So it's not coming home, then!
What did folk make of England's tournament as a whole? For me it's a weird one. On one hand I feel like it's been very positive. This group of players have made me want to watch England again and there is no doubt that they have created a feel good vibe around the country. The players seem a genuine and likeable bunch of down-to-earth lads. Little things impress me, for example the players on the whole seem more articulate during interviews than previous 'big time Charlies' who had massive egos, which makes a huge difference to their public perception. They left everything on the pitch, which as a fan, is all you can ask for. They put their heart into each match and put their bodies on the line, which is something that you cannot say about our previous teams during our exits at previous tournaments over the last 10-15 years.
This team are lead by a manager who has shown what a leader should be; Dignified, calm, cool and measured in responses during media interviews. Southgate has carried himself so well throughout this World Cup. He clearly cares, motivates and encourages his players while always treating them with respect, which in turn gets the best out the majority of the team. I'm really impressed with him. That's everything a manager should possess personality wise - he is definitely the right man to manage us for the foreseeable future.
However on the other hand I don't feel so positive. On the field, I don't think it's as positive as some people are making out. Yes, if someone said to me at the beginning of the World Cup we'd reach the Semi Final, I'd have taken that. But let's be realistic and look at it in the cold light of day. We have won games we should be winning. We have done no more than that. We should be beating teams like Tunisia (which was a struggle) and Panama (I'd fancy Yeltz to beat them!). We failed to beat an average Colombia side within 90 mins and we lost to the first real quality team we faced, in Coratia (I'm ignoring the Belgium reserve fixture). The victory against Sweden was the only game where we truly impressed, performance wise, but again, we should be beating Sweden. Shouldn't we? So we achieved exactly what we should have, given how the draw opened up.
Set pieces aside, we rarely threatened the opposition, did we? Whilst generally our play was good, and easy on the eye, we really struggled to break teams down in open play. I liked the 3-5-2 system we played, but thought we ultimately lacked quality when it counted. We came up and came unstuck against a central midfield three of Modric, Rakatic and Brozovic whereas we had Henderson, Lingard and Alli. That's the reason we are out the World Cup. I do feel that when Southgate looks back at this World Cup he may have one regret; failing to make the most of arguably the world's best striker in Harry Kane. He was largely anonymous in open play. I do feel like Southgate played him in a deeper role in order to shoehorn Sterling in as the main forward in the starting XI. While Sterling's pace is a threat which pins back defences, he offered nothing to this England side and constantly gave the ball away. Having said that, the likes of Pickford, Maguire, Henderson and Tripper had excellent World Cups. That bodes well going forward.
In summary, I feel genuine pride and hope in this current England side, but on the pitch there is still some way to go before we are truly competitive at major tournaments. But the most positive aspect is the fact I now find it enjoyable to watch England. It's been years since I've felt that way. Ultimately that's the true success of this England team at the World Cup.
Now, let' gets back to bitching about how shite the Yeltz are!