Toothless England lambasted
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IF England coach Roy Hodgson’s plan was to lower expectations as the business end of Euro 2016 approaches then it worked a treat, judging by the scathing reaction to his side’s 0-0 draw with Slovakia in Saint-Etienne on Monday.
Hodgson made six changes to his starting line-up for their final Group B game, benching the likes of skipper Wayne Rooney and Dele Alli to rotate his squad, but despite overwhelming possession his side offered precious little creativity.
It meant England ended the group phase with three goals from three games, one of them deep in stoppage time to earn a 2-1 victory over Wales.
Hodgson came under particular fire yesterday, with British media calling his selection gamble a failure. Others suggested it had bordered on arrogance.
Several back pages screamed “Second Rate” while one labeled England “Toothless Lions”.
The performance against Slovakia was described as ‘confused’ — an adjective neatly summed up by one graphic illustrating England’s ‘touch map’ like a swirling ball of red wool in the center of the pitch with few incursions into the danger area.
After the euphoria of Daniel Sturridge’s last-gasp winner against Wales last Thursday the mood was “here we go again” yesterday with England’s path to the latter stages of the tournament now looking treacherous.
While a match against the runner-up in Group F, likely to be Iceland or Hungary, although possibly Portugal, should be winnable, a quarterfinal against host France in Paris is now a distinct possibility.
England’s failure to shine in the group stage of a tournament is nothing new. In Brazil two years ago it scored two goals in group play, at Euro 2012 it managed five and at the 2010 World Cup it was two again.
While England’s passing has improved from the old days of ‘lump it forward to a burly striker’ when it comes to thinking outside the box, Hodgson’s squad appear sadly lacking.
Slovakia erected a wall in front of its goal and England chiselled away with blunt instruments — as it did against Russia in the first game and for much of the time against Wales in the second.
As for the defense, former Arsenal stalwart Lee Dixon, summing up for ITV, said: “So far I’ve learned nothing about it.”
England’s potential route to the final will change all that with France, world champion Germany and an impressive Italy all in its half of the draw now.
It was not all doom and gloom though.
Former England ‘keeper Peter Shilton said the tournament starts now. “I wouldn’t go for all the criticism because England have controlled every game,” he told the BBC. “Let’s not get too downbeat. There are plenty of positives.”
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