More to come from England?

More to come from England?

Marc Fox

For a team so often over-hyped yet underwhelming in major competitions, England's compact display against France in their Euro 2012 opener yesterday actually provided some crumbs of encouragement for manager Roy Hodgson.

Given that Hodgson is only 270 minutes into his international career as either a player or a manager and that the 1-1 draw with the long unbeaten French was his first competitive outing as national team boss, he has clearly instilled a tactical discipline into the side that previous incumbents have rarely successfully achieved.

That such discipline is more catenaccio and less tiki-taka is hardly a surprise to supporters that have watched his development from Premier League manager with Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom to England coach.

Hodgson lost his position as Liverpool boss 18 months ago for insisting on a similarly defensive mindset – even in home games – at Anfield, and so his approach of defending deep and allowing the opposition to dominate possession was never going to appease every critic.

Nevertheless, as  fans would be quick to highlight, Hodgson started that way at Craven Cottage before encouraging a brand of more expansive football that led to an appearance in the Europa League final and a phone call from Liverpool.

No one is yet suggesting that this current England squad can go on to reach the latter stages of Euro 2012 under Hodgson, but there were clear signals against France that the players understand their roles and are playing within their individual limitations.

Further, certain protagonists whose selections were questioned before the tournament, principally Glen Johnson, Jolean Lescott and Danny Welbeck, played above expectations. Welbeck, in truth, was England's best contributor in a tireless display alone upfront.

France were left more frustrated by the draw, which against bodes well for England, who restricted their opponents to long range efforts despite the fluidity of their individually excellent front three.

"It's a very good sign. To do well in these tournaments, you have to be good defensively and we were tonight," said captain Steven Gerrard after the match. "I thought we were unbreakable at times."

England next face Sweden, whose 2-1 loss to co-hosts Ukraine in the final match of the first round of group games might well play into the hands of Hodgson's tactics.

Despite their reluctance to overly attack Ukraine yesterday, Sweden are usually a positive side going forward under Erik Hamren, and they will now be forced to take the game to England in Kiev (Kyiv).

If Hodgson's side can remain as resolute and better utilize the combination of Manchester United duo Welbeck and Ashley Young as well as Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in attack, the Swedes could be caught cold.

England, however, certainly need to show more ambition and attacking possession on Friday, a point acknowledged by Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker.

"I think the one thing we showed today was that we brought a lot of heart and a lot of commitment," Parker said.

"I don't know if that wins you tournaments but it's certainly a base for us to build on."

"Hopefully we can now build on that and get more going forward."

© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com