Although Sturridge is not an out-and-out winger in a traditional sense, he has great pace, ability to beat men at will and a thunderous shot. His confidence in his ability is evident, as his ease and ability with the ball at his feet. As England fan, I hope that his lack of playing time at Chelsea does not hinder his international ambitions.
Theo Walcott missed the qualifier through illness and would certainly have featured. His cameo against Sweden in Euro 2012, showed his effectiveness as an impact player. Yet at the age of 23, you’d hope it wouldn’t be long before the Arsenal winger showed signs of becoming the finishing article. At his peak, Walcott can prove unstoppable. Yet too often he is caught losing possession and making the wrong decisions in the final third. This naivety could be accepted for a youngster breaking in to the Premier League, yet Walcott is now into his seventh season at Arsenal and needs to start consistently delivering the goods.
On the left side of midfield, Hodgson was missing the man who featured in all four of England’s Euro 2012 games – Ashley Young. Young’s performance at the Euro’s epitomised his debut season at Manchester United. Whilst showing signs of extreme brilliance with his ability to quickly deliver precise crosses and unleash finesse shots from range, there were times when he’d go anonymous through games and prove extremely ineffective. The former Aston Villa star, certainly has the physical and technical attributes to become one of Europe’s best wingers, but he needs to find that level of consistency in his performance.
Young and Ashley Cole’s absence through injury, meant that regardless, Hodgson was going to have to root for an inexperienced combination on the left side. Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain again got the nod. He was largely fruitless during his 69 minutes on the pitch and it certainly highlighted that he is by no means the finished article. In fact he is still a long way off that. However, this must be expected from a player who has only featured in 18 Premier League games for his club. His enthusiasm and willingness to take on a challenge must be admired and he must be nurtured carefully by Hodgson, in a similar vein as Arsene Wenger has done at Arsenal.
Hodgson lacked many alternatives, as emphasised by the call-up to the squad of 17-year old Raheem Sterling from Liverpool. He resisted the temptation to play Danny Welbeck in this role, a role which he has been asked to perform by Alex Ferguson on numerous occasions. I feel that Welbeck is largely wasted in this position. This was emphasised at Wembley, where England seemed to spark into life as soon as he was moved to a central striking role. The Manchester United striker has the ability to link up with players and is very useful in front of goal. For me, he should have started on Tuesday night alongside Defoe.
At the back, Leighton Baines again showed that he is a capable understudy to Ashley Cole. Baines is unfortunate in that he lives in the shadow of the Chelsea left back. For another nation, the Everton wingback would certainly have picked up far more international caps. However, in a brief but valuable appearance on Wednesday night, Chelsea full-back Ryan Bertrand certainly showed that he can rival Baines. The youngster showed maturity, invention and a willingness to get forward and there are indications to suggest that he could be England’s left back in the not too distant future.
Whilst Hodgson didn’t have a wide pool of wide players to select from there is certainly food for thought. It will be interesting how much the line-up alters for England’s next qualifiers in October, or whether Hodgson operates with the ‘safe’ option on right and pursues with the ‘Ox’ on the left.
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.