Why there is no better time for Bellingham, Watkins, Toney, Guehi, Eze, Palmer and Mainoo to be playing for England
We’ve had Fergie’s Fledglings, Mancini’s Teenies and the like but this Euros surprising didn’t give us any moniker for the myriad of young players that aided Gareth Southgate’s charge for the European Championship trophy.
England always believed in youth, as an 18-year-old Michael Owen famously became the star of England’s 1998 world cup campaign with that goal against Argentina.
In that same game in Saint-Etienne, poster boy David Beckham, 23 at the time and having his first major England tournament, spoiled England’s party with that petulant kick at Diego Simeone. After England went on to lose on penalties, many questioned the nation’s reliance on youth against experience. Even after Owen’s exploits.
But at this Euros, most of England’s young players were Black. And there has never been a better time for these cubs to be playing for the Three Lions.
The established professional Kyle Walker, the fastidious Saka and the irrepressible Bellingham can be great mentors for these young Black players coming through the mill.
Saka scored once, Bellingham scored twice, Ollie Watkins scored the all-important goal against the Dutch while Cole Palmer gave England hope in the final by coming off the bench to score. And all the penalty takers in the shootout win against Switzerland were Black.
And for Walker, who was the oldest player in the team, he probably did a fantastic job with these lads having their first England tournament behind the scenes, making their transition into the team seamless.
Euro 2024 was probably his last act for England. And he has a curious story with Spain, England’s nemesis.
VIV ANDERSON WAS THE FIRST BLACK PLAYER TO PLAY FOR ENGLAND.
He made his England debut against La Roja way back in May 2011 under Fabio Capello in an England win. Spain, who had won the world cup in South Africa just a year earlier, would go on to win Euro 2012 as Walker missed out through injury.
Having cemented his place in the team ahead of EURO 2016, he would go on to feature in Russia 2018 as England were only denied a berth in the final by a Luka Modric-inspired Croatia.
He was instrumental in England’s famous Euro 2020 run and also played at the 2022 world cup in Qatar. Euro 2024 could be his swan song as he is 34. An EURO 2024 gold medal would have been the icing on the cake.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham are the most decorated of the England side minus the top-ranking Kyle Walker. Alongside Bukayo Saka, they are already established England internationals. The latter three are veterans of 2020 Euro and all four were at Qatar 2022, the first being a veteran of Russia 2018 alongside Walker.
Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, both 28 and playing for England at a major tournament for the first time, can bring their vast wealth of experience playing both lower-tier and Premier League football to bear on the entire Black caucus.
For Ollie Watkins, arguably the star in Aston Villa’s amazing run last season under Spaniard Unai Emery, his winning goal against the Dutch has definitely earned him a place in the collective memory of English fans and he could leverage the meteoric rise in his stock to achieve greater things in next season’s Villa Champions League campaign.
Toney has been banned from playing a competitive match since 6th May 2023 as he is being punished for breaches of FA betting rules and his inclusion in the team left many perplexed as to whether he is the perfect example for England’s younger Black players but his experience was especially felt in the nail-biting game against the Swiss.
After becoming the fourth youngest player ever to play for England at Russia 2018, Trent Alexander-Arnold sadly missed out at Euro 2020. He was selected for the tournament, but injury in the warm-up fixture against Austria ruled him out.
He played the final group game against Wales at Qatar 2022, but Euro 2024 is the tournament at which he has really proven his mettle in an England shirt, even though he started only England’s first two games.
Hailed a “world class professional footballer” by Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool aimed at winning all four trophies last season, he had a stellar tournament, bossing the midfield in the games he featured in especially against Serbia in which his buddy Jude Bellingham scored.
The presence of the moribund but experienced Kyle Walker means limited opportunities at his preferred right back but the versatile Liverpool vice-captain Alexander-Arnold, who played in central midfield, is value for money as he gives England two for the price of one.
