Jack Frankham explains how the introduction of Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge inspired England to a first win at the European Championship in France.
This afternoon, England won 2-1 against local rivals Wales, but it wasn’t easy. England were trailing 1-0 at half time due to a fabulous Gareth Bale free-kick. The pressure was on the lads with points dropped against Russia, a game which everyone thought that would be a routine England victory.
Sturridge and Vardy came on and changed the game immensely. I’m going to explain how they altered the outcome of a hugely important fixture and why they should both definitely start England’s final and pivotal group game against Slovakia.
In the first half, the start was solid .England came out the blocks and there was the knowledge that it was all or nothing. As the first half wore on, England had no purpose to their attacks with Harry Kane leading the line. Wales were solid and knew their game plan. Bale had a free-kick and scored it superbly but Joe Hart could’ve had better positioning to deal with the set-piece and Wales went into the break with a lead which was hugely deserved.
Roy Hodgson, in my opinion, picked the wrong team, starting the same players that drew against Russia. However, bringing on Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy changed the game instantly. Credit where it’s due, he made a tough call bring off Harry Kane and it paid off.
You could see that England were in full control and Wales had to hang back. The organisation from England in the second half was superb with Vardy and Sturridge up top. It gave the Welsh defenders something else to think about. The pace of Vardy and Sturridge going forward was incredible with their dynamic pace and their engines causing a lot of trouble for their fellow Britons.
The Welsh defenders looked so insecure when the break was on from England. The formation gave Rooney, Ali and Lallana more freedom going forward. The defence looked so secure compared to the first half’s performance. There are many positives to take from the game but Roy should definitely play two up top with Vardy and Sturridge because they deserve it and it helps the team work well. It’s the best for England’s hopes of staying in the tournament.
I thought Daniel Sturridge was England’s best player in the second half with him being the most involved player during possession and during attacks, he played the ball into the box for Vardy to finish and rounded off his perfect game in style by getting the winning goal for England.
Daniel Sturridge is certainly England’s best striker in my opinion and there are many reasons to back that. Jamie Vardy provided a lot of pace going forward, we have seen this on many occasions last season with him winning the Premier League. His electric pace in attack was so good to watch compared to the first half of football from England.
The win was very much needed with a disappointing result against Russia a week ago. The win against Wales showed our true potential. We need to show that more often on a consistent basis. If Wales did win today, they would be automatically through to the knock-out rounds which would be immense pressure on England.
Its certainly gave Roy and his staff something to think about between now and the 20th of June, when England take on Slovakia in the final game in the group stages. He’s got to do his homework and sort out a formation or system for England to play with freedom and to simply win football matches convincingly, which we haven’t see yet.
Featured Image – Talk Sport
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