There is no British Toni Kroos. The same goes for England's Andrea Pirlo, England's Luka Modric and England's Rodri. Everyone instinctively knows this. England doesn't have earthquakes, it doesn't grow citrus fruits, it doesn't produce technical central midfielders who can control games and dictate the tempo of play. That's just the way it is.
And on a clear, crisp Helsinki night, Angel Gomez steps into this paradox. Paradoxically, in many ways the player Gomez aspires to be and the role he is suited for doesn't actually exist. Naturally, because soccer fans are impatient and adore the dopamine rush of instant blanket judgment, they feel the urge to measure him against this stratospheric impossible border. He is England's Pirlo. Or maybe not. Good luck.
Either way, Gomez gets to work right away. And of course, there's a further irony here. A deep midfield role is not a position that lends itself to quick decisions or quick conclusions. This is a role that is not judged on moments or flashes of genius, goals or assists, but on longevity and reliability, metronomic consistency and the ability to do the right thing over and over again.
You're not here to create viral content. You are here to be perfect. It doesn't matter if you pass it 100 times and no one remembers a single one of them. At the highest level of the game, where the press is ferocious, center halves are spread out wide and the margins are very narrow, it's a job akin to that of an outfield goalkeeper. Your successes are quickly forgotten, but your mistakes always carry a disproportionate cost.
Coincidentally, Gomez made exactly 100 passes in this match, completing 97 of them, but one of them will definitely be memorable. Early on, Trent Alexander-Arnold played the ball to Gomes, who cleverly shuffled the ball with the outside of his foot as he rounded the corner and slotted it through the gap into the path of Jack Grealish.
It was Gomez's first assist for England, a moment of real quality and perhaps an arrival of sorts. It was a moment that calmed him down, reassured him, and convinced him that he could work at this level. Therefore, it is tempting to conclude that this small skill perfectly illustrates his value to the team. But that's not the case.
In fact, England have a lot of players who can do this. Jude Bellingham can do that. The same goes for Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and James Maddison. What makes Gomez distinctive, what ultimately establishes his status and defines his value, are the other elements. The remaining 99 pass.
Let's return to the concept of control. Although it is often used as a simple synonym for possession, it actually includes much more, such as territorial control, strategic control, and emotional control. When England lose control of a game, it's often because they're cornered, forced to carry the ball in low-expectation areas, mentally restless and forced into low-probability options. It is the cause. It's the whole package.
Therefore, the deep midfielders have the additional function of exuding calmness. Just before Gomez's assist, the ball was stolen in England's half, allowing a quick Finland attack and creating an early chance for Topi Keskinen. And if it feels disproportionate to pick just one loose pass out of 97 he completed without fuss, that's just the standard required for the job.
After newsletter promotion
But the potential upside is always worth the trouble. And against a decidedly limited opponent, England with Gomez at the helm was a radically different prospect to the Wembley chaos on Thursday night. He was calm and methodical, safe in the knowledge that there was always an outlet for possession. This allowed Declan Rice to push forward as he did with Arsenal, showing his aggressiveness and ambition and was ultimately rewarded with England's third goal.
We cannot draw any immediate conclusions here. There are no blanket judgments or wild predictions. But it's at least worth remembering that great international midfielders don't just come into the game in full form. It is shaped and aged over time. Early Modric and early Kroos were very different players from the artists they eventually became. More dynamic, more aggressive, less reliable, but still pushing their limits. Pirlo flourished as an attacking midfielder in his 20s, but then gradually fell to the back of the field. Rodri was a pure passer at Villarreal and then a pure destroyer at Atlético, but only relatively recently has he reached his full expressive potential.
The English Kroos/Pirlo/Modrić/Rodri will not arrive like lightning, carried on a stork, or wrapped in golden shrouds. But right now, you have Gomez, you have Koby Mainu, you have Adam Wharton, you have Curtis Jones, you have Rico Ruiz, and at some point you have to invest in one of them. Probably not. In the long run. And repeat it over and over again. Gomez may or may not be that guy. But at least England should try to find a solution.