Against Serbia he initiated the run that led to Bellingham’s goal, as he found Kyle Walker who then cut through for Bukayo Saka to provide the assist. His subsequent substitution in the second half for Conor Gallagher didn’t raise eyebrows. Everyone thought he was just being rested to give Gallagher tournament exposure.
In the exciting game against the Denmark, the data analysts say he was England’s best midfielder, yet somehow, Gareth Southgate substituted him in the 54th minute, the Scandinavians hardly believing their luck. They went on to earn an easy 1-1 draw while marauding the midfield.
When Southgate left him out completely in the Slovenia and Slovakia games, England fans came to understand what was unravelling. The player whom he had hailed as the cog in the wheel was gradually being phased out of the tournament. He was being scapegoated.
The backlash was still not enough to convince the England coach. TAA didn’t start in the round-of-8 game against Switzerland, but bizarrely he replaced Phil Foden in a cameo in injury time. This was quite inexplicable even though it was his shootout kick which sent England through.
Former England right back and Manchester United captain Gary Neville called his treatment “illegal”, but the player himself had a self-deprecating view of the matter. He has brushed aside suggestions that Southgate is reluctant to bench the ineffective Kyle Walker so he could assume the right back role that he excels at for Liverpool.
He said, “The coach needed different players in there…I enjoyed helping the team win the first game and drawing the second…My mindset was never stuck in one place. It was flexible to different ideas and I still believe there is a big role to play.”
While he is yet to take a quick corner that results in an England goal, he is still only 25 and will hopefully be first-choice right back for England in the future.
Saka made his England debut in October 2020 in the 3-0 win against Wales and went on to play in all England’s matches at EURO 2020. He has more than atoned for Wembley by having a stellar tournament, providing the assist for Jude Bellingham’s goal against Serbia.
He was unfairly treated by Fleet Street after the warm-up Iceland loss when most newspapers featured his picture as the face of the defeat even though he played only 25 minutes of the game and the Iceland goal had not even been scored when he was on the pitch.
This brought back echoes of the horrific racism he suffered three years ago after the Wembley final. But at the tournament the roles were this time reversed as he scored England’s equalizer against Switzerland as England fell behind.
He was also a member of the Black caucus that converted all five kicks in the ensuing shootout. Unlike three years ago, he definitely had a tournament to remember.
Enter Jude Bellingham, having his second European Championship. After making his debut for England in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in November 2020 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old, he went on to make the cut for Euro 2020.
At the tournament, England gaffer Gareth Southgate made him the youngest Englishman ever to feature at a major tournament when he appeared as an 82nd-minute substitute in the opening game against Croatia at Wembley of all places.
He was also the youngest player of any nationality in Euro history until a 16-year-old Lamine Yamal’s notorious appearance at this year’s edition. Entrusted with the number 10 shirt, he scored England’s first goal of the tournament and was also on the scoresheet in the game against Slovakia.
He brought the tenacity earned from all the years playing in Bundesliga and La Liga to bear at this tournament, marshalling the midfield superbly. His being paired in midfield with best friend Trent Alexander-Arnold proved decisive in England’s first two games.
The star of the notorious Aston Villa side that humiliated champions Liverpool 7-2 at home in October 2020, Ollie Watkins’ performance did not come as a surprise to those who have known him since his days playing in the lower tiers of English football. He was meant for greater things.
Starting his professional career at the very bottom at League Two outfit Exeter, he earned a move to Brentford in the Championship in 2017.He had a successful three-year spell at the club, finishing joint top scorer in the 2019/20 season and being named Championship Player of the Season.
Aston Villa came running after his signature, and he arrived at Villa Park in September 2020.His three years at Villa have been successful, culminating in his winning the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award for the most assists on 13 at the end of their fantastic campaign last season.
Unai Emery’s side played arguably the best football in the Premier League last season, if their fourth-place finish was anything to go by. As a result Watkins will play Champions League football for the first time in his career, which is also the team’s first soiree with Europe’s elite since 1982/83.
