Hodgson’s tactical blunders

According to England’s manager, Roy Hodgson, their World Cup fate is in their own hands – let’s just hope, for their sake, that it’s a safer pair of hands than those owned by the goalkeeper, Robert Green, in the last World Cup.

Slips can be costly and again it was England’s inability to close out a match they were leading and dominating which resulted in them trailing group leaders, Montenegro, by two points with four matches remaining.

The last time England played a qualifying match in the atmospheric stadium in Podgorica was in October 2011 when, attempting to qualify for the Euro 2012 Finals, they let a two-goal lead slip, ending with a draw.

On this occasion they took a one-goal lead through a Wayne Rooney header in a dominant first-half. They went on the attack and set a high tempo, pressing the opposition high up the pitch, denying Montenegro’s star players, Mirko Vucinic and Stevan Jovetic, any time and space on the ball. England controlled the midfield and should have gone into the break leading by more than one goal.

The break allowed Montengro’s manager, Branko Brnovic to withdraw a defensive midfielder, Mitar Novakovic, for another striker, Dejan Damjanovic, resulting in Jovetic finding space behind him and Vucinic.

In that match in 2011, Rooney was dismissed after losing his composure. However, while England kept 11 players on the pitch, the whole side appeared to lose concentration and the tactical adaptability required to change their game-plan. It was Damjanovic who secured the equaliser.

While, in isolation, this result does not look too bad for England, the celebrations from Montenegro’s players and supporters at the final whistle told the story.

Looking forward, England are clearly capable of bullying the minnows of the group, San Marino and Moldova, meaning that they have a vastly superior goal difference that may prove crucial in the final reckoning.

However, if they harbour realistic hopes, not only of qualifying, but also making an impact on the greatest global stage, they really should be dominating a group that contains no other team that would stand much chance of qualifying from the early group stage in Rio.

For England’s fans it must be worrying that they appear to be unable to adapt to changing circumstances. When falling behind, many coaches would add attacking options and exhort greater effort from their players, which is exactly what Brnovic did.

While hindsight management is hardly beneficial and won’t change the scoreline, the ability to assess an area of weakness and admit to errors would surely help planning for future matches.

Hodgson’s unwillingness, publicly at least, to acknowledge a tactical failure is worrying. The team structure and organisation that Hodgson holds dear was in tatters in the second-half as England were run ragged – and yet the English coach failed to react, or believed it was not necessary.

Some believe the turnaround in the second half was a result of fatigue, re-opening the debate that England’s players looked tired as a result of having to continue to play over the Christmas period. The energetic, sometimes frantic, and closely competitive league saps the energy. However, with squad rotation and so many European players now plying their trade in England, this argument has lost weight.

Looking forward, England’s ‘glass half-full’ supporters will point to the fact that they have three of their four remaining matches at home, including a rematch against Montenegro. 

Conversely, the pessimists will highlight the fact that England has been unable to defeat any of their main competitors in the group. While Poland and Ukraine’s results, to date, suggest that they should fail in their quest to qualify, if either of them were to win all of their matches then England would be in serious trouble.

England’s next match, at home to Moldova on September 6, should be routine. An immediate trip to Ukraine – with the venue yet to be decided – could be harder than the table suggests, with the host’s performances having improved dramatically since they changed managers after an indifferent start to the campaign.

The archetypal ‘six-pointer’ against Montenegro is at Wembley on October 11. What should be seen to be an easy home win is dampened by recent results – three draws in their recent double-headers suggests that England will have to improve.

England’s final match on October 15 falls on the exact 40-year anniversary of another home game against Poland when a 1-1 draw saw England fail to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, which ultimately cost Sir Alf Ramsey his job as England manager.

Personally, I still believe that England should qualify and won’t need a win against Poland in a game that will see our Editor with divided loyalties!

Around Europe, Belgium’s golden generation continue to impress as they head a tough group comprising Croatia and Serbia (and Wales whose individual brilliance fails to match the collective performance of their rugby counterparts). Kompany, Hazard, Fellaini and Dembele will be hoping to guide Belgium to their first major final since 2002. The decider against Croatia is in Split in October.

Mario Balotelli’s return to Italy is going well and he has now transferred his domestic form onto the international stage, scoring two against Malta and guiding Italy to a three-point lead at the top of Group B with a game in hand.

The Netherlands and Russia boast perfect records, while the Cup holder’s (Spain) home record of two draws means they only lead France by one point.

In South America, Brazil’s status as hosts means they are consigned to travelling the world playing exhibition matches. Argentina, under new manager, Alejandro Sabella, appointed after the Copa America 2011 disaster, are now fulfilling their potential and top the group. The Spanish league rivals, Gonzalo Higuain (9 goals) and Lionel Messi (8) lead the scoring charts.

The surprise is that Luis Suarez’s Uruguay are struggling in sixth and need to leap-frog Venezuela simply to reach a play-off place. Their task could be made harder if Suarez is banned for apparently trying to punch Chile’s Gonzalo Jara last week.

The two surprise teams keeping them from a loftier position are Ecuador and the Falcao-led Colombia. Five games remain to determine which teams will join Brazil.