Lallana confident England will thrive in new formation
ADAM LALLANA today insisted Gareth Southgate’s new-look England can become a success despite losing 1-0 to Germany in Dortmund.
Southgate used his first game as permanent manager to experiment with a 3-4-2-1 system and although England were the better side for long periods, Lukas Podolski marked his 130th and final international appearance with a stunning 30-yard strike to seal victory.
A number of Premier League teams have adopted a formation featuring three defenders this season — most notably runaway League leaders Chelsea — and Lallana, who has also played in a similar shape at Liverpool, believes it could be the key to England’s future.
“Possibly it could be the way forward,” he told Standard Sport. “Football evolves and goes around in circles but I think the way that we adapted considering we didn’t have long, worked well.
“We will look at it and the areas we need to improve on ahead of the most important match which is on Sunday [against Lithuania].
“Credit to the boss. He obviously was the one who wanted us to play that — he felt we had the personnel to fit in and it worked.
“A lot of the lads are playing three at the back at their clubs and in the short time we had to work on it, he utilised the time really well so we had a good few sessions to work on it.”
England created three good opportunities in the opening 45 minutes which were spurned by Michael Keane — who otherwise enjoyed a promising debut — Lallana and Dele Alli before Podolski’s moment of magic.
Southgate’s side face Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday at Wembley and Lallana admitted his team-mates must be more clinical to ensure they remain in control of Group F.
“We came in at halftime and know we had three of the best chances of the half,” he said.
“There are still a lot of positives to take from the game. Keane’s performance was outstanding on his debut and Jake Livermore came in and was brilliant.
“He was assured and comfortable on the ball.
“The result seems a bit harsh but it still doesn’t cover up the disappointment. We are going to move on but we have to make sure we learn from last night. Big moments in the game, we have to capitalise on.”