EARLY BREAKTHROUGH COULD GIVE ENGLAND MUCH-NEEDED LIFT
I WATCHED England play Slovakia with an eye on two teams we will play before the end of the year in World Cup qualifying. They will both be difficult opponents but it was a poor game and, although there was plenty of talk about how England dominated, they have not yet clicked. Iceland presents them with the chance to do so. Taking one or two of the early opportunities that arise in their games could be all that is needed to send them on their way and see them start to fulfil their potential in tomorrow’s last 16 tie. If they do click, we will see an England team a lot better than the one we played in those two friendly games in 2013 and 2014. Certainly, down south people have the game marked as something of a bye to the next round. If that is the case, then they will still have a tall order to beat France, who I expect will be able to beat the Republic of Ireland. But Roy Hodgson must discover his best team against Iceland, having made those six changes against Slovakia in the game that dropped them to runners-up and has deposited them into the same half of the draw as Spain, Italy, Germany and France. This cannot be some kind of dress rehearsal or about saving something for a quarter-final. England need their best team to find their best form. I have been speaking to Gordon Strachan in the past week about England, Slovakia and other matters. We both agreed that we have been inspired by what we have seen in the tournament and want some of it for Scotland, for the Tartan Army, our players and ourselves. We want to be part of the next World Cup Finals and for us to see our fans in those huge numbers celebrating the way the likes of the Welsh and the Northern Ireland fans have here.