English footballers before the European Championship tribunal: Roy Hodgson knows what’s going on

Roy Hodgson politely declines. If he can avoid it, he will not get involved in the football debate that is “raging” here, he reports from London. The decisive rejection also applies to Swiss media, he adds. That’s how it will stay. Sorry.

The Briton will turn 77 on August 9th and would be a perfect person to talk to ahead of the European Championship quarter-final between Switzerland and England. He has represented numerous clubs and, above all, two national teams: Switzerland and England.

Hodgson regrets his departure from Switzerland

He has legendary status in Switzerland because he is the coach who led the national team to the 1994 World Cup in the USA and then qualified as a supplement for the European Championship finals in England. The last time the Swiss took part in a major tournament was in 1966. Hodgson still regrets that he could not resist the temptation of Inter Milan and left the Swiss Football Association (SFV) before the 1996 European Championship because it refused to give him the dual mandate.

Between 2012 and 2016, he reached “the crown of the tree” as national coach in his home country, as he retrospectively calls it in 2023. But the record is mixed. England only won 3 out of 11 games in the finals under Hodgson. What is remembered is not the sometimes almost perfect qualifying phases, but two damned games that Hodgson counts among the “worst defeats” of his decades-long career.

At the 2014 World Cup, England lost 2-1 to Uruguay in their second group match in Brazil and were eliminated early. The low point came at the 2016 European Championship, when the “Three Lions” suffered against Iceland (1-2) what they were able to avert in Germany in 2024 against Slovakia (2-1) thanks to a last-second goal from Jude Bellingham: a crash in the round of 16 against an outsider.

Only seconds were missing and the coach Gareth Southgate, who succeeded Hodgson in 2016, would have experienced the horror that his predecessor had to endure with “Iceland” if he had mentioned “Slovakia”. Settlements at home, hyped up by the tabloid media, incited by former greats of English football. In 2016, former international player Alan Shearer spoke on the BBC of the “worst performance” of the national team.

Hodgson struggles to maintain his balance in front of the media

And this after the English had qualified for the 2016 European Championship finals with 10 games, 30 points and a goal difference of 31:3, and had also beaten Switzerland twice without any discussion. Hodgson resigned after the Iceland shock and struggled to maintain his composure in front of the media the following day. He mentioned the harsh criticism and the damage caused by a “particularly bad game”. And he said to the media: “I’m going and leaving you with your stories.”

Eight years later, Gareth Southgate narrowly avoided a similar tribunal. The English, who were finalists in the last tournament in 2021, are not playing well at the European Championship. They were miserable, disorganized and anxious against Slovakia – after an almost flawless qualification without defeat. It is quite possible that Harry Kane and Kyle Walker were thinking about the “Iceland pains”. Both were there in 2016.

But this time, despite their weakness, momentum saved them. Bellingham’s scissor kick to make it 1-1 in the 95th minute, which saved them against Slovakia and took them to extra time. That was a sign of spirit, patience and togetherness, said Southgate. Even during the group stage, after the modest 1-1 draw against Denmark, he said: “We are disappointed. Expectations are high, we are going through a difficult phase.”

His team almost went through the meat grinder. The Swiss almost had to face Slovakia in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, and the Swiss portal to the semi-finals almost had a historic opening. But now they are facing England. There is a certainty that the English, many of whose players cost 100 million or more, can only do better than they did against Slovakia.

Bellingham says one word several times: «garbage»

After the Slovakia match, Bellingham felt like he was on trial, despite his tricky shot. Apparently, all sorts of things are infiltrating the delegation from outside. At the media conference, Bellingham repeatedly spoke of the “rubbish” that was being expressed.

England in pain. In the dock. 2016, 2024. Sometimes, little decides how a tournament goes. A shot that hits the post, a shot on goal by Bellingham, a moment of carelessness. “Small things make the difference between success and failure,” as Roy Hodgson recently told Sky TV, “I’ve seen both sides of the coin.” Or as Southgate puts his defense: “We’re still in.”

When the subject of Iceland came up in a long conversation with Hodgson in 2023, the Briton became tight-lipped. He said of the criticism from the English media: “After every game England loses, it starts, and bitter criticism is inevitable, especially at the finals. Bobby Robson, Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello know that. I’m joining a long list.” The next in line is Gareth Southgate, in 2024, after eight years as national coach.

As England advanced to the round of 16 without much fanfare, fans threw beer mugs at Southgate.

The English national coach pays a high price

Question to Hodgson: “How did you deal with the harsh judgement of the British media?” Answer: “I tried to put it in the right light for myself. That is the enormous price you pay as a national coach.”

After 2016, Hodgson enjoyed good times at his hometown club Crystal Palace, but after returning in 2023 and health problems, he resigned in February 2024 – as the 76-year-old and oldest coach ever employed in the Premier League.

Taking some time off has done him good. In June he will be attending the royal horse races in Ascot and will be talking briefly with Sky about himself and the (football) world. He also reports by email that he is “fine” and enjoying his free time. On Saturday he will be a guest at Wimbledon, in the Royal Box, as is fitting.

Of course he will follow the quarter-finals of “my two favorite football nations.” He writes that he was “extremely” impressed by the Swiss team – “well organized and balanced, technically good players, lots of energy, coupled with tactical understanding.” He said he should send “Murat” his best wishes.

Yakin made his debut in the national team under Hodgson in 1994

The current Swiss national coach made his debut in 1994 as a footballer under Hodgson in the selection against the United Arab Emirates when he was not yet 20 years old. Yakin was sent off. After that, however, he played no further role in the Swiss national team under Hodgson, with the exception of the exhilarating 4:2 victory in the 1994 European Championship qualifier against Sweden in Bern.

As national coach, Yakin is experiencing how large the projection surface can be on which the national team finds itself. In 2023 for the worse, in 2024 for the better. It can be assumed that Yakin will never be able to share with Hodgson what it is like on the island. With the public and a team that (still) has no ground under its feet.