THERE’S a lad on a Channel 4 advert doing a wonderful football-juggle.
It ends in a chip to a long-legged robot where the ball is caught by cheering children balanced on one of its arms.
Gareth Southgate has a number of talented young players to choose from
Or when abroad, you may catch a boy who lies on his back in the road and pedals a ball on his feet before scurrying away as the traffic lights turn from green to red.
This degree of control was seldom seen on a football pitch in England in the past century — but now is commonplace.
Flicking the ball over a defender’s head, or taking the ball with your back to goal and in one movement rounding a marker, are just two skills you’ll view with wonder regularly in the leagues.
More so because many of the creators are English, athletic and adventurous.
Gareth Southgate goes on about only a third or so of Premier League first-team players qualifying for England.
But the influx of foreigners is one reason our international manager has far more highly skilled young men to pick from than any of his predecessors.
He’s also lucky clubs train staff in tactics far, far beyond walloping a ball upfield and hoping it lands within touching distance of a team-mate.
Yet this counter-attacking weapon, used by Manchester United in their derby win, shouldn’t be entirely sneered at as it can be a winner.
Ally perfect delivery to speed and you have the fuse to explosive goals.
Leicester use it for Jamie Vardy, Liverpool to a degree with Sadio Mane, occasionally Spurs with Son Heung-min.
Now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has the blueprint to keep his job as United boss. Marcus Rashford has all the assets to be his postman, with Daniel James providing the red van.
At the moment Leicester are the most interesting side. When they won the 2016 title, Danny Drinkwater and Marc Albrighton provided many of the passes. Vardy did the rest.
Now boss Brendan Rodgers has plotted a similar act to Claudio Ranieri’s — and more often than not the striker’s accessory is James Maddison. We must envy the Foxes’ scouting network and their willingness to strike decisively when they do business.
They did it when they signed Maddison for £22m from Norwich and by tempting Rodgers away from Celtic.
Maddison, 23, is one of the young men Southgate has the opportunity to blend into a trophy-winning side.
England can also call on the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli, Rashford, Tammy Abraham, Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
And there are one or two missing from the current set.
James Maddison has been a revelation since joining Leicester for £22mCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Jack Grealish has been talked of as an international since his teens at Aston Villa — finally opting for England over Ireland two years ago.
The 24-year-old matured in the Championship and boasts Gazza-like close control and a high work-rate.
But would you choose Maddison or Grealish because I doubt Southgate would often use both together? Then there’s the dazzling Phil Foden, 19. Wow!
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
