Originally Posted by
EalingGreen
Not entirely - his reversion to 3 at the back and selection of WB's took Mancini by surprise, which is precisely how England scored and why they went on to dominate the first 25 minutes.
And if Mancini's re-jig regained the initiative and forced England to defend, fact is, their equaliser still depended on Pickford's push onto the post rebounding back into the path of Bonucci, when it might have rebounded anywhere.
In their semi-final, Spain had 70% possession against them, yet Italy got to Penalties, just like England did last night.
Er, club record or no, in three years he has taken them from being a shambles with no discernable identity and rock-bottom morale, to a team which can give anyone a game. Moreover, he's done so with an extremely young team, which has the potential to improve further.
None of which is to say that Italy weren't the better side or didn't deserve to win - they patently were and did. And yes, Mancini outfoxed Southgate - just like he's done to just about every other manager in a 34 game unbeaten run.
But anyone expecting (hoping?) that last night represented the "high water mark" for England under Southgate could be in for a surprise over the next few years (imho).