England: Will aim to repeat the heroics of ’66  

June 09, 2014 12:13 pm | Updated 12:13 pm IST

Roy Hodgson has the option of giving England a youthful, fresh edge at the World Cup after including Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana in his 23-man squad.

There were no real surprises as the irresistible late-season form of Everton's attacking midfielder Barkley and Liverpool wide man Sterling made their inclusion an easy choice for Hodgson despite having only five caps between them.

Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arsenal teammate Jack Wilshere got the nod despite ending the season with injuries, while Shaw was chosen ahead of 107-cap Ashley Cole as left-back back-up for Leighton Baines. Southampton provides three players in Shaw, midfielder Lallana and striker Rickie Lambert - who share only eight caps.

Lambert and Manchester United’s goal-shy Danny Welbeck were included as back-ups for the probable first-choice strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge.

Hodgson, not known as a risk-taker, can also draw on the immense experience of captain Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner and goalkeeper Joe Hart for a tough assignment in Brazil where England faces Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in Group D.

“I think the balance is quite good,” Hodgson said. “I think they (the younger players) have imposed themselves and their ability in my thinking. If I had picked my squad in October after the last two World Cup qualifiers, then it might have looked different.

“I’m not sure Raheem Sterling was getting the game time or making the impact he has had in recent months. You can't ignore what people are doing week after week for their clubs. But I think it would be wrong to focus on those who are young and inexperienced. You can’t get that experience until you play.”

Leadership qualities

“Frank is still a very important part of our set-up,” added Hodgson of the midfielder, who will turn 36 during the tournament.

“In midfield, you have many more positions to choose from – it’s not a straight choice between two players. Frank has been captain on many occasions; he still plays a very important role for his club side, and we think his leadership qualities and ability as a player fully justifies his position.”

Hodgson also showed faith in Rooney, still awaiting his first World Cup finals goal. “If it’s anything to do with desire and ambition, then we've got nothing to fear.

“His attitude - spot on, desire - couldn't be better, ability - yes he has. Now, it is all about bringing that to the match on the day. But it would be wrong to put the hopes of a nation on the shoulders of one man.”

The squad warmed up with a 3-0 win over Peru at Wembley before drawing 2-2 against Ecuador in Miami.

Preferred Formation 4-2-3-1

Roy Hodgson, a tough taskmaster on the training grounds, has worked hard and long and finally found a cohesive system for his English side, although his first choices for some of the roles aren’t clear yet.

Hodgson’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, which offers greater protection to England’s sometimes dodgy defence, finds Steven Gerrard playing deep as the holding midfielder, while the captain’s Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson has comfortably slotted into his old box-to-box role.

The creative spark for the team will come from youngster Raheem Sterling, who came on as a second-half substitute in the recent friendly against Peru, but will likely start on the right of the three-man midfield with Adam Lallana playing on the left. The two have an affinity to cut in to occupy space in the middle and will also be seen switching flanks often to confuse the opposing defence.

Wayne Rooney, who was judged to be “rusty” by Hodgson a while ago, is expected to survive the cull and should start in the creative No. 10 role, slightly behind the very impressive Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge.

Hart (gk); Johnson (rb), Cahill, Jagielka, Baines (lb); Gerrard, Henderson; Sterling, Rooney, Lallana; Sturridge

Starwatch: Daniel Sturridge (Striker, age: 24, caps: 11, goals: 4)

Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge’s contrasting performances in a friendly against Peru last week gave us an indication of who among the two might feature, most likely, in manager Roy Hodgson’s starting eleven at the finals.

The former played his first match in more than a month, looking rusty and worn out, while the latter scored a brilliant left-footed goal from the edge of the box.

Sturridge’s dynamism and form for Liverpool this past season – second top- scorer behind Luis Suarez with 21 league goals – is something which Hodgson simply cannot ignore. Fomer striker Gary Lineker, in an interview to Blahzil 2014 , pushed Sturridge’s case even further. “I think Sturridge gives England

different options. Rooney is very good at coming off, creating space, turning, hitting shots hard and bringing other people into the game, but in terms of a threat behind the opposition defence, that is Sturridge’s territory.”

After all, when was the last time England went into a major tournament boasting a forward who is gifted on both feet and, most importantly, in form??

Keep an eye on: Adam Lallana (Attacking midfielder, age: 26, caps: 4, goals: 0).

Adam Lallana made his debut in the November friendly against Chile, and retained his place for the subsequent fixtures against Germany, Denmark and Peru. He lit up the Premier League last season, scoring nine goals and eight assists with an impressive passing accuracy of 85 per cent and winning 82 per cent of his attempted tackles (according to Opta). Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino said Lallana “has the skills of an Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas”. The comparisons are not too far off.

Blast from the Past

The Jules Rimet Trophy goes missing before Pickles — the dog — finds it, West Germany and Spain oppose the awarding of the tournament to England in the first place, 16 African nations boycott the event over what they termed FIFA’s unfair qualification rules, one important strike over which the jury is still out whether it was a legal goal or not, and England – the birthplace of the game – finally manages to lift the World Cup, the only time it has done so.

Could an award winning script-writer from Hollywood have managed to write such a plot full of twists and turns for the 1966 edition? Highly unlikely.

Geoff Hurst and his hat-trick in the final against West Germany will always be remembered in the annals of English football, the legality of his second goal notwithstanding.

Among the favourites in that edition, England — coached by the legendary Al Ramsey — had progressed as far as the semifinals before conceding a goal.

When the Germans had drawn level at 2-2, it was Ramsey who egged on his team saying, “All right. You let it slip. Now start again.”

They did so brilliantly and finished it off even better, the margin of victory being 4-2.

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