Why Roberto Martinez Held the Key to Preventing England’s Semi-Final Defeat

“Why did they give the ball to Croatians!?” my girlfriend exclaimed as England failed, again, to keep hold of the ball. Croatia had dominated since half time, setting themselves high up the pitch and halting England from playing out from the back. The wide spaces were a particular danger spot as Croatia found themselves with acres of space and indeed, their first goal came from such a situation. Could this, however, have been a preventable threat?

It was a smart move from Croatia manager Zlatko Dalić to line his side up in a 4-3-3. Marcelo Brosović’s holding presence proved to be a vital foil for the creativities of Ivan Rakitić and of course, Luka Modrić. It’s even more so when you take into account the fact that Madrid’s pass-master plays in the same system with Real and while Rakitić is currently deployed in a 4-4-2 at Barcelona, he has been involved in similar systems previously at the Catalan club.

4-3-3 is also a nigh on perfect counter to a 3-5-2, which England deployed. The wide forwards in a 4-3-3 pin the wing backs in a 3-5-2 back, while all three central defenders pick up one centre forward. This numerical mismatch and the forcing back of the wing backs leaves space for the opposition full backs to exploit, especially with a quick switch. Unfortunately for England, this is exactly what Croatia did.

So was there an answer to Croatia’s tactics? Potentially, and it lay in Roberto Martinez’s tactical masterstroke against Brazil. Belgium lined up in a 3-4-3, ripe for the taking by Brazil’s 4-3-3, especially when you consider the way Japan had exploited the wide spaces against the Red Devils in the round before. Martinez, however, had a plan.

When in attack, Belgium maintained their 3-4-3 style but when defending, they matched Brazil by morphing into a 4-3-3. Thomas Meunier dropped into right back, Jan Vertonghen pushed out to left back and Nacer Chadli tucked in from wing back to form a midfield three alongside Marouane Fellaini and Axel Witsel. This coy switch from Martinez worked wonders for Belgium as they stormed into a 2-0 lead during the first half. They were better protected in wide areas and could manage Brazil’s midfield without sacrificing space on the flanks.

Could England have implemented a similar system? It would have taken a little more working than with Belgium but it was possible. Most likely, Kyle Walker would have shifted across to right back and Ashley Young dropped deeper to left back, with Kieran Trippier drifting into a more central position from out wide and Jesse Lingard pushing up to form a front three. True, this would have put Trippier in an unnatural position, but the Spurs man surely would have been able to cope with this as a defensive measure. Had this been implemented, England would have had more of a stronger footing in midfield as well as being able to commit more equal coverage to the flanks, where Croatia were allowed swathes of grass.

During the match, Dele Alli was constantly pulled around, torn between trying to cover the wings and attempting to keep Modrić under control. Had England been more covered out wide, Alli would have had much more license to track Modrić, similarly to how Fellaini tracked Paulinho in Belgium’s quarter final. This greatly stifled Brazil’s build up and had Alli (or any England midfielder) been given the freedom to get tighter on Croatia’s playmakers, England would have stood a far better chance.

Of course, it’s easy to write all this down in hindsight. Such a temporal switch in formation would have required work on the training ground beforehand, and Croatia were not expected to deploy a 4-3-3. Gareth Southgate has worked wonders to craft a formation and a style that has modernised England and raised the standard of play.

For all his achievements on that front, however, it was obvious against Croatia that England lacked any counter measures or plan B if an opposition side managed to stifle the England system. It’s still early days for Southgate with England and he will have learnt a great deal from the game. A style and a system has been firmly established and it is clear that to progress, England need to expand and diversify their ‘box of tricks’. In the disappointment of defeat, lessons have been learnt and we can all hope that they will be taken on board and implemented at the Three Lions' next tournament.

(Photo: CGTN Africa)