By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Sunday morning’s headlines are sadly dominated by the
unsavoury scenes after the full-time whistle of England’s EURO 2016 opener with
Russia. English fans left frightened and hurrying out of the Stade Velodrome
when a section of Russian supporters charged at them with the intention to
cause maximum trouble.
It brought an end to a shameful three days in Marseille
involving English, Russian and French fans, with constant battles in the
streets and tear gas deployed by police on a regular basis. These scenes were a
painful reminder of the hooliganism problem that dogged the national team
wherever they played in the 1980s and 1990s. UEFA will have to act in the
coming days to ensure none of this overshadows an intriguing start to the
tournament on-the-field.
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| Eric Dier gave England a deserved lead, but they couldn't hold on |
England’s record of failing to win a European Championships
opener continued on a humid evening. The performance was excellent but the
result far from impressive. Eric Dier’s (pictured) powerful free-kick in the last 20 minutes
looked set to give the Three Lions a winning start. They were to be denied all
three points tohugh by Vasili Berezutski’s looping header in stoppage time.
There were plenty of postivies, but ultimately, the failure
to show a clinical touch infront of goal and failure to finish off what was and
is a very average Russian team will no doubt pose more questions than answers
for Roy Hodgson and his coaching team.
Sterling
at risk
After the diamond formation Hodgson tried failed to work
against Portugal in England’s final warm-up match 10 days ago, he elected to go
for a 4-3-3 formation. Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling were drafted into the
starting XI at the expense of James Milner and Arsenal transfer target Jamie
Vardy.
Lallana was brilliant throughout. His movement was
impressive and confidence in possession was pleasing to see. He finished his
second season with Liverpool FC in decent form and carried that on into this
match. The only reason he wasn’t man-of-the-match was his failure to finish off
opportunities. However, he validated the manager’s confidence in selecting him.
The same can’t be said for Sterling though. This is a player
who has unquestionable talent in his locker, but is lacking form and belief in
his own game. Ex-Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini might have bought
Sterling last summer in a £49.5m move from Liverpool FC but he didn’t trust
him. On Saturday night’s evidence, you can see why Jesus Navas was starting the
majority of City matches on the right-hand side of an attacking trio.
Sterling was wasteful in possession, took too many touches
whenever he had the ball and seemed to be looking down at his own feet when he
had control of the game rather than look up and inspect better options. It
questions Hodgson’s wisdom to leave Andros Townsend at home now because there
is not really a viable alternative in Sterling’s position.
His progress has stalled in the last 12 months since getting
his desired move away from Anfield. Sterling was warming the bench at the
Etihad Stadium after Christmas last season and that is where he should start in
Lens on Thursday too. The freshness of Marcus Rashford, guile of Milner or even
Ryan Bertrand to allow Danny Rose into a more attacking role are options
Hodgson should consider.
Bizarre
decisions
Roy Hodgson is now in his fourth year managing the national
team and he has been questioned in the past for making bizarre decisions during
matches. I’m afraid this was clear again in Marseille.
It seems incredibly bizarre for star forward Harry Kane to
be taking corners! Is there anyone else in the squad who can take them? Kane is
a natural finisher but not an expert at taking set-pieces. Too many of his
attempts on Saturday night were overhit and meant runs into the box made by
Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill were relatively pointless.
Lallana, skipper Wayne Rooney or Milner are all better
options. Kane doesn’t even take corners for his club side Tottenham Hotspur. It
looks like a fundamental flaw that must be fixed urgently if England are going
to make the most of set-pieces at this tournament.
Worse was Hodgson’s decision to substitute Rooney with just
over 10 minutes left. Rooney was brilliant throughout the game. He completely
dominated the midfield and that is for someone who is still developing in the
role. He has tournament experience and should have remained on the field to
help the team through what was always going to be nervy final segment of the
game.
Jack Wilshere came on and failed to make an impact. That was
largely because there wasn’t enough time in the game for him to come on and
dictate the tempo. Hodgson didn’t react to England’s problems finishing until
after the opening goal. By then, he seemed happy to sit back and take the 1-0
victory.
That is a very dangerous game and it came back to bite him
in Marseille. What’s the point of taking five forwards when you are going to
leave three of them (Rashford, Vardy and Daniel Sturridge) as frustrated
onlookers?
He got his tactics right at the start of the game but unlike
Didier Deschamps and Chris Coleman in earlier matches, failed to inspire
confidence in his substitutions. The excuse of Rooney being “tired”
won’t go down well either with many journalists and pundits.
Le Crunch
in Lens
England now head to Lens where they will face Wales in a
real British battle on Thursday afternoon.
Wales currently dictate Group B following their 2-1 win over
Slovakia earlier in the day. A point for them takes them through into the last
16. England will have to win – it is as simple as that. Only eight teams crash
out of the group stage at this competition so they will have to be extremely
bad to repeat their group stage exit from the last World Cup in Brazil.
It was a predictable outcome ultimately. There were
positives in the performance but this draw will ultimately feel like a defeat
to the players. One crumb of comfort for England supporters; Italia 90 started
with an uninspiring 1-1 draw in Caligari with the Republic of Ireland and EURO
96 began with a flat 1-1 draw against Switzerland.
On both occasions, England reached the semi-finals, which is
the minimal requirement at this tournament. So there’s always hope. However,
this was a missed opportunity to lay down a positive marker – both in the
football and in the stands.
My best
three players of the match
Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney (England)
Rooney continues to flourish in the midfield role which looked tailor-made for him for the rest of his career. Controlled the game, was unlucky not to score but for a splendid save. His withdrawal by Hodgson was a costly move.
2nd: Adam Lallana (England)
Justified his surprise selection in the Three Lions XI. Got into dangerous positions and linked well with the midfield. Slightly wasteful infront of goal was his only issue of a pleasing performance.
3rd: Eric Dier (England)
Powerful free-kick gave England the lead, although Akinfeev will be disappointed to have been beaten by it. Strong presence in the holding midfield role and now one of the first names on the teamsheet.
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