Facing Slovakia, which is only ranked 45th in the world, a thrilling 2-1, England, worth 1.52 billion euros, was once on the verge of elimination. Had it not been for Bellingham's 95th-minute deflection, the favourites would have been the laughing stock of the world.
Against Slovakia, an Eastern European side who played high and fought sharply, Southgate still had no better way to deal with it. His only change was to heeded the media call and put the more athletic and controlled Manchester United 19-year-old Maynou in the starting line-up to free up Bellingham and give him more freedom to step forward to help the team attack, as he did at Real Madrid.
But what he didn't expect was that it was just one of the few tactical highlights of Southgate's 120 minutes. Kieran Trippier, who played at right-back for a season, has already proven his lackluster left-back position in three group games, with him and Foden lacking depth on the left flank and a lack of hardness in defence.
In the face of the opponent's right attack composed of the same 37-year-old Kuczka and Pecarik, the left side of the "Three Lions" built by Kieran Trippier and Foden was once penetrated. England's goal was conceded by Slovakia's high ball attack on the right, the ball crossed the entire England left side of the defence, and Guehi's misplacement caused a big disaster, and Schlanz easily pushed the goal.
Throughout the first half, England had only one attacking tactic: finding a way to get the ball to Walker, Bukayo Saka and Bellingham on the right flank. The pace of Walker and Bukayo Saka, as well as Bellingham's presence on the right side of the pitch in tandem, epitomized England's attacking scene in the first 45 minutes.
Bellingham or Walker's through pass, Bukayo Saka cutting in at high speed to tear apart the defence, such a scene was one of the few actions in England that could make a splash in 90 minutes.
In the second half, Kieran Trippier was suspected of having an injury after a long period of inactivity, and Southgate's first thought was a strange move that had been planned before the game: Bukayo Saka played at left-back. In the 66th minute, Palmer came on to replace Kieran Trippier, and Saka, who played as a right winger, went straight to the left-back position.
Saka played in this position four years ago when he was 18 years old. Saka barely appeared on screen for almost 20 minutes, with the only attempt to break through in front of him ended in a return pass. This strange tactical adjustment even once held the veteran Pecaric on the right side of Slovakia scratched his head. It wasn't until Eze came on in the 84th minute that Saka returned to the right.
Playing a tactical experiment in the knockout rounds after the scoreline, Southgate is also the first time in the history of the England team that he has been so reckless in tactics.
And it wasn't until the 90th minute that he remembered that there was also a positive Indian center forward Ivan Toney on the bench. It was the Brentford striker's appearance that quickly secured space for England and Kane. Bellingham's 95th-minute deflection and Kane's header in the first minute of extra-time were all credited to Ivan Toney's pressure on the Slovakian defence.
After 120 minutes of stumbling, Gareth Southgate and his England side were once again thrilling, but luck doesn't favour the mediocre every time. At 0:00 on July 7, England will face Switzerland, which eliminated Italy, in the quarter-finals, and what awaits Southgate will be another big test. And this time, it will probably be more difficult than any previous one.