'Three Lions' dream of becoming kings and doubts

(Baonghean.vn) - With the youngest squad in the tournament, possessing many world-class stars and a burning desire, the England team advanced to France with the title of "King of Euro 2016 Qualifiers".

More than ever, they have the right to think about a “fairy tale” if they fulfill their dream of becoming kings at this year’s Euro. However, their current weaknesses and past ups and downs make that dream still doubtful…

After the failure of the 2014 World Cup (eliminated in the group stage), the England team has completely changed its squad with the appearance of young talents trained in the Premier League. Therefore, in this year's Euro competition, the "Three Lions" brought a strong, balanced, and combative squad, with a combination of experience and youth.

These factors helped the Three Lions secure a ticket to the EURO 2016 finals three rounds early. At the end of the qualifying round, England topped Group E with 10 wins, 30 points, nine points ahead of second-place Switzerland. This is the first time the Three Lions have achieved this feat in history.

England won the World Cup in 1966 but have never won the Euro.

In attack, "leader" Rooney is showing a strong revival, while Sturridge is ready to lead the way, and the two strikers Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy are "possessed" as they lead the list of top scorers.iNHA this season. The midfield is also making fans quite confident with names that are in good form last season, such as: Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana,...

In defense, Joe Hart is ready to bring solidity in goal, with talented defenders defending up front, such as Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Clyne, Danny Rose, Kyke Walker,...

With those factors, it will not be surprising if England go deep into the next round to write a fairy tale at Euro 2016.

However, although the “Three Lions” are the oldest football team in the world, having won the World Cup in 1966, the England team has never once sat on the “throne” in the most prestigious tournament in the Old Continent – ​​EURO. In the past 14 Euro seasons, the “Three Lions” have failed to reach the finals in 5 seasons and had to stop right after the qualifying round 4 times. Their highest destination in the most prestigious tournament in Europe for the “Three Lions” was only a 3rd place in the 1968 tournament held in Italy.

No one denies that the foggy island nation is the "homeland of modern football" but its technical limitations and lack of tactical brains are easily exposed every time the England team "brings the bell to play against foreign countries".

Going into this year's tournament, despite being one of the number 1 seeds, looking at the squad, some of which are surplus and some of which are lacking, has made many people skeptical. The 3 central defenders, Chris Smalling, Gary Cahill and John Stones, although talented, in reality, they are not excellent central defenders compared to other midfielders in Europe, such as: Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric... even considered a "thin shield" against the very strong attacks of other teams in EURO. But after all, the 68-year-old coach does not have many options for this position.

With a young, balanced and ambitious squad, is England capable of putting all doubts to rest?

Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) and Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) being on the list to go to Paris is considered a very reckless decision by coach Roy Hodgson. Because the Liverpool captain only played 26 minutes after 5 months out due to a knee ligament injury. The Arsenal midfielder also just returned after 8 months of recovering from a broken leg.

That will affect their ability to compete under the huge pressure from EURO. Not only that, Hodgson's squad is also threatened by a player lacking international experience like Rashford. Because 3 months of "rubbing" in the Premier League cannot give the "young shoot" of the "Red Devils" enough experience to show off in an arena with many steel defenses like EURO 2016. At the same time, Welbeck's inability to participate due to injury will of course be a big loss for the England team...

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