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Italy dominated possession and passed the ball very well against England and eventually ran out deserved 2-1 winners. The match was interesting from a tactical point of view as both teams started at a high tempo before gradually tiring out in the second half. England were quick out of the blocks, hassling and harrying the Italians, and could have gone a goal up. However, Italy were the team that broke the deadlock via a cleverly worked setpiece. England responded just minutes after that but Balotelli’s second half header was enough to secure 3 points for the Azzuri.
The midfield battle had a theme attached to it: Pirlo’s freedom, the pace and interchanging of England’s midfielders, Rooney’s defensive indiscipline and Candreva’s lateral movement.
Rooney’s defensive indiscipline
Roy Hodgson’s decision to start with Raheem Sterling behind Daniel Sturridge meant that Wayne Rooney had to settle for a place on the flank. Rooney did not look comfortable at all on the left. He tended to move inside while Raheem Sterling floated in and around the area (a free role).
Defensively, Rooney’s responsibility was to track Darmian. This was the problem, Rooney rarely got back in time and Italy’s brilliant central midfield led to quick transitions and an overload on Italy’s right flank on the defensively suspect Leighton Baines.
To curb this, Hodgson shifted Rooney to the right and Welbeck to the left in the second half. However, Welbeck also displayed the same tendency to cut inside and making the play too narrow. As was expected, the winning goal saw Darmian and Candreva in a 2 vs 1 situation against Baines.
Candreva’s lateral movement
In essence, Italy’s formation was a Christmas tree 4-3-2-1 which focuses on flooding the middle of the park to keep control of the ball and using the fullbacks to provide width. However, Antonio Candreva continously went out to the right and at times made the formation look like a lop-sided 4-3-3.
He frequently got in one on ones against Baines and had a lot of success down that flank, especially with Darmian providing the overlapping runs. Italy’s winner was a result of Darmian drawing Baines up the field and slipping Candreva behind him. Candreva then outfoxed Baines by shifting onto his weakerfoot before delivering a brilliant cross for Balotelli.
Candreva and Darmian were Italy’s unexpected heroes who terrorized England. Roy Hodgson could have probably started James Milner on the left flank to counter this. All 8 of Italy’s crosses originated from the right flank. Meanwhile, on the other flank, Marchisio took up an increasingly central position in an attempt to get between the lines while Chiellini is a centreback by trade and didn’t offer much width.
The pace of the English midfielders
Danny Welbeck, Raheem Sterling, Wayne Rooney, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge all are workhorses who have pace to burn. They really took the game to Italy and their quick passing and interchanging led to a lot of problems for the Italians.
Sterling and Welbeck constantly turned Paletta and Chiellini and frequently got into dangerous positions in the first half. England’s pressing was frantic and a welcome change. Rooney’s defensive indiscipline also led to him having room on the flank.
Indeed, for England’s goal, Darmian was on the wrong side of Rooney and he delivered a peach of a cross for Sturridge to tap home. This was England’s plan, run with pace and interchange and it was most effective when they counter-attacked. However, due to the heat and tiredness, they could not maintain this for the whole 90 minutes and gradually the tempo dropped and the game was played at a pace suited to Italy. Ross Barkley came on late and added a different dimension, but it couldn’t affect the outcome.
Steven Gerrard’s dismal performance
While Pirlo shined, Gerrard failed to light up the occasion. He was bypassed easily by Italy, and his pressing was not upto the mark. He struggled with the frantic tempo of the match, didn’t contribute anything worthwhile and couldn’t catch up with the play. Based on this performance, he cannot be trusted to be England’s main defensive midfielder for the tournament – as he looked laboured on occasions.
Sterling’s wonderful performance
While veterans Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney didn’t play well, Raheem Sterling rose to the occasion and was the best player for England. He was confident, willing to take on defenders and beat players. He pressed the Italy midfielders all game. He drifted left and right to find room and combine with the wingers and succeeded.
He regularly interchanged roles and caused havoc in the Italian defence. His brilliant pass to Wayne Rooney during England’s equalizer showed his worth. Also, he wasn’t afraid or overrawed by the occasion. His combination pace, flair and unpredictability was something Italy didn’t have a proper answer to and he repayed his manager’s faith in him handsomely.
Pirlo’s freedom at De Rossi’s expense
Andrea Pirlo has nominally been the main defensive midfielder for Italy and Juventus but in an attempt to avoid the pressing of Welbeck, Cesare Prandelli fielded him in an advanced midfield role and he just moved around in search of space without the worry of leaving the defensive midfield position unattended.
Pirlo had time and space on the ball and England’s pressing gradually waned. He dictated the whole game and was deservedly man of the match. He set the tempo of the game and ended with over 100 passes with a pass completion of 95%, remarkable in such a frantic game where he was singled out as Italy’s main man.
He had a penalty shout denied, dummied Sturridge for Marchisio’s goal, put in a sublime through ball for Balotelli (cleared off the line by Jagielka) and hit an incredible free kick at the end which rattled the crossbar. In the meanwhile, Daniele De Rossi battled hard in the defensive midfield role; he lost Sterling on occasion but made Italy tick and was an important part.
Conclusion: In the end, it was Italy’s superior midfield and wingplay which won them the game. England’s youngsters can take heart from their performance, while the tried-and-trusted players need to step up.
Wayne Rooney has to either play as a #10, a striker or not play at all – Adam Lallana is much more suited to play on the flank. However, they need to work on their defence. Leighton Baines is suspect defensively and England will need to provide cover for him to thrive.
Italy meanwhile should be better equipped for fast tempo games as other teams can be a bit more clinical and be out of sight in the first 20-30 minutes. Part of this can be solved when De Sciglio returns from injury and Chiellini drops into central defence (whether it is a 4 man defence or a 5 man defence).
