Tom Cleverley, perhaps a surprise inclusion given his lack of game time in the last 12 months, had a superb game in Chisinau. He provided energy and creativity in the middle of the park and was never shy to get himself into goal scoring positions. Crucially, he did not look out of place in a midfield trio alongside Lampard and Gerrard.
The Manchester United midfielder’s impressive Olympic campaign and signs of great promise in his breakthrough season at Old Trafford have certainly put him in contention. However, as well as Cleverley performed, it is crucial that he remains fit and gets a good run of games in United’s first team in order to remain in international contention, with his recent history of spells on the sideline. Hodgson is certainly a great admirer and he’ll be likely to make his home debut at Wembley on Tuesday night.
The need to avoid injury free remains the case for other young stars such as Chris Smalling, Jack Rodwell, Jack Wilshire and Phil Jones who are not involved this time around. These players are certain to be heavily involved in not only this qualifying campaign but in the years to come. The next two years are going to be crucial in the phasing in of these future starlets and Hodgson will be frustrated that he cannot call upon them on this occasion.
In attack, Jermaine Defoe has been the man to really benefit from injuries to Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll, in addition to the backing of Tottenham manager, Andre Villas Boas, as he is finally looking to get a run of games behind him. He did his chances no harm with a clinical first half finish on Friday night. That was his 17th international goal on his 50th appearance for his country, which is impressive considering the amount of those appearances that came as substitutes.
Defoe, although perhaps not a shoe-in starter, is without doubt a very useful player to have. Danny Welbeck was restricted to a brief second half cameo in replacing the Spurs man. Hodgson certainly seems to be giving more opportunities to those players who are going to feature regularly for their clubs and the recent arrival of Robin Van Persie could leave Welbeck sweating on his place. It will be interesting how much he features for Manchester United this season and whether this will have a knock-on effect on his progress with the national side.
The same problem remains for Daniel Sturridge. Snubbed from Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad due largely to his lack of playing time at Chelsea, Sturridge certainly seems to be suffering from Roberto Di Matteo’s arrival at the club. After not featuring on Friday night, Sturridge will need to make a big impact if he comes on against Ukraine if he is to stay in the mix.
Hodgson seems certain to experiment further with Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain who seems to impress more and more every time he dons an England jersey. With the England manager a strong believer in the industrial, work horse that is James Milner, it is evident that Theo Walcott will be expected to develop his game further to be guaranteed a starting berth. His cameo on Friday night illustrated this perfectly. Whilst his pace and movement is a thrilling sight to behold, his inability to consistency deliver precise balls and his proneness to lose possession remains a frustration.
The door is certainly open for players looking to break into the England side. Four games remain between now and the end of the year and there are certainly places up for grabs. It is evident that clocking up game time up at your club and showing signs of form will get you noticed by the England manager as is shown with the call-ups of players such as Ryan Bertrand and Tom Cleverley and the discarding of the likes of Downing and Henderson. This policy of Hodgson’s could spell bad news for certain youngsters at big clubs who are battling for their places alongside marquee foreign signings.
What is clear is that Roy Hodgson is left with a tricky balancing task. Whilst it is paramount importance that England safely negotiates their opening qualification games, it is also crucial that the England manager now begins the process of blending together a squad he truly believes can formulate a successful campaign in 2014. With the inclusion of Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Cleverley in the starting line-up against Moldova, it is evident that Hodgson has begun already. The next two years will feature plenty of experimentation and a few bold decisions will have to be made along the way.
There is no doubt that England possess the quality of players capable of going deep inside a major tournament. The question remains can Hodgson can assemble these talents into a functional system that can win games of football when it really matters on the biggest stage. We cannot read too much in to England’s defeat over the lowly Moldova. Yet by the time England have taken on Sweden in Stockholm in November, we will have a greater idea of which direction Hodgson’s England is headed.
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