England did not offer anything different against Ukraine despite Rooney's presence and 1-0 win in safety-first approach
A 1-0 win, sealed with a header on the goalline, assisted by a cross deflected three times. This was not vintage England, nor did they offer anything different, despite the return of Wayne Rooney.
In an ideal world, Roy Hodgson's side would have combined the defensive resilience they showed against France, with the attacking threat of the Sweden game. It seems these concepts are currently mutually exclusive, however, and with England needing only a point against Ukraine, a safety-first approach in Donetsk was the right decision.
However, England did not defend well throughout the game. When the ball was in central positions the shape was good, but crosses caused problems. Ukraine also found pockets of space for shots from outside the box, and John Terry's clearance from behind the line highlighted England's susceptibility to quick breaks, even if there was an offside in the build-up. Having won the group, Hodgson was particularly pleased his players would enjoy an extra day of rest – but he will also appreciate an extra day drilling England's two banks of four.
With the ball, England looked brightest when they bypassed the central midfield zone. As the defence played the ball across the back, the movement from further forward was often excellent: Rooney buzzed around looking for space in deep positions, Danny Welbeck moved on to the shoulder of a centre-back, while Ashley Young found room out wide – three routes of attack.
When the ball was played into the midfield, however, Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker were closed down more quickly, and often found themselves too far from the front four, so it seemed wiser for the defenders to hit ambitious passes, given their time on the ball. Rooney's first-half miss followed a long diagonal from John Terry out to Young, for example. Even Gerrard, playing in the centre of midfield, looked more threatening when moving out wide, from where he played his third crucial cross of the tournament.
Ukraine were also trying to play long diagonals, particularly towards England's left-back zone, where Andriy Yarmolenko received support from full‑back Oleh Gusiev, who pushed high up the pitch, sometimes dragging Ashley Cole too wide, creating space between he and Joleon Lescott. But Ashley Young reacted to the situation, and performed his defensive duties manfully, forced to drop deeper than the rest of the midfield four. Gusiev rarely got the ball in space, and Oleh Blokhin's second substitution – introducing another right-back in Bogdan Butko, and moving Gusiev to the right of midfield – was a testament to Young's defensive work.
England have looked nervous when defending crosses against both Sweden and Ukraine, so it was particularly important to stop Gusiev, as he was Ukraine's main threat in that respect. Ukraine's left-back, Evhen Selin, stayed in a deeper position, while the two wingers, Yarmolenko and Evhen Konoplyanka, cut inside on to their stronger foot for shots. Konoplyanka had five attempts from range, one of which forced Joe Hart into an awkward save. But that suited England more than a winger motoring down the line and crossing, although Hodgson's side must be careful in that zone ahead of the back four, having conceded from there against France in their opening game.
Rooney nodded in the winner but considering England looked most threatening when they played long balls and crosses, he was less suited to the game than Andy Carroll. Rooney's three major chances – the first-half miss, a header from a corner just after half-time, and the goal – were all aerial opportunities. Still, he dropped deep and linked play neatly in the second half, and therefore England never looked as exposed as against Sweden. Rooney's real impact upon the tournament, one hopes, is still to come.
Michael Cox is the editor of tactics website zonalmarking.net Read More
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