater chance of making a team, starting or going to a World Cup with Country A instead of Country B. A team that ensures more minutes may not promise the best chance to raise a trophy. And the team that plays the best football may not be the one they have called home.
Chelsea’s young players – like others from Premier League academies – are accustomed to a high level and style of play. Youngsters at Cobham watch Chelsea’s first team as an example of how they want to someday play. The same did not hold for England’s youth on Thursday.
England fielded a team drawn from Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City, among others. The gap in quality between their performances with their club and with Three Lions was appalling. Anyone who watches the Premier League knows what these players are capable of with their clubs. No individual performance against Slovenia – let alone the team’s – reflected their ability.
Beyond the pride of representing their country, the Three Lions offered little incentive for young players to choose England, if they have the choice. Players, like fans, may forgive a stereotypically stodgy English display. Thursday night was something else, something worse. It was lethargic, indifferent.
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Gareth Southgate and Aidy Boothroyd need a plan and, more importantly, a spark to retain England’s best talent. Otherwise, Southgate’s task in the coming years (or his successor’s) is going to be even harder.