Were England’s Errors Down to Complacency or Confidence? Either Way, Don’t Panic

England players celebrate after scoring against Kosovo. (Reuters)
England players celebrate after scoring against Kosovo. (Reuters)
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Were England’s Errors Down to Complacency or Confidence? Either Way, Don’t Panic

England players celebrate after scoring against Kosovo. (Reuters)
England players celebrate after scoring against Kosovo. (Reuters)

Individual mistakes that gifted Kosovo goals will worry Gareth Southgate but there is no reason to think they will be repeated come the real thing next summer.

When Gareth Southgate sat down to meet the media in the Terry Paine lounge at St. Mary’s on Tuesday night, the topic in hand was human error.

Such a debate would normally offer great insight for all of us, given our proclivity for mistakes in the most unexpected (and expected) of circumstances. But this was specifically to do with the errors of human footballers, and the very best footballers at that, so the learnings for mere mortals were limited. However much you might wish to put yourself in Declan Rice’s shoes, in a very real sense, you could not.

To be fair, Southgate was struggling to make sense of things too. Kosovo had scored their first goal, in the first minute of the match, when a one-touch passing triangle went horribly wrong and Michael Keane played the ball blind into the hulking form of Kosovo’s Vedat Muriqi. The second error to result in a goal came just after half-time and belonged to Rice. This one was even worse, with the West Ham midfielder passing the ball to his opponent while looking straight at him.

Southgate suggested the glitches could have been due to pressure or to the intensity of the game. Certainly Kosovo had been talked up before the match as being more challenging opponents than England’s usual qualifying fare and this assessment wasn’t too far off. The visitors also set about the match eagerly and after half-time, desperate to restore some integrity with the score at 5-1, the intensity was increased. The Kosovans scored all three of their goals during these two periods and, so, the explanations were plausible. Southgate said he would take a little more time to make his mind up about what happened but, either way, it was “concerning”.

Just how concerning is that? Again, without a device that can wriggle inside his brain, we will struggle to know what Southgate really thinks. But you can say with confidence that the mistakes were concerning because they not only took off the gloss, but also a layer of undercoat from an otherwise Sterling performance (pun very much intended). England tore through the Kosovans with quick, vertical football and a world-class player (that’s Raheem again) directing the play. To see shoddy behavior at the other end, and behavior that was duly punished, harshed the buzz of many in the ground.

On the other hand, it is not as if England were ever really in danger of doing anything other than winning the game comfortably. They were so far ahead at half-time that keeping the same levels of concentration would have been difficult however hard they tried. And despite the two quick goals after the restart, England soon regained the balance of play and the initiative. They missed a penalty, hit the woodwork and failed to take other decent chances. They should surely have had more goals, though when the total is five already, that’s not much of a topic for complaint.

Another reason not to worry so much is that the most apocalyptic reading of events – make those mistakes against the best opposition and the game would be over – doesn’t really translate too well. Yes, England might have been feeling pressure as Southgate suggested, but it was not the same pressure as they would face in, say, a European Championship semi-final against France. Far from it. In fact some of the pressure might come not from fear of defeat but from wishing to prove one’s superiority over the opposition, hence popping off those triangles as soon as the first whistle had blown. England’s psychological preparation and approach will be very different against the very best.

But on the other hand again … it’s not as if similar mistakes haven’t happened against the very best, and very recently. England’s collapse against the Netherlands in this summer’s Nations League happened thanks to two moments where confidence was misplaced, where displays of technical prowess backfired.

Looking back slightly further, it’s tempting to include the crucial edge Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic got over a dozing John Stones in the World Cup semi-final a year earlier, a moment where an England player thought everything was OK when it very much was not.

Rice performed well over the two qualifying matches, Keane less so. It’s a team game with collective responsibility but certain individual components are likely still to change as England close in on next year’s finals. The rest of the challenge falls to Southgate and his coaches, trying to strike that most difficult of balances between confidence and complacency, knowing that this is where the biggest opportunities can be seized or spurned. It may prove a task too tricky to complete but, if so, England fans can at least console themselves watching scintillating attacking play from a team wearing the Three Lions. This has not always been the case.

The Guardian Sport



Venus Williams’ Bid for Her First Winning Streak Since 2019 Ends in a Loss to Magdalena Frech in DC 

Venus Williams waves to the crowd after she lost to Magdalena Frech, of Poland, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Venus Williams waves to the crowd after she lost to Magdalena Frech, of Poland, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Venus Williams’ Bid for Her First Winning Streak Since 2019 Ends in a Loss to Magdalena Frech in DC 

Venus Williams waves to the crowd after she lost to Magdalena Frech, of Poland, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Venus Williams waves to the crowd after she lost to Magdalena Frech, of Poland, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

When Venus Williams’ bid for her first winning streak since 2019 ended with one last forehand that landed long, the spectators at the DC Open's main stadium Thursday night gave her a standing ovation. She responded with a smile and the sort of pirouette and wave she usually reserves for celebrating wins.

Williams hadn't competed anywhere in more than a year, and so even if this tournament was over for her after a 6-2, 6-2 loss to 24th-ranked Magdalena Frech in the second round, just being back out there was big for the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion — and her many fans.

“Oh, I had so much fun. Definitely not the result I wanted, but still a learning experience. The part about sport (and) life is that you never stop learning,” the 45-year-old Williams said. “I got to play a lot of matches here and that definitely was a plus. The fans in DC are just epic. I couldn’t have been happier with my first week back.”

Her victory in the first round Tuesday against 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns made Williams the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 in 2004.

That was Williams' first win in singles since 2023, and she joked afterward that she was motivated to succeed because she wanted to be able to renew her access to the WTA's health insurance plan after being inactive for so long.

This hard-court tournament was the first event for Williams since March 2024; she missed time because of surgery for uterine fibroids.

“Health care is so important and access to health care and being able to see the right and the best doctors for whatever you’re going through,” Williams said. “Obviously it’s a fun and funny moment, but it’s an issue that people are dealing with, so it is serious.”

She won a doubles match in Washington, too, and playing a total of four matches — two each in singles and doubles — across four days finally caught up to her.

“I feel like I ran out of gas today, unfortunately,” Williams said. “I tried to find the energy, and I didn’t find it.”

The last time Williams won at least two matches in a row was in August 2019, at the Cincinnati Open, where she put together three consecutive victories before losing to Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.

Williams began well against Frech, going up 2-1. But from there, Frech claimed seven straight games to own the first set and lead 2-0 in the second.

Frech is a 27-year-old from Poland whose best Grand Slam showing was a run to the fourth round at the 2024 Australian Open before losing to Coco Gauff.

“I can't even imagine how she pushes herself,” Frech said about Williams. “It's really amazing.”

In other action Thursday, top-seeded Jessica Pegula lost to 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, and Emma Raducanu dominated her first career matchup against Naomi Osaka, winning the showdown between past US Open champions 6-4, 6-2.

Seeded men advancing included No. 1 Taylor Fritz, No. 4 Ben Shelton, No. 6 Frances Tiafoe, No. 7 Alex de Minaur, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and No. 14 Brandon Nakashima.