John Terry’s presence at England training yesterday brought a reminder of a past generation of exceptional centre backs, notably the 2006 World Cup finals quartet. Terry partnered Rio Ferdinand in Germany, with Jamie Carragher and Sol Campbell intermittently involved, and such accomplished, experienced defenders conceded only two goals in eight hours.
Those Terry cast his eye over have progressed far further in tournaments than the “golden generation” yet central defence remains the part of this England team causing most concern. In 2018, Southgate took Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Eric Dier, Gary Cahill and Phil Jones to the World Cup in Russia and they reached the semi-final before being opened up by Croatia.
In 2021, for the delayed Euros, Southgate’s central defensive options were Walker, Stones, Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Conor Coady and Ben White and they made the final before failing to hold on to their lead against Italy and going out on penalties. Walker, who also featured at right back, and Maguire were named in the Uefa team of the tournament.
Everyone is debating who will be on the plane to Qatar in mid-November but a player such as Walker, or any representative of an elite club, may have 40 games before then for club and country. Much can change in form and fitness but, as the land lies, Southgate has a range of options at centre back: Walker, Stones, Maguire, Coady and Mings surely go, leaving probably one place for White, Marc Guéhi or Fikayo Tomori. Given Walker and White’s ability to play right back (and play it well), Southgate could pick one as cover at full back, although it would trigger the mother of all maelstroms over which right back then gets omitted.
Questions persist. Does Southgate play a three against the more threatening opposition (as he did against Croatia and Italy) because he is not convinced by any of the centre backs so goes for safety in numbers? Does he play two holding midfield players against the better opponents because he worries about the back? Against the most exacting opponents, Southgate goes for Walker-Stones-Maguire and it would be little surprise if he continued with this trio at the World Cup against the better sides. With Walker rested and Stones not deemed fit enough, Mings and Maguire start at the back against Ivory Coast at Wembley this evening.
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Although most predominantly play in a back four with their clubs, Mings defended Southgate’s decision to deploy a back three, which many critics feel is overly cautious. “Sometimes people think that a back three, because you have an extra centre back, that you are trying to shut up shop and be a lot more defensive but in a back three it certainly allows us to be more aggressive,” the Aston Villa captain said.
“Imagine if I’m playing in a back four and I follow a striker in, quite often the full back is engaged with a winger. That leaves some space in behind you in a back four whereas in a back three you have the support and confidence of an extra centre back being behind you.”
It permits greater aggressiveness, Mings contended, in deciding whether to press or advance with the ball. “That security behind you allows centre backs to go and join in more,” Mings said. “When you get the ball you are allowed to step in more because there is the added security behind you of an extra defender. So whilst they are very similar in terms of where you find yourself on the pitch as a left-sided centre back in a back four or a back three the demands are completely different actually. A back three allows us to be a lot more aggressive in terms of how we press as a back line.”
Given the competition for places, the 29-year-old Mings has the advantage of being left-footed and has a remarkable record of England conceding only three goals (two to Belgium in 2020, one to Hungary in 2021) during his 1,100 minutes of action (Christian Eriksen scored before Mings came on against Denmark in 2020). “I feel like the ‘not conceding goals’ thing is obviously a lovely record — [but] it’s not really a record though is it? It’s just some stats,” Mings said. “It’s nice but I don’t think that necessarily determines whether I should play or not.”
He understood why Maguire replaced him after two games of the Euros, having recovered from his ankle injury. “If I were in Harry’s shoes and I’d been such a good servant to the national team in terms of the stuff that happened in Russia, and the amount of games that he’s played and the player he is, and I missed a couple of games through injury but then I was fit, I’d like to think there would be a level of loyalty or credit in the bank still that would allow me to at least come back,” Mings said. “I fully understand the decision the manager made in the summer and I actually can agree with it.”
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Maguire’s form at Manchester United this season has come under often harsh, forensic examination. “He comes under a lot of scrutiny, a lot of it misplaced at times because people are going on like the team is actually fully functioning and Harry is the weak link, which I don’t think is fair whatsoever,” Mings said. “As a centre back your mistakes are always highlighted — that’s just the territory, the position you play in, so that is what we accept — but I don’t think it has affected Harry. He is a great guy, a great character, a great leader and his service to the national team has been unbelievable really.
“Whatever is happening at club level, the manager and the players here make it really easy to leave it at the door and come into a whole new environment, with different faces, voices and stimulus. That’s probably why you see players sometimes playing differently for the national team than they do at club level, because it is a whole different world really. He’s doing well.”
That was a powerful endorsement of the supportive, uplifting environment Southgate has built with England. Mings also mentioned the improvement in atmosphere at England games from before the last tournament, when Southgate’s players were booed for taking a knee, and now. “We were playing up in Middlesbrough and getting booed at the time because it was seen as political and ‘we want to keep sport and politics separate,’ ” Mings said. “Now what we are seeing with the world is that it’s impossible to keep politics and sport separate so let’s just not even go down that route.
“The more we continue to speak about these topics then the better understanding our children and the generations that come afterwards will have. Which ultimately has to be our goal, right?” Delivering on and off the field, that’s Mings’s goal.
