England: lion or kitten?

First, it is necessary to confirm that a friendly defeat is not a disaster for any team. But the way England disappointed their fans right at Wembley is very familiar and that's the problem.

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Brazil launched a defense that could not be more patchy and looking at the force correlation at the start, even England's B team was rated higher. There is no Harry Kane, but with what's left at hand, coach Gareth Southgate is still free to deploy all attack ideas.

But the reality at Wembley is completely different. The side with the most obvious opportunities is Brazil. The chemistry of Vinicius, Rodrygo and Paqueta is the main ingredient, making Selecao's ball deployment smooth and highly variable.

Coherence is what the home team does not have. In a rare opportunity to start for the Three Lions, Ollie Watkins disappeared in the center position. Of course, replacing Kane's role is not easy, but his lack of match experience makes the Aston Villa striker look like an extra person on the field.

Ollie Watkins did not show anything against Brazil

The ineffectiveness of the tallest player in the squad forces satellites like Jue Bellingham, Phil Foden and Anthony Gordon to take on more tasks. But far from the smooth combinations of their opponents, this trio did not combine well with each other, nor did they create a strong enough bond with Declan Rice, Conor Gallagher, Ben Chilwell... thereby causing Anh to leave. discrete.

An old problem but forced to repeat: England cannot do without Kane. More than just a striker or a captain, Kane is someone who has the ability to connect teammates with his passes, ability to pull the ball and smart movements. Without a target striker for the whole team to aim for, the remaining players only aim to shoot from far away. The helplessness was clearly shown in the phase where Bellingham attempted to lob the ball over goalkeeper Bento's head even though there was still a central defender in front of him and the distance was more than 40 meters.

Ineffective attack puts pressure on the defense. But before mentioning expertise, we need to discuss attitude. Subjectivity is easy to recognize after just one play. Kyle Walker excellently ran back to cover Pickford after Vinicius's shot at the beginning of the first half. Just when he thought that was the end, the Man City defender carelessly passed the ball upfield, accidentally going straight at Harry Maguire. stand in front.

Certainly Walker would not dare to be "carefree" like that in a Man City match, but against underrated Brazil, he and his Three Lions teammates were too confident. After Walker, it was Maguire's turn to make a mistake. The MU midfielder's extremely simple mistake of letting Rodrygo steal the ball at the end of the first half almost cost England a goal.

Walker plays with a subjective attitude

On a day without Kane, Maguire wore the captain's armband. Southgate's absolute trust in the disgraced star at MU has never created a feeling of peace of mind for fans. Before Brazil, fans had more grounds to doubt Maguire's level.

The loss in the 80th minute came as an inevitable consequence. Brazil did not attack too aggressively but was very sharp and young star Endrick was the beneficiary. England lost in the most annoying way for fans when there was too little resistance.

Surely after this match, Southgate will have to "confide" with his students a lot. The Three Lions' football standards and quality are being dragged low. This comes mostly from the head, not the feet. In the upcoming match against Belgium, fans want to see a real lion, not this weak cat!