England Must Go Positive with a Front 2 Proper for Last-16 Clash with Iceland

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 24, 2016

commentComment        

It is often said teams need to feel their way into a major tournament such as Euro 2016, getting better as they go along. There is no fixed pattern to this, but there is logic to at least trying not to show all your cards too early.

Nobody is going to pretend England planned to begin the European Championship in the frustrating fashion they have—two draws sandwiching an uninspiring win over Wales. Beginning with Monday's last-16 clash with Iceland, they will hope to show they have learned from their group-stage experiences.



Captain Wayne Rooney is of the belief the less-than-thrilling results could work in England's favour.

"In my eyes, the group games have been good because we could have got false hope if we'd won all of them 2-0 or 3-0," said Rooney, set to earn his 115th cap to go joint-second with David Beckham as England's most capped player, per BBC Sport. "We're confident and we believe we can go to the end of this competition."

Better a positive attitude than a pessimistic one.

Still, Rooney's subsequent assertion that if England play "our best, we can give anyone a game and win," needs some proving. That's largely because nobody seems to be sure what would constitute their best.

Group B proved challenging from the perspective that their opponents made it difficult for England to play their natural game—that being the expansive, energetic style honed over an unbeaten qualifying campaign and tantalisingly glimpsed in pre-tournament friendly wins over the likes of France, Germany and Turkey.



The performance against Russia felt like an encouraging start up until Vasili Berezutski's late equaliser cancelled out Eric Dier's free-kick.

Instead of admiring a purposeful effort that hinted at the pace, movement and penetrative passing that England would play with at their best—Adam Lallana and Kyle Walker excelling in the fo...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!