24–year-old Ivorian-born Marc Guehi made his debut for England in March 2022 and for some time it looked like, like Wilfried Zaha before him, it was going to be a solitary cap. But his performances for Christal Palace last season left Gareth Southgate no choice but to put him on the plane to Germany.
A Chelsea Academy graduate, he became Palace’s third most expensive signing when he joined The Eagles in the summer of 2021 for 18 million pounds, the highest fee the club has ever paid for a player since Christian Benteke and Mamadou Sakho.
A member of the famous 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning squad, he commands great respect among his peers at Palace. He attended Christian schools and is a devout Christian. He credits his Christian faith in helping him pull through difficult moments in his career. He is a wonderful example for the Black lads coming through.
Eberechi Eze made his debut for England at the ripe old age of 26 in March 2024.English players of Nigerian descent have come a long way since Wimbledon legend John Fashanu, but Eze seems to stand out among the lot as his go-getter attitude defies his quiet demeanor.
He had a great season at Championship club Queens Park Rangers in 2019/20, earning the club’s Player-of-the-Year award and a 17 million pounds move to Christal Palace.
He made a great impact in England’s hard-fought win against Slovakia as he provided the pass to Ivan Toney for his cross for Harry Kane’s winner. A devout religious, he could be a great mentor for the Black lads coming though as well.
Cole Palmer has certainly come a long way since winning the European U-21 Championship with England in 2023, making his Three Lions debut four months later. And he has never looked back.
A member of Manchester City’s Champions League-winning team in 2023, Chelsea paid 40 million pounds for his signature that summer and he has made a massive impact at Stamford Bridge, finishing the season with 27 goals and 15 assists.
He made a strong case for a starting berth for England at the tournament when he scored in the pre-tournament victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. No wonder he didn’t disappoint anytime he was introduced into the game. He came off the bench to rifle home a 70th-minute equalizer in the final against Spain to restore English hopes.
That goal made him the youngest ever scorer in a Euro final and also scorer of England’s fastest goal by a substitute. As you can see, he chooses the biggest occasions to make history. Looks like greatness to me.
Even though a mere cub, Kobbie Boateng Mainoo is mature beyond his years. But he could still do with a little mentoring. Arguably the star of England’s campaign at the tournament, he became, at the age of 19 year and 89 days, the youngest player ever to represent England at the semi-finals of a major tournament when he started the Dutch game.
He earned rave reviews for his performance against Switzerland in the quarter finals. Starting the games against Slovakia and Switzerland after impressing as a substitute against Slovenia, he was superb and analysts say he was England’s best passer of the ball at the tournament.
This is definitely something to be proud of and the prodigious Mainoo is in good company surrounded by all these accomplished Black players.
Only making his first-team appearance for Manchester United against Everton in November 2023 in a game he also won Player-of-the match, he was always destined for greater things. That flying start against Everton was a portent of greater things to come.
His finest hour in a Manchester United shirt so far has to be scoring the winner in the FA cup final last season to make United FA Cup winners and save Erik ten Hag’s skin, becoming the first English teenager to score in an FA Cup final since Steve MacKenzie in 1981 and the youngest since John Sissons in 1964.
Making his England debut in that famous Brazil victory at Wembley in March 2023, he went on to start in England’s next game against Belgium, earning Man-of-the Match in that game too. He played in five of England games at the tournament, including the final loss to Spain.
Teams have psychologists for players, but there are no better psychologists for these Black England youngsters like the players who have walked that road before.
They are the best players to help them navigate the rough terrain, to help coping with the immense pressure and expectation, and sometimes the vile racist abuse that come with playing for England.
Saka especially, has the scars to prove it.
Eric Boakye Antwi is a social cum tech entrepreneur and journalist. He has written for Goal.com, World in
Sport, and Bleacher Report. Reach him on Facebook @Eric Boakye Antwi and Instagram @ Eric Boakye
Antwi. Then on Twitter at Eric Boakye Antw2.