PREVIEW: England out, but can learn lessons in last match

Yes folks, England are out of the World Cup, and it does not come as a massive shock to anyone that has been paying attention to the team for the last decade or more.  Always so good in friendlies and tournament qualification, but never able to get it together when it matters most and never making it past the quarterfinals.  Simply put, England never impress, and they have failed to do so yet again.

With no pressure or expectations against Costa Rica in their meaningless final group stage match, Roy Hodgson has finally made changes to see where England will go from here in the post-World Cup reality.  With qualification for Euro 2016 around the corner, the sooner he tests things to move forward with the better.

Ross Barkley finally gets a chance to start at the World Cup, while Sturridge hopes to continue to impress while forging chemistry with the Everton man.

As for Costa Rica, they are already into the knockout stages, but given that they will want to avoid a clash with Colombia in the round of 16, they will not want to lose.  A draw is good enough to avoid that potential scenario, but if you have seen this team this summer, and I am sure you have, you know that they will not play for a draw.  They have made a massive statement by making it out of this group at all, let alone winning both of their matches up to this point, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll want to win all three and truly show that they fear no one.

"Projected starting XI’sEngland: Foster; Shaw, Cahill, Smalling, Jones; Lampard, Wilshere, Milner; Lallana, Sturridge, BarkleyCosta Rica: Navas; Diaz, Umana, Gonzalez, Duarte, Gamboa; Tejeda, Borges; Bolanos, Campbell, Ruiz"

Chris Smalling (left) and Luke Shaw (right) are part of the future for England’s defense. Will they impress today?

Key’s for England:

– Allow Barkley and Lallana to play the way they know how.  They were two of the best English attacking players in the EPL last season, so all that Roy Hodgson needs to do is let them off the leash and let them play the fast paced and direct style of football that they are so good at.

– Make sure that Wilshere joins the attack whenever he can.  Just like at Arsenal, Wilshere will want to get forward and either make a late run into the area or to dictate play just behind the front three – he excels in that deployment, so that should not change today.

– Let the front-three interchange in the attack as much as they see fit.  This really does need to be a match where Hodgson allows his players to be at their very best, and as such, that also must include the ability for Sturridge, Lallana and Barkley to roam around the pitch rather than be positionally static.

Key’s for Costa Rica:

– Be sure to pressure England’s flanks with their wing-backs, especially Gamboa.  Yes Campbell, Ruiz and Bolanos have been impressive, but it’s the play of their wide players at the back that has aided them in being so impressive this summer.

– Just because it’s their last match, that does not mean they should let their intensity slip.  They have played so well and worked so hard against both Italy and Uruguay, that it is to the point currently where it’s hard for anyone to find a weakness in their side, and the longer that continues the better considering the knockout stage is nearly upon them.

– Making sure their midfield constantly pressure Lampard will prepare them for further tests in the knockout stage.  Since Lampard will be sitting in a deeper creative role, this will allow Costa Rica to continue to tweak their tactical set-up for the knockout stage against further teams that will do the same.

Key Battles:

– Shaw v Gamboa – This is Shaw’s first start at a World Cup, and despite him being fantastic for Southampton domestically, this is still the World Cup and he is coming into a match against a team that are firing on all cylinders.  Gamboa loves to rampage forward to support the attack, so it’ll be key for Shaw to make an impression against him, and fast.

– Navas v England’s front three – Navas has been fantastic this tournament thus far, right up there with Memo Ochoa of Mexico.  With England’s shifted formation and XI, they’ll look to offer something different in the final third, with players that are more direct and love to get a look at goal – this hopefully is another good test for him.

– Wilshere v Costa Rica’s midfield – Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard were selected in front of Wilshere, to the frustration of some, so if he wants to be key to England’s plans moving forward like so many hope he will be, he must impress Hodgson today.  Given the work rate of the opposition’s midfield, he will have his work cut out for him.

This could well be Frank Lampard final tournament for England. Will he go out with a bang when so many felt he should have played over Gerrard all along?

"Match predictionCosta Rica are on such a high right now, that it is entirely plausible that it will be enough to see them through.  They do have quality and they are certainly incredibly threatening on the counter attack, but many England players have a lot to prove to their manager in both why they should have been selected before or why they need to be apart of his plans moving forward.  Still though, England will lack a bit of confidence, and with Costa Rica wanting to avoid playing Colombia in the round of 16, they won’t just play for the sake of it.  For me, I think it’ll end in a spirited 2-2 draw."