Kyle Walker and Tottenham's Defensive Core at Heart of England's Euro 2016 Drive
Victory can mask a lot of ills. England ultimately deserved to beat Wales 2-1 in Thursday's Euro 2016 Group B encounter, but the fact that it took them until stoppage time to see off a limited outfit said a lot about their own issues.
The win does give manager Roy Hodgson some leeway to figure out what is next for his team. They face Slovakia next on Monday, and there is work ahead to ensure the kind of impact Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge brought off the bench against Wales can be felt from the start.
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Uncertainty persists around England's attack, but there is a more welcome consistency further back. The Tottenham Hotspur defensive core of Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are notably revelling in their European Championship experiences.
Where Hodgson has been going back and forth over who and what works best further forward, this trio's involvement had looked inevitable since the spring.
Dier made his England bow in last autumn's friendlies with Spain and France. His winning goal and a mostly solid showing against Germany in March confirmed in Hodgson's mind that the 22-year-old would be his best bet anchoring his midfield.
Rose's confident debut display up against the world champions also impressed. With Walker performing well a game later against the Netherlands, the notion that Tottenham's full-back pair could be transposed successfully into the national team began to take hold more firmly.
The individual stories of how these three got to this point do not have the Hollywood appeal of Vardy's rise from non-league, nor the delight of the precocious Marcus Rashford's sudden entry into the limelight.
However, they are just as reflective of different aspects of the football experience and are undoubtedly informing their involvement at Euro 2016.
Walker's joy after Daniel Sturridge’s late winner (see above) was great to see.
The team overall may be toiling so far, but the right-back is doing his best to make the most of his time in France. He knows how privileged he is to be part of this.
Walker missed both Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup through injury.
The blow in 2012 came at the end of a campaign in which his Tottenham form earned him recognition as the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year award. His omission two years later was less surprising—fitness problems cost him the best part of two months' football that spring—but was no less disappointing.
"It always seems to be that I pick them up at the wrong time when the tournaments are coming up," said Walker, per Sky Sports' Andrew Dickson.
"But it's a hurdle that I've come over and I think I've come out a stronger person and hopefully a better player after."
Walker's 2015-16 would suggest the latter is certainly the case.
His injury problems had continued into Mauricio Pochettino's first season in charge at Tottenham. When he was fit, he was playing adequately but lacked the assertiveness of his first couple of years as a top-flight player.
Spurred on by the competition provided from Kieran Trippier, Walker is coming off arguably the best year of his career so far.
Part of a Spurs defence that was one of the Premier League's meanest (up until a dreadful final month at least), the former Sheffield United youth-team player's improved positional discipline and combat-conducive athleticism made him a formidable opponent for any winger.
If anything, the 26-year-old is playing even better right now for England. Walker’s forays forward have been the most reliable feature of the team's play so far.
His combinations with Dele Alli and, in particular, Adam Lallana created some of the side’s best chances against Russia. Midfielder Wayne Rooney has been able to set his passing to the clockwork-like charges down the right flank, frequently utilising the full-back as an outlet to switch play.
Sensing the need for such persistence, Walker continued to drive England on against Wales. The team's quality remained poor throughout, but he at least offered some semblance of penetration.
Defensively he has yet to be too severely tested, though he held his own relatively well in his rare duels with Gareth Bale. Walker's performances have, however, shown what England may be capable of if the rest of his team-mates can get it together too.
Rose’s Euro 2016 has been a little trickier an experience compared to Walker's.
For his part, he has been performing his basic function of providing width for England out left well (see the above graphic representing his effort against Wales).
Rooney has benefited from his consistently providing a shorter passing option on his outside. In the group opener versus Russia, the two created some encouraging triangles with Raheem Sterling, although ultimately they were not quite as effective as those seen on the right.
Rose was unfortunately to be left isolated when the taller Vasili Berezutski jumped above him to head Russia's equaliser. Until then, he had done as best he could defensively, making some good interceptions higher up the pitch and bravely blocking closer to goal.
The Wales game proved a more frustrating affair for the left-back as England's attack stuttered.
Up until his participation in the build-up to Sturridge's goal, little had come off for him. Sometimes because of his own errant passing, but mostly as his team-mates further forward were so off-kilter (one of his more notable contributions was winning a free-kick off Joe Ledley that, sadly, looked more like a dive than a genuine foul).
Still, individually Rose at least has a foothold in the tournament, and he's playing with the earnestness of a man keen not to waste this opportunity.
"Yeah I did think my chance might not come," he said in March, per Dave Kidd of the Mirror. "There is very good competition at left-back, England are spoilt for choice at left-back."
"I've had to bide my time but there’s a saying 'better late than never'," he added. That sentiment could be said about Rose's career as a whole.
Originally a midfielder, he has been turned into one of the Premier League's best left-backs during his time at Tottenham. It has been an arduous process at times, involving various spells on loan.
But, like Walker, he has been driven on by competition at club level (from Wales' Ben Davies) and now rightfully leads the pack with England.
Dier—scorer of England’s first goal at this European Championship (see above)—can certainly sympathise with the demands of a change in position. Though, like his career as a whole, the process has not taken as long as it did with Rose.
Pochettino's decision to switch Dier from defence (where he played right and centre-back in 2014-15) to midfield would appear an inspired decision at first glance. But as the Tottenham boss frequently reminded the media during that season, he was always keeping his mind open about the youngster’s versatility.
Even with his faith in Dier's footballing ability, Pochettino will have been pleased with just how well he took to the responsibility of being Spurs’ chief defensive-midfield presence.
The qualities the Sporting Clube de Portugal product brought to his day job have quickly come to the fore in his England career too.
The aforementioned friendlies suggested Dier would prove a competent international performer. Albeit up against opposition that is not the strongest in the competition, the signs so far are he also has what it takes to perform on an even bigger stage.
The free-kick against Russia was a moment in keeping with an overall display in which Dier relished the responsibility of his role.
As with Spurs, he was a reliable covering presence for when team-mates lost possession, recovering it with strong but fair challenges. The same tactic of dropping back alongside his centre-backs when Rose and Walker pushed forward has also become part of England's game plan.
Dier's passing was prompt, precise and purposeful versus Russia. Against Wales, however, even he could not completely avoid getting caught up in the side’s attacking malaise.
England's desperation to secure the winner led to him entering the final-third territory which, outside of set plays, he tends to avoid. The resulting unsuccessful crosses were his desperate attempt to generate the chances his team-mates were struggling to create.
Nevertheless, it was another solid showing from Dier overall.
If England progress, Dier, Rose and Walker will come under greater scrutiny against stronger opposition. In their willing, undaunted efforts so far, Hodgson at least has a template his less-well performing players can aspire to.
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