Why England's Friendly Win over Italy Was an Important Test of Their Credentials

This was about as low-key as things get for England (especially in a game against Italy).

A friendly out in Switzerland just days before the start of the domestic season, the eyes of a nation only just readjusting their focus primarily to football after weeks of Olympic viewing.

The relative lack of attention directed at Roy Hodgson and his still rather new team was actually a refreshing change of pace.

It offered an opportunity for those involved to take stock of where they stand following this summer's European Championship, as they prepare to embark on the qualification process for the 2014 World Cup.

They were not left entirely to their own devices, of course; this is the England national team after all.

But those fans and media, watching in Bern and at home, will have been pleased to see Hodgson and his side making the best of a fixture that did not come at a helpful time for the club game, but was nonetheless of important value to his future plans.

Italy Were a Sterner Test Than England's Previous Post-Tournament Friendlies

Cesare Prandelli fielded eight players making their debut for Italy in this, their first match since losing 4-0 to Spain in the final of Euro 2012.

This was not an Italy side at full-strength, but their newcomers were generally keen to impress, and did so with some flourishing ventures forward that it is to the credit of the English defence they repelled.

Even without facing the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Riccardo Montolivo, two of their biggest tormentors from Kiev, there were still experienced pros like Alessandro Diamanti and Daniele De Rossi to contend with.

The latter showed the benefits of time spent at this level when he got the beating of Michael Carrick to jump and head home the opening goal.

For a fixture that is generally regarded as pointless to most who don't earn their living in international football, an understrength Italy side might not be enough to convince of its value as a test for Hodgson's "experimental" side.

However, this is still a team selected and coached in the style of Prandelli, a man who took the Azzurri to their first tournament final since winning the World Cup in 2006.

Compare this standard of opposition to England's last four opponents at the start of a qualification cycle (all of which were in August).

They were Hungary (2-1 win, 2010), Czech Republic (2-2, 2008), Greece (4-0, 2006) and Ukraine (3-0, 2004)—all decent opposition (besides Hungary), but none faced England at a time during their most recent best form.

England have played August friendlies against stronger sides such as Holland and Germany in the last few years.

But these games did not come off the back of a tournament, at that point when a team begins to find out who they are and what they will be about again as they prepare to earn their way back to another World Cup or European Championships.

In the long term, it remains to be seen what this fixture will tell us about this current England group, but for now the standard of Italy has given a far better indicator of where they stand at this time than a comfortable home game at Wembley would have.

England Do Have Options Beyond the So-Called "Big Names"

In fairness to the last remaining remnants of the so-called "golden generation," most of them who went to Euro 2012 performed reasonably well (this is not including someone like Scott Parker, who is of similar age but not part of that group).

Steven Gerrard enjoyed the best major tournament of his career thus far, responding to his responsibilities as captain proper with a bunch of gut-busting, influential displays that demonstrated the player at his classiest (if not quite at his peak of a few years ago).

Ashley Cole and John Terry were solid enough too, with only Wayne Rooney genuinely disappointing upon his return from suspension.

Gerrard in particular demonstrated the foolishness of completely writing off their value to England's cause just yet, while against Italy, the Euro 2012 absentee Frank Lampard reminded us again following his performance against Spain late last year of the contribution he can still make.

What Wednesday's game also showed is, increasingly, Hodgson will not have to be so reliant on these "big names" from the Premier League.

Despite the manager expressing his wish earlier this week (in his press conference, quoted in the link in The Independent) that Terry will be cleared of the racism charges hanging over his head, he has alternatives that more than make up for any potential absence of the Chelsea defender (and who will be less of a headache).

The starting defensive pair against Italy, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka (also England's first goalscorer of the night), held together fairly well and recovered to decent effect on those occasions when the canny Mattia Destro slipped in behind them.

Substitute Joleon Lescott has grown in stature in the last 18 months, while others like Michael Dawson and Micah Richards will be keen to stake their claim for a call-up in the coming season.

As Jack Wilshere continues his worryingly long recovery from injury, neither Gerrard nor Lampard are near being completely replaced in midfield quite yet.

But the steady Carrick, arguably England's most reliable passer in the position, was impressive in making his team tick against the Italians, though not quite so much destructive.

In others like Scott Parker and Gareth Barry, there are others ready to step in, too.

Most interestingly for Hodgson should have been the showing from Jermain Defoe.

