A personal redemption narrative forms a compelling subplot the main story, and it’s a cruel irony that Southgate’s England side also lost the final of Euro 2020 in a penalty shootout on home soil.
That Southgate has yet to bag a trophy — the England men’s team still hasn’t won a major tournament since 1966 — remains a powerful trump card for his doubters.
Yet “Dear England” is not so much about sports as it is about culture.
The technical and tactical foundations of the England team’s revival are conspicuously underplayed in this telling: The team’s on-field improvement is straightforwardly tethered to a shift in moral values, and we are given to understand that correlation equals causation.
Dear EnglandThrough Aug. 11 at the National Theater, in London; nationaltheatre.org.uk
Persons:
— Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Southgate’s, Southgate, hasn’t, “, nationaltheatre.org.uk
Organizations:
Conservative, Germany, England men’s, National Theater
Locations:
London, England