REVIEW: England restore a bit of pride in a spirited 0-0 draw

It’s done, over, finished.  England will now pack their bags and head back to their island haven across the Channel after their disappointing yet expected poor showing in Brazil.  But were there positives in their 0-0 draw against Costa Rica? Yes, but will those positives be built on? Only Roy Hodgson knows.

Frank Lampard (right) put in a shift that made many question if Steven Gerrard had been the right choice all along

To say that England had a positive and progressive tournament completely smacks of lunacy.  At no point is a record of 0-1-2, only scoring two goals and crashing out of the tournament in stunning fashion before the last group stage match should never be deemed acceptable, and if it is, that sums up the problems inside the England set up completely.  Simply put, this was, in fact, England’s worst performance at a World cup in the nation’s history – there was nothing promising about their showing this summer on the whole.

Ross Barkley (left) was fantastic in the build up to the tournament, and always came off the bench and inspired – his performance today was further evidence of his rising ability.

There are hard lessons that need to be heeded before the qualification for Euro 2016 is upon them, but there are underlying positives from the match today that Hodgson must keep in mind moving forward.  The successful deployment of Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana on either side of Daniel Sturridge was fantastic.  The pair of them brought the direct, quick style of play that so many have been begging England to tap into.  Their technical ability on the ball was also an added bonus, and it definitely benefitted Sturridge in the final third.  Sturridge should have had a few goals on the day, and even though his finishing let him down, he still seems to be the man to lead the line for England going forward.

When fit, Jack Wilshere is influential…when fit…

Hodgson gave a run out to Jack Wilshere in midfield and his performance there showed the England gaffer that, when fit, Wilshere can certainly be a vital piece to the puzzle that hopefully leads to England switching to a 4-3-3 rather than the usual 4-2-3-1 that completely failed to make an impact.  Frank Lampard was given a run out from the start as well, and was by no means poor either, but as this is most likely his last major tournament for his country, one wonders of Jordan Henderson should still keep his starting birth, or should a shift to someone like Fabian Delph be considered.

Luke Shaw (left), still so inexperienced internationally, showed why he is primed to become England’s first-choice left back for the next decade.

Luke Shaw gave a very good account of himself on both sides of the ball as well as making those rampaging runs forward that he is known for with Southampton, but was it enough to move him ahead of Leighton Baines going forward?  Smalling was better than he usually is, but it will be hard to see anyone breaking up the Gary Cahill/Phil Jagielka partnership unless that person is Steven Caulker or Curtis Davies.

Yes, England did far better today with an XI that was shuffled, but did it prove too much in the end? Costa Rica only needed a draw to secure first place in the group, and even though they did play well in large spells and threaten on occasions, this was not as high octane that we saw from them in their matches against Uruguay and Italy.  Still and yet, England looked more dangerous going forward, they did an excellent job controlling the midfield and far less error-prone at the back.

Let us turn to the words of former England great Gary Lineker briefly;

"“England always have lots of talented youngsters or over the hill players, but they never have players at their peak”"

If there was ever a ay to sum up the national team set up for England in the last decade or more, it’s right there.  But that can all change for them moving forward.  In two years time, players like Lallana, Sturridge, Hart, and Wilshere will be in the prime of their careers, forming a very strong backbone for which England can build on.  When you add the surefire rise to prominence of Sterling, Caulker and Barkley, and the addition of role players, this is an England team that will, in time, hopefully finally get it right.

"Potential England XI for Euro 2016GK: HartDF: Shaw, Cahill, Caulker, WalkerMF: Delph; Wilshere, BarkleyFW: Lallana, Sturridge, Sterling"

This was not the summer where England finally played like Lions, in truth, they played more like kittens.  And yes it is true, that England always has young players that are overhyped and super stars at domestic level that never make the grade for the national team when it matters most, but will it always be that way?  If you ask the average now pessimistic England fan, yes it will.  But you jsut have to wonder, if in two years time, if many of these same players will apply the lessons learn in Brazil, and finally make the nation believe in them again.