Scotland vs. England: Tactical Preview of International Friendly
Scotland and England will renew rivalries on Tuesday evening at a packed Celtic Park. The last time these two met, Rickie Lambert scored a thumping winner on his debut to seal a 3-2 win at Wembley.
How will this match play out? We'll put the grit and determination aside temporarily to focus on the tactics.
Scotland
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Scotland are making great strides of progress under Gordon Strachan. They sit third in Euro 2016 qualifying in Group D, level on points with Germany and three behind leaders Poland.
They operate out of a base 4-2-3-1 formation but remain very fluid and adaptable. Gone are the days where Craig Levein fielded a 4-6-0—the Tartan Army are rehabilitating their own footballing image via good football and excellent coaching.
They remain stubborn at the back but utilise speed and interchange of players up top. Germany and Poland badly underestimated the Scots, and Roy Hodgson will be eager to avoid making the same mistake.
England
England were atrocious for 57 minutes against Slovenia. Jordan Henderson's shock own goal acted as a relative defibrillator to their game plan, transforming it from slow and monotonous to quick and purposeful.
Hodgson has now played the 4-4-2 diamond in five matches, and here are the main takeaways:
- Raheem Sterling is the No. 10 of choice, with Adam Lallana working his way into the rotation wherever possible.
- The strikers split wide and work hard to cover runs in place of wingers.
- Jack Wilshere, like it or not, appears to be Hodgson's chosen deep-lying midfielder at the base of the diamond (he's better suited to a box-to-box role at present).
- Kieran Gibbs and Nathaniel Clyne may actually be England's best full-back pairing—a fact Hodgson appears to have stumbled upon by accident.
The manager will be looking for more progress against an underrated Scottish outfit. Expect the diamond to be rolled out again, as Hodgson really does like the look of it.
Tactical Point 1: Quicken the Tempo
There's a clear and obvious reason why England struggled against Slovenia for the best part of an hour: They moved the ball exceptionally slowly, plodded around laboriously and failed to develop a passing rhythm.
Jordan Henderson had a very poor game on the ball, and though Wilshere was strong in possession, the Liverpool man largely undid it. Sterling's passing was a little off in the first half, and Wayne Rooney often slowed attacks down.
This has to change from the first minute against Scotland. Hodgson admitted after the match that "games last 90 minutes. You don't always get what you want from the first minute." But his eyes told an entirely different story.
No systemic changes are required to liven up England's game, and the diamond is built to throw bodies forward and have players exploding into space. A weak-minded, conservative diamond comes unstuck easily; Rooney needs to lead a highly charged, energetic side out north of the border.
Tactical Point 2: Beware the Naismith, Jack!
At a certain unspecified point over the last three months, it appears Steven Naismith transformed into a legitimate contender to Lionel Messi's crown as the world's best false nine.
Jokes aside, he has been amazing. From out of the blue, he's taken both the Everton and Scotland XI by the horns and become the central piece in both. Romelu Lukaku's been pushed wide because of him!
We mentioned Scotland's fluidity, and Naismith is key to this. He triggers rotations in his side's formation, dropping in and out of the forward line and finding pockets of space. His colleagues, such as Shaun Maloney and Ikechi Anya, are finding tons of space due to the attention dished out to the Toffees forward.
Concerns of Wilshere at the base of the diamond are not based on his ball-playing skills but rather his defensive awareness. Naismith's movement and guile will be a true test of the Englishman's ability to play the role.
*Quotes obtained firsthand.
