Why Is The Future Bright Despite England’s World Cup Loss?
England’s defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final might seem like déjà vu all over again, but with the FA halfway through a big plan for grassroots football, there are many reasons to believe the future is still bright.
The 2-1 defeat in Atlanta left many feeling deeply disappointed amid hopes that this could have finally been the occasion when England ended the long wait for a second World Cup.
After Anthony Gordon put England 1-0 up in the 55th minute, the team sought to hang on to their lead with an increasingly defensive approach that ultimately backfired, with critics turning on the tactics of coach Thomas Tuchel.
It continues a sequence of recent tournaments where England have come close, without landing a major international trophy:
- They were semi-finalists at the 2018 World Cup
- They lost the final of Euro 2020 (played in 2021) on penalties to Italy
- They were quarter-finalists at the 2022 World Cup
- They lost the final of Euro 2024 to Spain
What is The FA’s Plan To Grow Grassroots Football?
However, coaches buying football training tops for youngsters as the 2026-27 season approaches may take encouragement from the fact that the FA is halfway through its current four-year plan for grassroots football, which may provide many future stars.
Aims include increasing participation, improving coaching, boosting facilities, supporting community clubs, encouraging better behaviour and respect for referees and, ultimately, producing better young players.
This may provide an even stronger pool of young players for the club academies of England’s professional teams, providing pathways for future stars.
Indeed, just as today’s England players have been trying to succeed where the likes of Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson, Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney fell short in the past, so too may the next generation be encouraged to think they could be the ones.
Eventually, football will come home – and it may be one of the youngsters you are coaching who plays a major role in that success.