England in State of Uncertainty After Poor Friendly Showings

There’s been a depressing familiarity to England’s friendly outings since seemingly ‘turning a corner’ against Germany. Having come from 2-0 down with great energy and verve to unsettle the world champions and eventually come out on top, the Three Lions lost to a thoroughly underwhelming Dutch side just days later, admittedly making wholesale changes against the Oranje.

However, this latest trio of fixtures was supposed to prove that the performance against Germany wasn’t a one off, that this England side was one full of intensity and attacking intent, adopting a high-pressing approach that would enable them to compete against the better teams where they have failed in the past.

It’s fair to say that following the culmination of England’s preparations, in terms of friendly matches at least, expectations have dampened. In truth the games over the past two weeks have been typical of warm up exercises ahead of a major tournament, but that makes the displays no less discouraging.

England, after all, aren’t the only side to underwhelm in the run up to this summer’s Euros, but Hodgson’s inability to settle on a formation, line-up or approach doesn’t bode well. All three matches have been majorly affected by circumstance, with England scoring inside three minutes against both Turkey and Australia and then forced to face 10-men for much of the game against Portugal - an outcome that suited neither side.

In the first two matches the team’s ability to take the lead early on was cause for encouragement but somewhat adapted their style. England aren’t used to leading so quickly, often taking some time to break down weak opposition in their ‘perfect’ qualifying campaign, and in both games they took their foot off the gas before ultimately running out unconvincing victors.

Thursday’s meeting with Portugal was supposed to act as the real test of this squad’s credentials but was all but ended as an already dismal spectacle when Bruno Alves went all Bruno Alves and tried to decapitate Harry Kane. Fernando Santos will welcome the return of the cool head of Pepe…

That said, while the defender’s first half dismissal changed the course of the game, despite suggestions otherwise there were still lessons learned from England’s ability, or lack thereof, to break their opponents’ resolve.

Hodgson named what many felt was his closest XI yet to the line-up he would field against Russia in a week’s time. Whether or not the manager will be rethinking his decision next Saturday remains to be seen, but he certainly should.

What looked likely to be a midfield diamond, with Wayne Rooney in the number 10 role, turned into something closer to a 4-1-2-3-0, with Kane and Vardy splitting and no one really occupying an admittedly deep Portugal backline. It was a timid display given that places in Hodgson’s line-up are still thought to be up for grabs, with no one wanting to pick up an injury that might rule them out or put a foot wrong that could see them dropped. In reality, however, in concentrating on not doing anything wrong very few did anything right.

The Tottenham quintet backed to guide England to the latter stages given their touted 'telepathic understanding' couldn’t impact the game, with the one Spurs player least likely to start the tournament - Kyle Walker (8.39 rating) - perhaps the only man to enhance his reputation in the eyes of the manager.

To be fair to those on show, arguably only the back four and Eric Dier were playing in the positions they are best suited to. Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane are both centre forwards wasted when asked to do a shift out wide and Dele Alli has proven most dangerous when deployed in the number 10 role, or at least with license to roam from his position. Then, of course, there is Wayne Rooney.

The United skipper was deployed in midfield towards the end of the campaign with his club and with some success. It’s a position he has admitted he enjoys playing and one where he sees his future for both club and country. It’s a wonder then, why with the last opportunity to get the best out of the players available to him, Hodgson didn’t revert to the diamond that served him well in qualifying and more recently against Germany, simply switching Alli with Rooney in midfield.

As it was, while Alli had 70 touches of the ball, he failed to muster a single shot and created just one chance, while misplacing 11 of 54 passes. Rooney, meanwhile, mustered just one shot - a relatively tame header from a Walker cross - and also created just one chance, while misplacing 10 of 34 passes.

More concerning, however, were Vardy’s figures. The Leicester man had just 8 touches of the ball - all of which were passes (6 accurate) - and committed 5 fouls in a frustrated and frustrating performance. The lesson that Hodgson should have learnt from midweek is that playing people out of the positions that they have been performing best for their clubs is a mistake. It’s all well and good picking those that play together week-in, week-out but if you force them into a system they are not used to the benefit of their working relationship is all but lost.

The substitutes that came on and ultimately lifted the tempo of the game have now given themselves a real shot at starting against Russia. The likes of Wilshere, Sterling and even Lallana could justifiably feel hard done by to miss out based on the overall performances of those to feature in recent times, not to mention Marcus Rashford. It’s true that Vardy’s threat in particular was lost at Wembley due to Rooney’s inclusion in a front three, but it’s he that looks more likely to miss out on England’s opener as a result.

The case remains that a system that suits the majority, let alone the entirety of the team, is yet to be found.

Who line-up should start for England against Russia. Let us know in the comments below