So in the last 12 months the England National Football Team has beaten Spain and Brazil at Wembley, so surely no-one can question our position as 6th in the FIFA World Rankings. Although this may well reflect the media hype and expectation that will result from such a performance, England fans will know all too well from the past not to get too excited with the win. Enduring pessimism aside however there were extremely encouraging signs from a young England team that faced Brazil last night, a unit that looked capable all over the pitch.
So where better to start than the area which seems to be losing it’s ‘World Class’ prowess – central defence. Cahill and Smalling were the somewhat surprise selections for the game and early in the second half seemed to show the lack of experience most would have feared yet expected in their game. Just as England seemed comfortable on the ball across the pitch, a heavy touch by Cahill put Fred clean on goal and a decent finish saw England’s lead wiped out in an instant. A similar mistake by Smalling seemed to cement what many thought would be England’s weakness on the night but Fred could only hit the crossbar 2 minutes later. What should not be overlooked however is that the young defensive pairing ultimately nullified the Brazilian threat for the majority of the game. Few chances were handed to the likes of Neymar and Luis Fabiano, and when called upon the Chelsea and Man Utd duo, symbolic of what England has looked upon their defence in previous years, looked solid. So could this be the pairing for the future? One game can hardly illustrate this, but what it did demonstrate is that the likes of Smalling can step up against the big teams when the ageing talents of Lescott and Jagielka are possibly no longer in the setup in the years to come.
One man who did state his claim to be the main man for England in the future however was Jack Wilshire. A commanding and dominating display by the 21 year old saw him pick up the Man of the Match Award quite deservingly. His link up play with Gerrard was quite astonishing seeing as the number of games they have started together could be counted on one hand. He complemented the attacking options of Rooney, Walcott and Welbeck fantastically, finding them on numerous occasions after motoring past his initial opponent. Wilshire’s ability and determination to drive at the Brazilian defence showed England fans what they have had missing from their midfield since Gerrard has begun to play a deeper role to account for his flailing pace. Wilshire was nothing short of class, and has been for club as well as country; a consistent player who is willing to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and act when things aren’t going England’s way, which happens all too often at major tournaments.
Other encouraging displays include Joe Hart with a fantastic double penalty save and Theo Walcott using his pace time and time again to provide service into the box. Another Arsenal home grown talent whose club form has thrust him into the starting XI for England when the Euros showed that Hodgson often preferred the safer option of Milner to occupy the right flank. Walcott overcame a slight knock to give a really honest performance, using his assets of pace and agility to exploit Adriano’s weaknesses. A mature Walcott who has proven, amongst uncertainty about is future at Arsenal, that he deserves a place in the team on merit is only a good sign for England. With his best years ahead of him, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that if Walcott’s form endures he could and should be the England regular that so many have hoped he would be.
Rooney played with a smile on his face, a refreshing sight for a player that has so underperformed on the International stage in previous years. He scored a nicely taken, controlled goal, easy to miss in the circumstances, but slotted it away calmly. His work rate was high, which has come to be expected and his willingness to help out in midfield in England’s nervous period of the second half calmed nerves and allowed Welbeck to occupy his favoured centre forward position. England’s versatility, although not wholly evident, is an encouraging sign for the future, the ability to have players play in several positions and change the shape of a team has been absent in recent tournaments and box-to-box midfielders like Cleverly and Wilshire only accentuate this strength in the team’s setup.
A friendly is always a nice gauge of the national team’s strength in depth, and although Brazil had notable injuries to Thiago Silva, Ganso and Sando, England’s squad appeared greatly superior on the night. An easy example of this was at left-back, where Hodgson replaced England centurion and national team legend Ashley Cole with his understudy who has, in many people’s eyes, has a better season and now offers more that the 32 year old Chelsea man. The addition of Lampard only went to show, yet again, why it is a travesty that Chelsea are not offering him a new contract. Possibly the most understated performance of a man who scored a cracking winner against Brazil at Wembley. Lampard is not the future or possibly even the present for the England team, but his willingness to play a bit part, substitute role should be admired. This is something which other players of his calibre would reject, and after all what better player to bring on to turn the tide of a match, than a man who has scored over 10 goals in the league for 10 straight years from midfield.
So the future of England? It’s difficult to tell, but encouraging signs from a team that seems to have a decent spine, players willing to dig the team out of difficult situations and a healthy squad. Wilshire’s performance was inspired and his desire, Walcott’s use of his pace, Rooney’s impressive range of play and Gerrard’s commanding role from a deeper position suggest that England could have nailed down 4 positions for the 2014 World Cup. For England fans always conscious of looking to the future for their team, one could say that beating Brazil for the first time in 23 years was a nice bonus.
Highlights can be seen here:
Rob Schofield
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