The forward faces an interesting season as he looks to re-establish himself in the Tottenham Hotspur first team, a challenge that may influence his England prospects.

But what is for sure, admittedly in less high-stakes circumstances, was Defoe looked far more dangerous and effective than either the starter Andy Carroll or Rooney did at any point over this summer.

Carroll is young, and his aerial attributes alone make him an option of value to England.

Rooney, however, failed to convince at Euro 2012, and compared to Wednesday's match-winner (or even in Defoe's short cameo vs. France in June), he possessed none of the movement, hunger or goalscoring threat Defoe did—all three attributes alone being on show in his excellent goal.

As good as he can be, the days when Rooney was an automatic choice for England must be over, at least until he gets his act together.

Promising Young Players Getting a Chance

The absence of any reference on the previous page to England's young players making their debut (and other youngsters like Kyle Walker) against Italy was a conscious effort.

It is too early to herald the arrival of these players—Tom Cleverley, Ryan Bertrand, Jack Butland, John Ruddy and Jake Livermore made their international bow on Wednesday—as confirmation that the country's struggle to produce international caliber, technically proficient young players (Ruddy is a bit older, but not by much) is over.

But these, and others like Walker, Danny Welbeck, Steven Caulker and Jack Rodwell are among a crop of players Hodgson has deemed worthy of looking at in regards to national team selection.

The Italy game was a sign that there is reason to trust his judgement with Cleverley, in particular, a notable presence in midfield.

Fresh from his excursions with Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Cleverley displayed a keenness to get involved and was key in linking up some of England's better moves.

His display stood out as England look to find the men that can allow them to pass, move and keep hold off the ball better in the long-term, but the surprise call-up Livermore was an intriguing watch too in this regard. His steady distribution of the ball was not remarkable, but he helped keep his side in possession late on.

Another Team GB starter, Butland has not even played in the Premier League yet, but he maintained his summer form and will be one to watch whilst Ruddy has a big year ahead of him to prove his first in the top-flight was not a fluke.

Few of these are likely to be in England's starting eleven in the immediate future, but Hodgson was wise to take a good look at them, and they responded in positive fashion.

England Can Play Football

It has been all well good watching England outplay the lesser lights of Europe in qualification and friendlies in recent years, but against the likes of Germany, France and Spain, they have struggled to impose themselves beyond fleeting glimpses and direct assaults.

It is why then, as described three pages ago, Italy was a far more valuable test of their credentials.

Nobody is kidding themselves this was the opposition at their best, but Prandelli's team was one that still made them work and think with and without the ball.

And against them, positively, England looked pretty good.

In midfield, Carrick, Cleverley and Lampard kept hold of the ball economically (England had 58 percent possession for the game, a rarity against this standard of opposition), and then intelligently looked to bring their team-mates into play with short passing moves that were enhanced by the willingness of those going forward to move into into space.

This sense of freedom in the final third was enhanced by the arrival of Defoe in the second half, but he was not alone in this respect.

The full-backs Walker and Leighton Baines ventured forward to offer an option, while the wide-men Ashley Young and Adam Johnson (and then later James Milner) had their moments of creativity.

Young, who was a frightened bystander for much of Euro 2012, showed signs of the player he can be but it was Johnson who caught the eye with a performance that reminded of the threat this skillful winger possesses in full-flow.

Hodgson chose to focus on the pragmatic, less glamorous job of developing a sense of shape and organisation for Euro 2012.

It was a fair judgement call given he had little time to work with his new team.

From here on, it will be his success in matching these fundamentals with a greater courage and comfort in passing the ball that will define his reign.

A Promising Start to a New Era

All things considered, Euro 2012 was a decent, if not especially memorable, tournament for England.

Hodgson went into it knowing that a solid showing and progression was vital in the sense of the psyche of his squad, and indeed his countrymen, and delivered.

But the 65-year-old also knew that coming in at as late a stage as he did (and with a long-term contract signed), he had a future beyond those European Championships.

So it was then that this fixture was in essence the de-facto, unofficial beginning of his tenure as England manager.

It was the first match in a qualification campaign when the onus is on him to get it right, any settling in time concluded the moment of that last penalty kick in Kiev.

Hodgson cannot have asked for a much better start, and he will feel he has gotten plenty out of the game (and will have delighted club managers in coming home with no major injuries to report).

But the real work really begins on 7 September when he takes his England team to Moldova, followed four days later by the visit of Ukraine.