England have once again gone to a major tournament and once again come up just that little bit short. The difference this time was that the expectations were so low that the reaction is not as negative as it would have been. However, when we look at a side that had equally low expectations, Italy, we see a team who has found a way to reach the European Championship final.
Now Italy are not a team blessed with outstanding natural ability but thanks to careful planning and strong performances as a unit have overachieved at these Euros. If England are to do something similar in two years time in Brazil, they must adopt a similar approach. England are a side who are not blessed with great talent in much the same way as Italy as they showed with their appalling efforts in possession against the Italians in the Ukraine. England looked totally inept when they had the ball, totally undoing the good work that the defenders had put in. In contrast, the Italians defended just as doggedly as England but were able to retain quality and the ball and pose a threat to the opposition.
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Perhaps the main difference was the mercurial Andrea Pirlo in the centre of the park. Pirlo acted as a playmaker, dictating the play and setting the tempo for the Italian offensive movement. England though did have a player on the pitch capable of doing a similar job. Steven Gerrard has all the ability to do the same thing, but England became focused on keeping the opposition at bay and forgot to pose any threat to Italy.
When Brazil comes around in two years time, assuming England qualify, the way that Italy have approached these European Championships would be a good way for England to go about the formidable task. Expectations will be similarly low, but Roy Hodgson must increase the threat that England pose to the opposition. Hodgson must trust the ability of his players. For instance, he needs to have faith in Glen Johnson and not play the incompetent James Milner just to back him up. In addition to this, England have players of genuine quality that were not allowed to express themselves during this tournament. Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney are all players that excel at club level and they should have been allowed to play the game on the front foot and give England an attacking edge to their play. Also, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain are far better bets in attack than James Milner. It is this attitude shift that is the key thing to change for England if we are to move forward in International football.
There is nothing wrong with a game plan built upon a strong defence as long as that game plan includes a way of causing the opposition problems. England need to realise that we have quality players and trust them to take the game to the opposition and succeed. Gaining any kind of success in Brazil will be terribly difficult for Roy Hodgson’s men, but one thing is for sure; we need to have the ball far more than we do at the moment. To do that, England need to take the chance of being hit on the break and play an offensive game rather than sit with 10 men behind the ball and play on the break. Italy have shown the way and now England must follow on the same path for 2014.
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