England vs. San Marino: Tactical Preview of David & Goliath Euro 2016 Qualifier

England host the mighty San Marino on Thursday evening in their latest Euro 2016 qualifier. After beating Switzerland in Basel last time out, it'd be a crime if they failed to punish the 208th-ranked FIFA team.

The Three Lions won 8-0 the last time the two sides met—England are as low as 1/200 to win and San Marino are as high as 100/1 to pull off the upset, per Oddschecker. This goal, which probably haunts Stuart Pearce's dreams, proves anything is possible, but even so, San Marino still lost the game 7-1.

David and Goliath

In 25 years of official competition, the San Marino national football team has won just one match, per BBC Sport. The same website states that goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini—an accountant by day—concedes an average of 4.4 goals per game.

Some Premier League 'keepers don't even face that many shots per game.

With one goal in the last six years, it's a tough ask for any of Pierangelo Manzaroli's men to breach Joe Hart's net or keep a clean sheet at the other end. The population of San Marino stands at around 31,500—11,000 less than the capacity of Villa Park and a third of the capacity of Wembley Stadium.

San Marino's Likely Setup

Like Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final, only with more men in the box (if possible).

Joking aside, we expect San Marino to play a deep-set 4-5-1, with everyone but the striker dropping back behind the ball and making things as difficult as possible for the home side.

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They'll block off standard passing lanes and flood the box when crosses come in. They'll have enough men to take wingers and overlapping full-backs one vs. one, making it difficult for England to create overloads anywhere on the pitch.

The edge of the box will be especially crowded, and it could come down to two possible "types" of goal: a cross for Rickie Lambert to head home, or a jinking run from Fabian Delph or Jordan Henderson to create havoc between the lines.

England's Setup

England are finding their feet in a new-look system: a diamond modelled closely on Liverpool's setup. It was defensively stable against Switzerland and offered plenty of chances going forward, but it's unlikely the forwards will need to split wide to cover full-back runs in this fixture.

Ultimately, you have to play two up front against nine men in the penalty box; San Marino will barely offer a threat on the counter, so you could even play with three true strikers.

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Hodgson will be happy to leave his two centre-backs in charge of San Marino's one striker, letting his full-backs hit the bylines simultaneously and his wingers cut in.

One thing to be wary of is overcrowding yourself: Manchester City used to do it to themselves on the edge of the box, and while England don't need four men back, they can't have six forward either.

The Three Lions will absolutely emerge victorious, but finding a balance on the pitch is more difficult in these fixtures than perhaps many fans believe. 

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