Euro 2016: What went wrong for England against Iceland?

3. Hodgson’s tactical experiments

Hodgson announced his resignation after England’s Euro 2016 exit.

Hodgson’s biggest problem was that his squad for the qualifiers was a little different from the one he picked for the tournament. For starters, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Phil Jagielka, Andros Townsend and Oxlade-Chamberlain who featured in the qualifiers were all left behind owing to bad form or injury. The rise of Deli Alli, Marcus Rashford, and Jamie Vardy meant he had to include all three in the squad and alter his attacking force which already featured Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, and Daniel Sturridge. From the outside, it seemed like the England coach had not figured out his perfect starting eleven. For someone at the helm for the national team for two major tournaments (World cup in Brazil and Euros in France), it’s a shame that his team ran around the pitch most times like headless chickens.

Besides providing an assist with a penalty against Iceland, Raheem Sterling was a lost puppy, to say the least. For the entirety of the tournament, Roy Hodgson’s experiments with the left flank haven’t proved fruitful. Sterling and Adam Lallana have been inconsistent leaving many to ask – “Why didn’t Jamie Vardy start?”

For a team coming unbeaten from the qualifiers, you would expect the manager to have a prescription for tactical success. Fielding Deli Alli in a deeper role instead of a number 10 position is a clear waste of talent. Alli has time and again proved to be great up front in an attacking midfield position, as validated by his performances for Tottenham in the Premier League. Hodgson’s infamous six changes against Slovakia in the final group match proved too costly, resulting in a draw and finishing second behind Wales. The only gamble which seemed to pay off was Wayne Rooney in midfield, until his disastrous performance in the loss to Iceland which saw him achieve the distinction of having most number of misplaced passes (11) in the tournament thus far.

The European championship is no place to gamble with your midfield and attacking force. Unfortunately, the England manager learned it the hard way, and has resigned from his post.