It goes almost without saying that Roy Hodgson wishes for England to reverse the habits of recent years or decades and to perform as more, not less, than the sum of their parts. What took until Saturday evening to transpire was Hodgson’s estimation of the sum of those parts.
“I don’t think Belgium are a bad team,” Hodgson said as he spoke to the daily newspaper journalists after England’s 1-0 victory at Wembley. “If you look at the money that team would cost you to buy and then you look at the money the England team would cost you to buy, we might even come out second-best. The Eden Hazards of this world are nigh-on £40 million. Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku — there are some talented boys out there.”
Consider that for a second: an England manager suggesting that the market value of his team might be less than that of Belgium, who, for all that emerging talent, missed out on qualification for Euro 2012 and are ranked 44th in the world, 37 places below England and three below Wales.
If it sounds dismissive of the quality at his disposal, it seems more indicative of the fact that John Terry, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker are in their 30s and that, while Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Carroll have moved for big fees, he is not ignorant of what might be termed the English premium.
The England squad that travels to Cracow on Wednesday still, even after a succession of injury blows, contains household names, multiple medal-winners and individuals who have performed at the highest level of European football for a decade or more. It also has, in Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carroll and Danny Welbeck, far more youthful exuberance than the squad that went to the 2010 World Cup. But what it lacks, particularly with Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two matches, is top-class players at or approaching the peak of their powers and seemingly ready to take the tournament by storm.
Advertisement
That is why, for what feels like the first time in years, the emphasis is less on individuals than on the team. In Hodgson’s first two matches in charge, 1-0 victories over Norway in Oslo and Belgium at Wembley on Saturday, individuals have seldom shone, but the team has won thanks to the kind of performance where the right to self-expression is overridden by the duty to the collective.
In a team game, a commitment to the collective should be a given. For England, it has not always been in recent years. If there is a new sense of unity — of purpose, as much as spirit — it is to be welcomed, but if Hodgson’s team lacks the star quality of Belgium, never mind Spain or Germany, it is going to take quite some triumph of tactics and character for them to make a success of this campaign.
Under Hodgson, England look organised. Defensively, there have been things to admire in the victories over Norway and Belgium, particularly when it comes to the lack of space afforded to the opposition in dangerous areas. Certainly Hazard, Chelsea’s imminent £32 million acquisition from Lille, will reflect that there was little to space to exploit, whether in the areas behind Parker and Gerrard or between and beyond a back line that was unruffled after the loss of the unfortunate Gary Cahill to injury.
The trouble with convincing yourself that England have found a solid defensive structure is that, while Hazard and Fellaini are excellent players, Belgium were not playing with the intensity that will be expected from France’s forward line in Donetsk a week today. Hodgson was right to say that Belgium offered “a good preparation” for playing France, but Franck Ribéry, Karim Benzema and others will provide a far more rigorous examination of England’s defensive ability.
In terms of attacking play, England have an awful lot of improvement to find in a short space of time. Gerrard’s immediate priority in this system is to supplement Parker in the middle of the pitch, rather than to supply attacking inspiration.
Advertisement
With James Milner and Stewart Downing likely to start on the wings in Donetsk, there will be balance and industry, but, when it comes to attacking inspiration, an awful lot will be demanded of Ashley Young and whoever of Danny Welbeck or Andy Carroll starts in advance of him.
Welbeck scored the only goal against Belgium — and beautifully taken it was, a well-timed run taking him clear through the inside left-channel, on to Young’s pass, and a dinked left-foot shot beating the advancing Simon Mignolet. It was an encouraging moment that augured well, but it was just about the only quality pass he received all evening.
Specifically, it was just about the only quality pass Young produced all evening. But do not blame Young for poor delivery or poor execution. The post-match statistics showed that Young had made only seven passes before his substitution midway through the second half — for comparison, Hazard, whom most would regard as having been ineffective, completed 71 passes in 90 minutes. Now setting up a goal might prove that Young was devastatingly efficient, but the lack of activity on the ball shows that he and his team have much to work on when it comes to his role linking midfield and attack.
There seemed to be more penetration from England in the closing stages, when Jermain Defoe twice went close after being set up by Theo Walcott, but that was when Belgium were chasing the game and leaving spaces at the back. If England are to enjoy picking off opponents in the group stage, they are likely to have to score the first goal.
Goals threaten to be at a premium for England in the finals, particularly while they wait for Rooney’s return for the final group game against Ukraine. Another English premium — and Hodgson is more than clued up enough to know that having a £35 million centre forward is a sign of inflation, rather than a guarantee of goals.
Advertisement
For more match details, click on the Match Centre tab above