In the early hours of June 17, after England narrowly defeated Serbia 1-0 in their opening Euro match, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand questioned manager Gareth Southgate’s tactical decisions.
Ferdinand specifically expressed dissatisfaction with Southgate’s use of Kobe Manu and Cole Palmer. Both players have excelled in the Premier League but were underutilized in the Euro opener; Manu only came on as a late substitute, while Chelsea star Palmer remained on the bench throughout the game.
In an interview, Ferdinand argued that Southgate should have introduced Manu and Palmer earlier to better control the match and secure a more comfortable victory rather than just scraping by. He said, “You can’t help but ask, where were the players who could provide that control when the game needed it? Like Kobe Manu, perhaps considered too soon, and Cole Palmer, who has that confidence and leadership that the team needs.”
“Players with the attitude of ‘give me the ball, I’ll break the deadlock’ — like Dusan Tadic did for Serbia, immediately becoming their key threat. Of course, players need to take responsibility, but I think the tactical setup should allow players to step up in crucial moments, get closer to the opponent’s goal, create the kind of space and interchanges we saw in the first half. The main issue is that England didn’t respond proactively when put under pressure.”
Manu eventually replaced Bellingham in the 86th minute, while Southgate used his other two substitutions, bringing on Gallagher for Arnold and Bowen for Saka.
Southgate has often been criticized for his defensive approach when leading, choosing to protect the lead rather than push for more goals. The 2020 Euro final is a prime example, where Luke Shaw gave England an early lead, but the team largely defended for most of the match, ultimately conceding an equalizer and losing in a penalty shootout to Italy.