A decent showing against Italy nevertheless saw England slip to a 2-1 defeat against the Euro 2012 runners up in their opening World Cup game.
The Rooney experiment backfired and wasn’t addressed
There was much talk about where Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was going to play for England, and as he started the match shunted out to the left, he found it difficult to get in the game. The problem was compounded by the fact that the Italian right winger Antonio Candreva gave a blistering performance, and the United forward’s lack of commitment to staying wide only goaded the Lazio player to get forward more. Rooney didn’t stick to his job, and that meant huge problems down England’s left hand side and amazingly, Hodgson didn’t address it despite the Italians threatening every time they worked the ball to their right. The England boss will now have to decide what to do ahead of Thursday’s match with Uruguay, because he is as guilty as Rooney for failing to give the striker the platform to perform. Though Rooney assisted Liverpool forward Sturridge’s goal, he did little else from his position, and has to be utilised more centrally.
The younger players impressed
That’s not to say the overall performance was poor, far from it in fact. England created the better chances over the course of the game, with more shots, more shots on target and more corners. Much of this positive work came from the performances of Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and, Daniel Sturridge, and United’s Danny Welbeck, all of whom scared the Italian defence with their pace and drive. Likewise, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana both had their moments once they came on. Hodgson has to stick with the young blood for the next two games, while somehow finding a way to encourage Rooney and Steven Gerrard to step up their performances.
England still gave Italy too much time on the ball
With Gerrard, Henderson and Sterling in midfield, many hoped we would see the same high tempo pressing game Liverpool have employed to great effect in this season’s Premier League. Though England had their moments, they still sat off Pirlo and his fellow midfielders far too much on more than one occasion, with the Juventus man in particular rarely challenged when in possession. Such tactics meant the game was often controlled by the Azzuri and their general, who themselves harried England during the first half.
Cole would have been a better bet than Baines in this game
Of the three group games, this was always going to be the one where experienced, wise defending may be the difference, and there are few more experienced, wiser defenders than Ashley Cole. It was telling that Leighton Baines struggled so much on his World Cup debut, and though he was of course not helped by Rooney being drawn inside rather than tracking his man, the Everton defender wasn’t able to rectify the situation, being continuously exposed by Candreva. Cole may be in his final few years, but he would likely have been able to adjust his position to deal with the threat more proactively.
England can still make it, but the next match is do or die
Both England and Uruguay now go into Thursday’s game knowing that a loss would likely send them home. It leaves little room for errors, but Roy Hodgson should focus unequivocally on the positives that came from the game, while attempting to employ Rooney in his best position. Sterling looked dangerous whatever position he played, and can feature from the left as he has done for Liverpool, with Rooney behind Sturridge. With England set to have more of the ball against Uruguay it might also be an idea for Adam Lallana to start in place of Welbeck.
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