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The England manager's decision to pick Andy Carroll depended on the Liverpool forward playing well, and he did not disappoint

Roy Hodgson had an interesting dilemma ahead of this match. Sweden had two clear areas of weakness, and England could only afford to exploit one. Should Hodgson continue with Ashley Young behind Danny Welbeck, or move Young to the left and play Andy Carroll upfront?

Sweden's first problem zone is between the lines of defence and midfield. Ashley Young had a very quiet game against France, but primarily because of the excellent work of Alou Diarra, Laurent Blanc's trusted holding midfielder. Sweden do not have a Diarra, and although Erik Hamren introduced Anders Svensson to sit deep in midfield, the former Southampton player is more of a passer than a defensive player. Had Young played centrally, he would have enjoyed that space.

But Hodgson chose to exploit Sweden's other area of weakness – their lack of aerial strength at the back. Six of Sweden's previous seven concessions had been headers, so Carroll started upfront alongside Welbeck, and England continually hit long balls towards the Liverpool forward.

Hodgson was essentially gambling on Carroll playing well, because his dominance of the side meant other parts suffered. Welbeck, for example, did not seem entirely sure of his role. He was disciplined defensively, dropping into midfield without the ball, but this meant he drifted into positions where he wasn't able to use his pace to work the channels, as he had done superbly against France. Young, meanwhile, tried to move inside into central positions but created relatively little.

But Carroll was superb – his physicality was the game's key feature. He conceded two free-kicks within the opening two minutes, but even then the Swedish centre-backs looked uncomfortable against him.

England might not have crossed the ball frequently enough, but constant long balls and Carroll's knock-downs simply pushed England up the pitch.

His headed opener was superb, and the perfect goal for England's tactical plan. For all the talk of Hodgson's Swedish style of football, this was more similar to a classic goal from another Scandinavian country. Norway in the 1990s perfected the art of playing a tall central striker up against a full-back – Jostein Flo was generally the man on the end of the long diagonals, so coach Morten Olsen called it a "Flo pass" and as Carroll pulled away to challenge right-back Andreas Granqvist, Gerrard delivered his second excellent cross of the competition, see diagram below.

But it is impossible to praise England's constant threat through their direct style without considering their terrible ball retention when 1-0 and 3-2 up. Despite advancing much higher up the pitch and playing against a considerably weaker side, England's pass completion rate was 83%, the same as against France – and here England's inability to cool the tempo of the game was obvious. Midfielders tried incisive balls when a sideways pass would have suited, while brief ball retention at the back often culminated in Joe Hart thumping the ball towards Carroll again. An extra central midfielder might have been useful, but then the options on the bench, Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson, are more likely to bring energy than ball retention. As England scrambled to regain their shape, they conceded eight fouls in their own half – a dangerous game, considering how badly they were defending set pieces. Theo Walcott, simply by stretching the play and running with the ball when Sweden were tired, saved the day.

Having used two different combinations upfront so far, the return of Wayne Rooney will present yet another difficult choice: Hodgson now has to choose between Welbeck and Carroll, both of whom scored fine goals. Either way, Rooney's natural ability to drop into midfield will be crucial for retaining the ball, and England should look more composed against Ukraine. Read More

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