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By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer
England face a threat as their route proceeds to seem little more – but it won’t come from some of the teams that they will face to next summer’s showpiece.
Their opponents in Group A could almost have been handpicked to get a comfortable passage by director Gareth Southgate and the Football Association.
There is a danger, however, in brushing aside such impotent opposition with monotonous regularity that lies.
While Kosovo, in 120th, are up at St Mary’s on Tuesday in Southampton, bulgaria, ranked 60th in the entire world by Fifa, were disregarded 4-0 in Wembley. The Czech Republic, England’s highest-rated opponents at 43rd, have been beaten 5-0 at Wembley while Montenegro, at 55, were outclassed 5-1 in their own ground.
Not glorified hardly although friendlies testing occasions either.
England have gone undefeated qualifying matches, winning 33 and drawing on nine.
A decade with no defeat at qualifying is impressive but the flipside of that is that the fat lot of good it’s done England as it has truly mattered.
England’s run to the 2018 World Cup semi-final was a glorious feel-good shock, though the perceived success needs to be tempered by the fact they were beaten on the three occasions they fulfilled a side of serious caliber, namely Belgium twice and Croatia from the last four.
The World Cups of 2010 and 2014, as well as Euro 2016’s debacle, meant the odyssey has been an exception rather than the rule.
The make-up of Group A currently means England are presented with the prospect of facing their most taxing competitive tests for two years – 12 months if we count the inaugural Uefa Nations League weight reduction loss to the Netherlands – after the critical action gets under way following summer.
England not qualifying’s idea is that a non-starter. This isn’t arrogance but a statement of truth. It’s clear any beginning line-up Southgate assembles from his squad should be good enough to ensure their place with the minimum of fuss in Euro 2020.
It means there is truly a case for Southgate getting his squad match-hardened to get Euro 2020. There are plenty of candidates ready to step up.
This was a relatively conservative choice by Southgate, passing through set Mason Mount’s claims for starting places, preferring Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice as his anchor guys and Chelsea’s Ross Barkley further forward out of Leicester and Chelsea City’s James Maddison.
Southgate also opted for Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier’s experience over Liverpool kid Trent Alexander-Arnold even though the latter superior form throughout the past 12 months – in right-back.
The policy cannot be criticised given a victory that caused England to crack sweat but there is nonetheless a situation for freshening up England with youthful blood on Tuesday.
It wouldn’t be an instance of carrying Kosovo lightly, just giving the youthful brigade of England a taste of the action for what may await summer when sterner assessments come, they’ll have to prepare them.
Not so much experimentation, even more solid common sense in preparation for the acid tests.
While the addition of Alexander-Arnold would hardly weakens the side of England leicester City’s Ben Chilwell will come in for suspended Danny Rose in left-back.
Mount won his first cap and a case is for really playing Maddison or with him instead of the insurance policy of Rice and Henderson. They could certainly offer you a viable competition as replacements for your future but surely as competitions, not to Ross Barkley.
The fantastic news for Southgate and England is that the present squad appears like it might endure a fair amount of spinning without injuring the package.
England captain Harry Kane, using a hat-trick here move over 1966 World Cup hero and in order to choose his England tally to 25 objects from 40 looks Sir Geoff Hurst in goalscorers’ all-time list, and Raheem Sterling are irreplaceable.
Kane, admittedly helped by a normal source of penalties, and is building a body of work.
While his partnership with Sterling looks like a normal fit, he leads from the front in every facet, his tireless work ethic and consistency a touchstone for this contemporary England. Southgate includes a pairing that will be the envy of several countries at Euro 2020.
Southgate also has room for manoeuvre elsewhere that barely finishes his starting XI of quality.
Alexander-Arnold is a downgrade on Trippier at the absence of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and fell Kyle Walker, while those options include the Harry Winks of Tottenham.
Borussia Dortmund’s 19-year-old Jadon Sancho has demonstrated he lives at this degree. He will relish the large stage and chances.
By shuffling their pack in qualifying, england would not be belittling Kosovo or some of their future competitions. It would be a case of seeing the larger picture.
It is an old concern – but it may be the start of Euro 2020, when faced with the kind of forensic examinations that the best teams conduct, before we find out just how good this England team is and how much progress has been made since they just came up short in the semi-finals in the World Cup and also the Uefa Nations League.
England are here before. This time they need to be prepared next summer, for when the severe interrogation starts.
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