Sunday 27 March 2016

How will England do at the Euros?

Last night, England came from 2-0 behind to beat current World Champions Germany 3-2 in their friendly match ahead of the European Championships. 

Roy Hodgson has already hailed the victory as his best night as England manager after his side fought back against the two-goal deficit Germany had created. 

Throughout the match, England put on a good performance but in the first hour of the match, they conceded twice (Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez with the goals) and it looked like the match would be taking a turn that so many England fans have become accustomed to over the years. 

Then, up stepped Harry Kane. Almost one year after making his England debut and scoring after 79 seconds, the man that has proved to everyone he is a big candidate to lead the line in France pulled off a neat Cruyff turn before he drilled the ball into the back of the net at the far post. 
Harry Kane celebrating with Spurs team mate Danny Rose after pulling a goal back for England
Image from: 
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/germany-vs-england-roy-hodgsons-current-crop-prove-they-can-exceed-failures-of-the-golden-generation-a6954636.html
Jamie Vardy was next up. Hodgson brought him on for Danny Welbeck, who had had a quiet game, and it didn't take the Leicester forward long to make an impact. 

Nathaniel Clyne put a brilliant cross into the box and Vardy confidently flicked his back-heel behind his defender and past Manuel Neuer for his first international goal.

It was one of the new boys in Hodgson's squad that finished the match off though. In the last minute, England had a corner and it was whipped in to Eric Dier who towered above his defender to head the ball past Neuer and claim the victory for England. 

Now, given that Hodgson has claimed he has never been happier with his team, this has just boosted the hopes of many England fans as they carry on their preparation for the Euros. 

A lot of the new players that Hodgson is bringing into the squad look exciting and are giving their manager a lot to think about in the near future. 

One player that certainly showed his worth against Germany was Deli Alli.

The youngster was in the mix throughout the night and for a long time looked like he would be England's biggest threat when going forward.

With the score line at 2-2, Alli had a golden opportunity to get England's third goal, which Dier eventually took. Vardy set him up brilliantly and with an open net in front of him, he hit his shot high over the bar.
Jamie Vardy draaws England level at 2-2 with a beautiful back-heeled flick
Image from: 
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/germany-vs-england-match-report-harry-kane-and-jamie-vardy-trigger-incredible-fightback-as-eric-dier-a6954626.html
The Leicester players have also made their names known as they fight for their place in the England squad, and once again Vardy made sure to get his name in the headlines.

If he doesn't make the Euros squad, then I know a lot of people will be very shocked. For Leicester, his goals have given them many wins that have helped them to get to the top, and he has just done the same for his country.

His Leicester team mate Danny Drinkwater will most likely make his debut against the Netherlands, and if he does the same as Vardy, then fans can most likely expect him to pull off a great performance.

It isn't the midfield and the strikers that are looking to be a problem though. For England, their main concern at the minute may be their defence. 

Goalkeeper Jack Butland was forced off at the end of the first half with an injury and Fraser Forster put in a good shift when given his chance, but the players in front of him looked shaky.

The partnership between Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling is not yet solid and Germany were able to find pockets of space that exploited them throughout the game.

However, if this is the centre back pairing that Hodgson will stick with, then with time, they will surely work on the stability between the two. 

Out on the flanks, Danny Rose did extremely well on his debut and looked l ready to tackle any problem that came his way, but the shakiness was out on the right side.

On the attack, Clyne was a huge threat and provided the ball that gave England their second goal. Going towards his own net though and he looked unsure with how to deal with his attacker.
England team celebrating Eric Dier's injury time winner against the World Champions
Image from: 
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/germany-vs-england-roy-hodgsons-current-crop-prove-they-can-exceed-failures-of-the-golden-generation-a6954636.html
For now though, I think that England fans have every right to remain optimistic, but more information about the team will surely come out when they play the rest of the warm-up games, which will hopefully give Hodgson time to fix any problems there may be.

England's next game is against the Netherlands at Wembley on March 29.