DBasia.news – The England National Team has a high target in Euro 2020. However, the Three Lions seem to be hampered as they are experiencing a storm of injuries.
Since 1960, England have not once been able to lift the European Cup trophy. This is certainly ironic for a country that claims to be the inventor of football.
Luck has not sided with the British. The status of the host in the 1996 edition was also only able to make the United Kingdom finish in the top three.
Even though England has always been strengthened by quality players who are the mainstay of the Premier League giants. The bad trend is trying to end Gareth Southgate’s troops in the 2020 edition which was delayed this year.
England have valuable capital to end the curse of the European Cup. The slick appearance of Harry Kane and his team mates at the 2018 World Cup by winning fourth place was one of them.
The current material for English players is not much different from 2018. They are now even more uniform with experience.
In addition, England also has the advantage as one of the hosts. They will appear in front of their own public when competing in the group phase, semifinals, and finals.
But England’s road to the summit seems to be very steep. A number of obstacles had even prevented them before the tournament started.
The England national team has the opportunity to appear unoptimally at the 2020 European Cup. Injury is one of the causes.
Southgate has selected 26 players in his final squad. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish were unable to appear after suffering injuries in the warm-up match against Austria.
Southgate was still able to change players before the kick-off of the first match. But the loss of two main players can disrupt the scheme that has been planned.
“It’s not a good sign to see him (Alexander-Arnold) leave like that. We will assess his condition in the next 24 hours,” Southgate said after the match against Austria.
Britain’s problems did not stop there. A number of other key players such as Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire are also in doubtful condition.
Both are racing against time to recover from injuries. This has made Henderson and Maguire not perform optimally in the upcoming European Cup.
The fitness level of the players from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea is also in doubt. They played in the final of the Europa League and Champions League.
Southgate must be really observant to see this condition. It is possible that the English players will fall when the tournament is ongoing.
Injuries and The England national team
The England national team is often plagued by injuries to its stars ahead of competing in major tournaments. It’s been happening for years.
At Euro 2016, England still brought in Wayne Rooney who was still injured. The aftermath, they had to be eliminated in the 16 round after being defeated by Iceland.
Retreating far back, Rooney also had a serious injury before the 2006 World Cup. But he was finally brought to the big tournament.
Rooney even suffered a serious injury while strengthening England in the 2004 European Cup. Even though his appearance was on fire at that time.
David Beckham has also been in the same position ahead of the 2002 World Cup. However, he was still selected for the England national team.