The longer Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland run the English team, the more blurred the line becomes between Chelsea and the national team.
England stomped Montenegro to the tune of 7-0. That is hardly surprising as England has been stomping everyone in the group as they have created an impressive 33 goals over seven games. But what is interesting is how they went about it.
England played a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid based mainly on where Mason Mount pressed and how high he remained in possession. Mount, in addition to the striker and the wingers either side of him, rotated often and rarely stayed in any one particular part of the field. The fullbacks, meanwhile, provided nearly all of the width as England romped through the opposition half.
Does that all sound familiar? It should because it is basically Frank Lampard’s tactics. And while Lampard’s tactics are hardly unique in world football, it is telling that this is not the first time England seemed to mirror Chelsea in recent seasons. The lines between the two are becoming increasingly blurred as more players enter the national team fold.
It began roughly when Steve Holland joined the English set up full time ahead of the 2018 World Cup. He was just coming off of a title winning season with Antonio Conte. The back three that the Italian used was, in part, transferred over to the national team. England may not have won the World Cup in their 3-5-2, but they got as close as they ever had in many fans’ lives.
Going into Euro Qualifying and the Nations League, England has played around with a few different ideas. At the same time, Southgate had been turning towards players from his time at the English youth teams for his national team. Many of those players that brought him success at those levels were Chelsea players.
Fast forward to now where Frank Lampard is bringing exciting, fun football to Stamford Bridge on the backs of many of these young players. Southgate has called up more Chelsea players than have been called in years. And slowly but surely, it appears as though England’s tactics are beginning to mirror Chelsea’s once again.
Again, Lampard’s tactics are not unique. They are very reminiscent of Jurgen Klopp’s, Carlo Ancelotti’s, and even Jose Mourinho’s in the first half of 2014/2015. And Southgate has more than proven himself to be an astute international manager. He understands that his training time is short and he needs to keep things simple. And one easy way to do that is to use players for England in the same exact way they are used for their club team.
If Mount continues to start for England, it should come as no surprise that he will be used similarly to the way Lampard uses him for Chelsea. And because of that, it would be unsurprising to see the remainder of the team shape up in a similar way around him. International management is about keeping things simple yet effective and there are few better ways to go about it.
Furthermore, that could also see more Chelsea players step into the lineup as well. Tammy Abraham and Reece James may have steep competition, but Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Fikayo Tomori may have a point to make.
Given that England tends to perform at its best under Southgate when they play similarly to Chelsea, it may be a good idea for Southgate to continue looking to the Blues for inspiration and players.