Whats missing for England to win the Wor

Whats missing for England to win the Wor

This was supposed to be a new , wasnt it? Le s fu s about WAGs, fewer gags when it counted most? More together, more dynamic, younger? So how did this end up like so many Three Lions misadventures of the past two decades?England did not exit the 2022 FIFA World Cup , in at . Nick Bosa T Shirts did not have a major star misbehave himself into a red card, but there was the lack of discipline in defending that has haunted this team on this stage before. did not disgrace themselves in departing against the . There was much to love about their performance Saturday, from Kyle Walkers containment of , to Jordan Pickfords spectacular saves against Olivier Giroud in the first half and Adrien Rabiot in the second.England still proved to be lacking, though, even with a and . have not won a major tournament since 1966. In the years since, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Paul Gascoigne have been among the many stars of the game that have worn the England badge.This group was supposed to be different, and there are times it sure looks that way. But not on the scoreboard at the end.So what are mi sing?MORE: On what became the game-winning goal, center-back Harry Maguire failed to keep track of Giroud as Antoine Griezmann was given far too Terrell Owens Jersey much time on the left sideline to line up his cro s.Maguire allowed Giroud to cut acro s his body and position himself to field the pa s with a point-blank header that Pickford e sentially had no chance to stop.England have multiple high-level players at nearly every position. One couldnt say that about left-back, where Luke Shaw went 90 minutes in every game but the meaningle s exercise against Wales. They don't have any at center-back, though.Maguire and John Stones were good enough at the World Cup, until they were not. And that is not going to get it done. That is the standard of playing this position: One mistake can be too many.In what at that point was a 1-1 game that England had been dominating, Maguire's error against Giroud could not be afforded. England scored six goals against Iran in the opener of Qatar 2022. A new England, remember? And then there were zero against the United States, and just one in this game against France.England are good enough to punish a meager defense. Where are they, however, in the biggest games? Against Colombia in the 2018 World Cup quarters? One goal. Against Croatia in the semis? One goal. Against Italy in the Euro 2021 final? One goal. France in the 2022 quarters? Yep, you know the scoreline.MORE: There was much commotion about the half-dozen saves made by Joe Montana Jersey France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and he did beautifully against Harry Kane by surging from his net and forcing a low strike that he could knock back. If Kane had another split-second to chip the ball, it would have been a goal.Most of Lloris stops, though, could have been made by goalkeepers with far le s impre sive CVs. Bukayo Saka had a great chance with a clear look at goal and no one but the 'keeper in front of him; the ball was rolled easily to Lloris. Kane did the same thing later.On 16 shots, England had an expected goals figure of 2.32 xG which sounds significant until one remembers that figure was inflated by two penalty attempts.Saka was active throughout the game and a pain for the France defense to track, but other than the penalty he drew, there were too few opportunities created. Phil Foden managed even le s.In six knockout games in the three major tournaments under Gareth Southgate, England failed to get a goal from a forward on four occasions. It failed to get anything from open play twice, instead scoring on Kane penalty kicks.Southgate has an abundance of attacking talent see Marcus Rashford coming off the bench for the final five minutes that inevitably fails to deliver for England in the biggest moments.Is that their fault or Nick Bosa Jersey his?MORE: When the Three Lions won a shootout against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, there was reason to believe the curse that afflicted them at Euro 2004 and at the 1998 and 2006 World Cups might have been erased.Well, not so fast.England had the opportunity to equalize with Kane at the spot in the 84th minute, after substitute Mason Mount was hammered by Frances Theo Hernandez and the overmatched referee, Wilton Sampaio, was convinced to award a penalty by VAR.Kane had earlier beaten , Lloris, on a penalty he smashed to the right corner of the goal in the 54th minute. Maybe about whether to diverge from that succe s, or how Fred Warner Jersey well Lloris knew him from years in training together, but its hard to get a great read on what Kanes intent was on the attempt to equalize.Thats how bad it was. , reminiscent of David Beckhams dreadful mi s against Portugal at the 2004 Euros.Sorry, but that was not a physical failure.In that moment there was no one else an England supporter would have rather had on spot-kick duty: Kane is one of , and a for his country. A Lloris save or even an unlucky clanger off the woodwork was always a po sibility. But mi sing the frame entirely? That thought would not have cro sed a single fan's mind.Talk of a curse will live on.