Mount Holds the key to 2022 success

For all the achievements by the England football team this summer, the penalty shoot out defeat to Italy inevitably led to a feeling of ‘what if’. To get so close to winning a major tournament and losing in that manner there will always be thoughts of what might have been. These thoughts will have been exacerbated by the performance in the final which was as passive as England have been in the tournament, and it could be argued that the final saw Gareth Southgate make his first wrong calls of the summer.

As England look to Qatar in 2022 there are issues that Southgate has to resolve if he wants to challenge for the World Cup. Many of these issues surround formation, creativity and attacking threat, and the man that is the key to these things is Mason Mount.

In Euro 2020, Gareth Southgate was able to effectively switch formations whenever it was required. A 4-3-3 formation started the tournament but 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-3 was also used for either part or full matches.

The 4-3-3 that England began the tournament with gave them a stable back 4 primarily shielded by Declan Rice but with the back up of Kalvin Phllips defensive abilities, albeit in a slightly more advanced role. With Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling flanking Harry Kane, the creative responsibility in midfield belonged to Mount. Although he started brightly and looked a threat, ultimately he faded as the game end went on. Fortunately a burst from Phillips allowed Sterling to find the net for a 1-0 win in a game of few chances.

The Scotland game saw a slight switch to a 4-2-3-1 with the same personnel in forward areas. Again Mount was looked to for creativity and again it was a game where England created little. The sound defence ensured a point and progression to the next round.

While Mount was missing through Covid restrictions for the Czech Republic game, the 4-2-3-1 formation was again utilised with Jack Grealish taking over from Mount in the role of creator. Although Bakayo Saka caught the eye and Sterling scored, Grealish was able to claim the assist. A third clean sheet in a row was recorded by the miserly defence.

The last 16 knockout game saw England face off with Germany. In order to counter the German wing backs, Southgate reverted to a back 3 with Grealish replaced by Trippier. The result of this was that the attacking dimension of England’s play focused on Kane coming deep and using the pace of Saka and Sterling to exploit the lack of pace in the opposition defence. England eventually ran out winners with Grealish claiming an assist and a pre-assist after coming off the bench. A fourth clean sheet in a row was recorded and Mount again missed the game because of Covid - something to note later in the article.

Mount returned to the side for the Quarter Final, a 4-2-3-1 formation used in a 4-0 win with Jaden Sancho replacing Saka. While Luke Shaw was the creative star with two assists, Mount was able to set up the final goal from a late corner. A fifth clean sheet was recorded!

Into the semi final and a 4-3-3 formation was deployed to counteract the in form Danes. While the clean sheet run was broken by a stunning free kick, England were always the better team with Saka and Sterling looking potent. Goals from Kane and and own goal saw England through to the final.

Awaiting England in the final was Italy, unbeaten for over 30 games. Southgate changed back to the 3-4-3 formation which had been used against Germany, but with Saka omitted allowing Mount to take his place in the forward line. England were again not breached from open play with Italy’s goal coming from a corner. However from an attacking point of view England were quiet, an early counter attack bought a goal but there was very little action for the Italian keeper after that. Mount was quiet throughout the game but he wasn’t alone in that respect.

So looking back over the tournament it is fair to say that Southgate achieved his aim of making England difficult to beat and difficult to score against. Seven games without conceding in open play is a fine record and justifies his inclusion of two defensive midfield players. Whether employing a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1 or a 3-4-3 formation England were incredibly solid and had the foundations in place to allow them to win games and progress through the tournament. It is fair to say that this formed the basis of their success.

However, looking back it is also fair to say that despite some great moments, even some good periods of games, England were not as dangerous going forward as they would have hoped. The reliance on the front players to conjure a goal to pair up with a clean sheet was successful until the final when the attack failed to significantly trouble the Italian defence.

In order to challenge at the next World Cup, England need to find a way of maintaining their defensive solidity whilst increasing their attacking threat. The formation has proven to change, remain difficult to break down but still be less potent than ideal, so it’s going to be down to including the correct personnel, and this is where Mount becomes crucial.

A lot of the early tournament criticism of Southgate centered around his selection of Rice and Phillips as being too defensive. However in a 4-3-3 when combined with a creative midfield player, this pair offers a defensive bedrock giving the creative midfield player freedom to effect the game. The problem in this tournament is that as that creative midfield player Mount has been below par. This is also the case in the 4-2-3-1 where the onus is on the creative midfielder to provide ammunition for the front players.

In the Croatia and Scotland games, aside from the opening 20 minutes vs Croatia, Mount was quiet and as a result so were England as an attacking force. In fact it was only when Grealish entered the field against Germany that England really started to look a threat. Four goals in the Ukraine game and two versus Denmark saw an attacking improvement, but Mount was still a peripheral figure.

The stats bear this out, Grealish recording two assists from just 172 minutes of action, Saka one assist from 272 minutes, Sterling three goals and one assist in 641 minutes all compare favourably to Mount’s one assist in 464 minutes, and that was a set piece v Ukraine.

In short, the 4-2-3-1 and the 4-3-3 relies on the player in Mount’s role to record good numbers in goal involvements. When the formation switches to 3-4-3, the number of attacking players is reduced and the responsibility on the three forward players is greater. With Mount proving relatively ineffective when playing as one of four attackers, England managed to get away with it. When playing as one of three as in the final against Italy, they didn’t. When the 3-4-3 was used against Germany, Kane, Sterling, Saka and then Grealish when he came on were all at a level in excess of what Mount managed to contribute.

This is not to say that Mount should be written off from either of these roles, although I think there are better fits than him when playing 3-4-3. Every manager he plays for is impressed by his tactical awareness, his ability to put the team plan into practice, his pressing when out of possession is top level and he is the ultimate team player. He has quality, 21 goal involvements for Chelsea last season including a memorable assist in the Champions League final demonstrate this. It may be that the 54 games be played last season eventually caught up with him this summer and he was unable to produce his best.

So, here lies the dilemma for Southgate. He has a defence and two shielding midfielders that make his side hard to score against, and he will be reluctant to break that up to play Mount in the centre of midfield as he risks giving up the defensive solidity with no guarantee of increasing his sides attacking threat.

If he continues to employ Mount as the attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 he needs better output from him, the sort of numbers Grealish or Foden look capable of. However selecting one of those two will see the team lose Mount’s other attributes which are so crucial.

If he chooses to go with a 3-4-3 then he will surely have to leave Mount out, especially with the other players at his disposal and the need for those three attackers to be threatening both in combinations and as individuals.

Leaving Mount out is something Southgate has been reluctant to do.

Striking the balance between attack and defence is an age old problem, and for Southgate to resolve it for this England team then Mason Mount is going to be the central figure.