My summary overview from an England perspective:
Pre-Tournament camps
It's difficult when you don't have a full cycle to prepare. You have to look at a range of players, and look at combinations, and find a blend that you believe in. There were clearly some issues that the manager felt the need to address, and a consequence of that was that there wasn't a lot of development of (onfield) relationships, pattern and stability. We looked less than the sum of our parts in preparation, the hope being that the objectives that the manager pursued would come together at the tournament.
Squad Selection
A consequence, in part of that preparation, the manager decided to go with players that he knew before, were largely grateful to be there so that they minimised the actual management necessary, and prioritised those factors over ability. Some of the selections made no sense in terms of form, and fitness (both current, and known likely impact of repeated games in the short term). You could replace 'some' with 'many' here. The selection at full-back was atrocious, and the decision to replace an injured one with the centre-half highly unlikely to play, a terrible one. The only context in which it makes sense is that it would place no pressure on the manager to replace his first choice right back with someone else in the squad. Because there wasn't anyone. The only realistic player used to playing the position with any level of comfort was Djed Spence...and he couldn't play both sides in the same game, and had no relationship with the players ahead of him on either side. All other options were out of position players, who might do a level of a job.
The squad was constructed in quite a one dimensional way...to set up around a specific game plan (that has a history of not working against the better sides). With little in the way of options, ability that might offer something different, or a plan b, or a coherent way of chasing a game, or retaining possession to see out a lead, were largely ruled out by this squad selection.
Games, and in game decisions
England have good players. Enough to dominate most teams in the tournament (particularly, in my view, when the general standard was organised and systems based, rather than good). In no full performance did they look like the sum of their parts or better (I would give you half an hour against Croatia). Players that the selection had relied on were largely tired and shagged out after long seasons, debilitated by injury and illness, and ground down by the game plan (wide front players soon got bolloxed having to run the long way round the full backs for second phase play, because there was no forward central movement to hit an early cross into). Our landmark world class players were gassed before the end of the game - Bellingham with repeated unsupported lung busting runs trying to make things happen, Kane by running back into midfield and making slow, but repeated, unfruitful 'pretend' presses. No massive options to change, except like for like with players the manager had taken largely so there would be little criticism of the first choices. No alternative game plan except put the lampost on and hope to see it out. No first phase forward runs from central, to pin centre-halves and open the spaces against tiring defences on yellow cards.
Tired, injured, out of form players, without a natural connection developed by playing together, with the players having better games gassed out, is going to lead to in-game problems. A team constituted with those problems is not going to consistently outrun or outpass the opposition. Unless they are crap, and worse than your disconnected 80%.
So the in game decisions are not the issue for me. Being bolloxed, packing the defence, and trying to hold out, is an entirely legitimate tactic in those circumstances. I would prefer to look at what made that necessary, or the best choice at that moment of the elite manager with fantastic in game management skills.
Summary
We never really looked like the sum of our (potential) parts. We carried too many out of form, undercooked, injured or ill players...with a game plan that run those who were functioning into the ground. We didn't really have the options in the squad to either replace players struggling in their positions, or change the game plan - or at least there was a distinct unwillingness to do that.
My concern was that, despite superior in-game qualities, the manager might fail to get the squad to the tournament in as good condition as the previous one. For me that came to pass.
