When the World Cup draw came around, not many thought there would be genuine worry that England would fail to progress. Recent England groups have appeared fairly simple, with the Three Lions’s last World Cup group containing the likes of Algeria, Slovenia and the United States (England still failed to win the group).
But when England’s name was drawn with Italy and Uruguay, they realised they would be off to the Amazonian heat of Manaus to play one of world’s football’s finest international teams in Italy. And then that is followed by a battle against a crafty Uruguay side that will fight to the bitter end, and, in Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, match winning quality at the highest level. The only game that you would fully put your mortgage on England picking up three points from is the tussle with Costa Rica on June 24.
Despite the fierce competition, however, Roy Hogdson’s men can still progress. Here’s my take on how they can start their push for Round Two when they face the Italians in the Amazon on June 14th.
England vs Italy – Saturday June 14th – Manaus
Know your enemy: Italy’s team is a formidable one. Their first choice center halves, Leonardo Bonucci and Georgio Chiellini, are composed, strong and very comfortable with the ball at their feet. Italy are also blessed with great depth at the back – Angelo Ogbonna and Gabriel Paletta are no easy opponents for any strikers to face.
In spite of that, the highlight of the Italians is their midfield. Andrea Pirlo, who has won four consecutive Serie A titles with AC Milan and Juventus, is one of the finest passers of a ball to ever grace European football. His vision and his almost nonchalant attitude when on the ball make him a potential match winner if he is given time and space.
And we all know who leads the line. Former Man City bad boy Mario Balotelli displayed his quality at Euro 2012 with his brace against the Germans, and if he is on form, he could put the game beyond England in a matter of minutes.
How to approach the game: England will go into this game knowing that they won’t out-pass Italy. At the same time, the long ball game is useless, due to England having opted for more mobile and athletic strikers for this World Cup. Rickie Lambert could do the job to an extent, but the long ball game is one that has never worked for England before, so they would be very naïve to attempt that style again. England must try to hold on to the ball when they need to, but release it quickly and use the flanks whenever possible to hit Italy on the break and use the pace of players such as Sterling and Chamberlain to penetrate the Italian back four.
Central midfielders that have plenty of energy and positional awareness have to be used here; James Milner would be perfect for this role – to chase down the ball and try to prevent the Italian midfield knocking the ball about as they please. Breaking up the play of the possession-based Italian football will be the only way England can keep a clean sheet in Manaus, because if Italy are allowed to thread balls through and create space with darting decoy runs and mesmerizing passing, England won’t have a hope of saying arrivederci to the Italians with a win under their belts.
My prediction: England have a good chance in this game. The players seem to have gained a real confidence due to the lack of pressure upon them and Roy Hodgson’s morale boosting inclusion of many young players in the squad. It would not be surprising to see England come away with a 1-1 draw from their bout with the Italians.
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