England MUST well to silence warriors
no strings attached. Then they can worry about who they might face in the last 16 and use the final group game with Belgium as a rehearsal for the quality coming their way in the knockout stages.
From what I’m reading, Southgate seems to be planning to play with Jordan Henderson as the only holding midfielder against Tunisia – which would be a wise move.
As I said in last week’s column, two holding midfielders against lesser nations is a waste. What are you shielding from your defenders?
England have the players, and the know-how, to beat Tunisia and Panama without giving caution a second thought.
My biggest worry, further down the line, will be England’s tightness as a defensive unit when they come up against quality forwards who might expose any chinks in their armour.
I understand why Southgate is using Kyle Walker as a right-sided centre-half in a back three – because he’s not exactly spoilt for choice.
But Walker’s greatest assets are his speed, energy, willingness to get forward and his powers of recovery – using that pace to get himself out of trouble. In a threeman back line, he will have to stay very disciplined and switched-on if he is to cope with the likes of Neymar.
Rio Ferdinand, a guest on my Five Live breakfast show, gave a tactical masterclass on how he used to deal with the threat of Luis Suarez when Manchester United played Liverpool – the art of when to make your move and nullifying an opponent’s mobility. For England’s sake, I hope they tune into the podcast.
And for the sake of a whole nation’s mood, I hope they make a winning start on Monday evening.
If they are assertive and confident, I reckon Southgate will bank three points in Volgograd.