England 1-1 Spain: 5 Lesson Learnt for Pearce's Young Lions
England played Spain in the opening game of the UEFA Under-21 European Championships. In the 14th minute of the match, Ander Herrera headed in a flick-on during a corner to give Spain the lead. Spain then settled into their mesmeric tempo of passing, which so characterizes tiki-taka, with Thiago Alcantara and Juan Mata being England's tormentors-in chief.
As the first half wore on, however, England got back into the game, as Danny Rose made inroads down the left. It took a fabulous save from De Gea to prevent England equalizing just before the half-time whistle.
During the second half, more of the same tiki-taka play ensued, with England finding little space and being pinned back into their own half. However, Chris Smalling's supreme display of defending skill kept the Spanish at bay.
In the 88th minute, Smalling made a charge through defense and made a supreme pass to Kyle Walker, who made a good run and cut inside and passed for Danny Welbeck to turn and score. Let us now reflect on the game.
Chris Smalling Was England's Best Player
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Smalling was a driving force for England. He defended backs to the wall, and made several outstanding tackles to contain the dangerous Spanish attack. He also created England's only goal with a skilful dart forward and pass to Kyle Walker.
Mancienne Was a Passenger, and Henderson Not Much Better
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Michael Mancienne was ineffective, to say the least. Employed as a defensive foil to Jordan Henderson, Mancienne failed to keep up with Barcelona starlet Thiago Alcantara, whose passing was immaculate today. Henderson, undoubtedly employed as the creative midfielder in Pearce's system, managed a clever one-two and a through ball to Welbeck, which was ruled offside (both in the first half).
England Must Play a 3-Man Midfield
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Playing a 4-4-1-1, which was basically a 4-4-2, England's midfield and attack barely got the ball. England had to resort to long balls from Frankie Fielding to initiate attacks (most of which were ineffective). Now, playing three in the midfield would allow for three midfielders functioning as a cohesive unit, rather than the creator-destroyer pairing of Henderson and Mancienne, which proved so ineffective against tiki-taka.
Lansbury and Rodwell Must Replace Mancienne
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Arsenal's Lansbury and Everton's Rodwell should give England's midfield the bottle and class it needs against the best (namely, Spain). With the defensive destroyer, Jack Rodwell, as well as the box-to-box-talent of Lansbury combined with the attacking class of Jordan Henderson, should give England a win against the Ukraine
England's Proposed Lineup.
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The England lineup against the Ukraine should consist of
Frankie Fielding
Kyle Walker
Chris Smalling
Phil Jones/Michael Manc.
Ryan Bertrand
Jack Rodwell
Henri Lansbury
Jordan Henderson
Thomas Cleverley
Danny Rose
Danny Welbeck/Daniel Sturridge
