England ran out winners against Slovakia in what was virtually the last kick of the game in the 95th minute. Adam Lallana scored a last-gasp winner to send the team into euphoria as Sam Allardyce's reign started off with a slender win.
The new England manager wasn't expected to change much in just a week of preparation with his squad, as England started World Cup qualification with a victory against the home team, Slovakia.
Allardyce’s team resembled the same team that crashed out of the Euros and the playing style hasn’t changed much even after a change in management. The Three Lions have to thank Martin Skrtel for his stupidity, as his red card brought the much-needed urgency that England lacked for more than 60 minutes. The visitors had possession for most parts of the game, though they lacked the cutting edge in most of their attacks.
Lineup and formation
Allardyce did not make many changes to the squad that went to France except the inclusion of Wear Ham's Michail Antonio. Joe Hart got a start for England, despite not playing a single minute this season.
The Tottenham duo Kyle Walker and Danny Rose started as full-backs and did ever so well. Gary Cahill and John Stones got the nod ahead as they kept Chris Smalling on the bench.
Eric Dier and Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson were in the midfield role with Dier playing as a defensive midfielder. England captain Wayne Rooney started the game and became the country's most capped outfield player, surpassing David Beckham, with 116 appearances. He started in the No.10 role and flanked by Adam Lallana on the left and Raheem Sterling on the right.
Harry Kane started as the lone striker ahead of Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy, although he hadn’t scored a goal since May. England were expected to play 4-2-3-1 but mostly played a 4-1-4-1 formation with Eric Dier sitting deep to shield the centre backs.
Wayne Rooney played too deep at times as Harry Kane was left isolated for the majority of the game. Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling interchanged wings many times which gave the Slovakian fullbacks a headache.
Playing style
Before Slovakia went down to 10 men, there was not much difference in England’s play against Slovakia, from the days of Roy Hodgson’s English reign. Allardyce opted for an attacking lineup, but his team still faced the same old problem as they failed to produce a pass to the final third despite having the majority of the possession.
The biggest relief for England supporters will be the removal of Harry Kane from set piece duties – something that baffled pundits and fans on social media during EURO 2016, as Wayne Rooney resumed duty of taking corners and free kicks. But the captain too could not muster a good delivery from many set-piece situations.
Substitutions
After Martin Skrtel's sending off, Jordan Henderson was replaced by Dele Alli to bring energy from midfield, which they lacked for an hour or so. Alli had an impressive cameo along with Theo Walcott, who replaced Raheem Sterling with 20 minutes to go. Walcott had a goal ruled off for offside, much to the dismay of the England players who complained to the referee over it being fair.
Walcott should be happy with his little cameo as he hopes to get more minutes for both club and country. Daniel Sturridge replaced the disappointing Harry Kane and the Liverpool man did well in his 10 minutes. Sturridge had 3 touches in 14 minutes in the Slovakian box while Kane could muster just 5 touches in 80 minutes inside the Slovakian box.
Allardyce never shies from making substitutions and his changes eventually paid off against 10-men Slovakia.
Wayne Rooney dilemma
After the game, when asked about Rooney's position, Allardyce said, "He could play wherever he wanted to be. He was brilliant. He controlled the game. He controlled midfield, as well as Eric Dier. Yes sometimes he played a little deep but I'm not going to stop Wayne if he thinks that's the right position to go to."
Anyone who saw the game yesterday would counter Allardyce’s claim that Rooney was ‘brilliant’.
Also Read: Wayne Rooney's 'free role' in midfield is now England's greatest concern
The 30-year old dropped a little too deep on many occasions when he was required near the attacking half. England had a deep lying midfielder in Eric Dier, who had the most touches yesterday with 99 passes.
With a ball playing defender in John Stones, the decision to drop deep from Rooney just did not make sense. On many occasions, Stones was ahead of Rooney as the England captain looked to take hold of the proceedings, which he failed to do so.
Harry Kane was left isolated with Rooney dropping deep. Allardyce needs to take a tough decision on Rooney's best position and build the team around it.
The performance that was needed from Rooney playing behind the striker was produced by Dele Alli in his short cameo, who was kept out of the lineup to accommodate Rooney.
Star man: Adam Lallana
Lallana scored his first international goal in 27 appearances and looked England's best player throughout the game. His silky touches and skills kept the tempo up and he produced important passes too.
He had a good few exchanges with both the full-backs with Danny Rose providing the assist for his goal.
Lallana has reinvented himself under Jurgen Klopp and has shown that on the field; he had a shot off the post and produced a save from Slovakia's keeper.
He played on the left predominantly with Rose and Lallana expected to be the players on the left flank under Allardyce for the foreseeable future.
The road ahead
Allardyce has always taken brave decisions in his managerial career and he needs to be bold in the biggest job of his career. He has a plethora of attacking talent at his service and needs to make proper use of it.
England in hindsight should have included Marcus Rashford, as they lacked the pace of the teenage sensation.
The likes of Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli are the future of England and must get used to criticism from all corners heading into the 2018 World Cup.
