Improving and Evolving England Give Roy Hodgson Time to Tinker with His Squad

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 31, 2016

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After the delight of Berlin, the frustration of Wembley Stadium. It’s the nature of international football that far too much is read into far too little, but what England’s games against Germany and the Netherlands demonstrated was that manager Roy Hodgson’s side are capable of rapid-flowing football but defensively suspect. There are still some doubts, but thinking on who makes the squad has crystallised over the past week.

The flaws at the back have been apparent for some time now, but the realisation that this England side can play the sort of rat-a-tat moves that are rare in the international game comes as a major positive.

What’s also clear is that this England is better playing on the counter, using the pace of their forwards: Against Germany, England had 39 per cent possession and carved them open seemingly at will; against the Netherlands, with 66 per cent of the ball, per WhoScored, England struggled to break down dogged opponents.

In theory, that’s good news for the tournament; the better the opponent, the better-suited England’s natural game should be.

So we beat world champions on Saturday and lose to team that hasn't even qualified for Euros on Tuesday. That's England. That's friendlies

— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) March 29, 2016 The goalkeeping position looks relatively straightforward. Joe Hart is the No 1, Fraser Forster a more than able deputy and, with Jack Butland missing out with his broken ankle, it looks like Tom Heaton will go as the third choice.

The friendlies showed England can play in two closely related systems: a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2 (or diamond) with two central forwards and a creator just behind.

Harry Kane, the leading scorer in the Premier League, played well enough in Berlin. His form for club and country, coupled with Jamie Vardy’s two goals, will strengthen calls for the pair to play al...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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