Can England’s young talent compete with the best in International football?

By Aaron Leggott (Twitter: @aaron_leggott) 

After mediocre displays in recent major tournaments, there has been a lot of talk surrounding the future of English football of late.

England, under the guidance of Roy Hodgson, seem to be going through a spell of transformation, but it has not stopped the critics questioning the current ability of the Three Lions.

And after Patrick Vieira’s comments at the opening of the FA’s new national football centre near Burton, it got me thinking whether England’s new crop of talent will be able to compete with the giants of world football in years to come.

For those who haven’t seen what Manchester City’s football development executive said, has the Frenchman’s words, in short, bemoaned the lack of quality coaches in this country and stated that St George’s Park was long overdue:

He said: “Finally they did something, because if you look at all the big nations, they all have their own house. It’s taken them a long time for them to realise they need a place. But it’s better late than never.”

We have seen England captain Steven Gerrard hit back at Vieira’s claims in the past few days ahead of our encounter against Poland, as the midfield maestro admits he was surprised to hear what Vieira said, but believes that the young crop are hungry to start for England.

Of course, Vieira is one of the main influences behind Man City’s new £100m academy centre, which is sure to boost the amount of quality coming through the ranks at the home of the Premier League champions.

But like Vieira stated last week, a greater connection between the FA and domestic clubs is needed if we are to reach the levels of Spain and Germany.

There seems to be hostility, of sorts, between clubs and the FA and it is a shame to see a lot of players withdrawing from the England squad, especially youngsters like Ryan Bertrand. Of course, it is always hard to put blame on one party, but the impact that money has had on the sport is possibly the worst thing to happen to International football.

The increase in ‘meaningless’ international games has meant a lot of clubs are reluctant to release their players for national duty, and the footballers themselves don’t seem to share the passion of playing for their country compared to the likes of Bobby Moore and that famous 1966 team.

Until all this changes, I cannot see any transformation in fortune for England in major tournaments. Being one of the top 10 nations in the world will undoubtedly mean we will make it to the knockout stages of major finals, but realistically, we are miles away from competing with the Spain’s of this world. 

The current England squad selected for the qualifiers against San Marino and Poland have seen young talent get a chance. Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Jonjo Shelvey are just some of the names who featured against San Marino, with Manchester United’s Welbeck and Cleverley putting in equally impressive performances.

However, bearing in mind we were playing the joint worst nation in world football, it is hard to judge them on such performances. The real test came today, as Hodgson's men traveled to Warsaw just months after Euro 2012 to play a Polish side with a wealth of ability at their disposal.

The Borussia Dortmund duo of Robert Lewandowski and Łukasz Piszczek were out to get revenge on Joe Hart after his outstanding performance for Man City just weeks ago in the Champions League and proved a thorn in our side all match. A point was not a disaster, but it was a slightly disappointing performance.

However, if we hope to reach World and Euro Cup finals in the future, these are must win games, although it was a breath of fresh air to see some young talent getting a chance against a much tougher opposition. 

England Easily Brush Aside Minnows San Marino

By Joseph Chapman: https://twitter.com/jcwba16 http://www.ftbpro.com/joseph.chapman

England barely got out of first gear as they comfortably swept aside helpless San Marino 5-0 on a night where Wayne Rooney celebrated receiving the captaincy by notching a brace.

England went into the game as ultra favourites, the minnows losing their last 22 away games and only ever winning 1 game in their history- 1-0 against Lichtenstein.

It was a well known fact that the population of San Marino, a micro-state in Italy, would comfortably fit inside a stadium such as White Hart Lane or Goodison Park.

Immediately the away side were forced back, England dominating possession. Oxlade-Chamberlain tested the keeper early his shot from distance tipped over. 

Walcott was soon clattered into by the opposing keeper, a short period of injury time followed. Initially the Arsenal winger looked set to continue, but Aaron Lennon was soon called upon as a replacement.

Tom Cleverley was played through on goal, but the keeper collected, as England looked to make their dominance count. 

A free header for Rooney from a Baines corner was screwed wide as San Marino constantly had at least nine men behind the ball, striker Rinaldi completely isolated in the hosts’ half.

Despite the ease in which possession was retained and regained, England were slack, giving the ball away a number of times. Lennon looked busy on his return to the international fold and the irregular full back pairing of Baines and Walker looked impressive but Welbeck and Rooney were not connecting.

San Marino had one professional player amongst their ranks, goalkeeper Simoncini playing at a level in Italy the equivalent of League 2 in England. The tiny isle had participated in 114 games in their history. They had scored 19 and conceded 473. Defeats to Holland and Germany in recent years had ended in double figures- it was surely only a matter of time. 

England were, however, genuinely struggling to break their opponents down, Chamberlain having another dig from the edge of the area which Simoncini parried.

There was an air of desperation as the half hour mark approached, still goalless. The fans, turning out in their tens of thousands expecting to see a one-sided goal-fest, were becoming fidgety. Their side had resorted to shooting from distance but each time bodies were thrown in the way. Rooney again headed wide after an excellent Lennon delivery from the right.

Territorially the play took place in and around the edge of the San Marino area, but the home side were getting closer. Carrick shot from 25 yards and hit the bar, while Welbeck inexplicably grazed the post with the rebound from close range. 

England FINALLY took the lead on 35- from the penalty spot. Rooney smashed the ball beyond the keeper as he concedes the pen himself. Bringing down Welbeck, Simoncini received a yellow and now it was a case of how many. 

Welbeck made it two moments later. Lennon once again causing problems pulled the ball back and Welbeck flicked the ball home from a matter of yards out. The floodgates had opened.

Simoncini prevented the third as Rooney curled one on target from the adge of the area, but a smart save forced yet another corner.

Despite England’s dominance and lead, there was the sense of an underwhelming atmosphere at Wembley, consensus among fans being that England were going to be 5 up at half time. Mexican waves were taking place during the first half, reflecting fans’ general attitude towards the performance. 

England started the second half pretty much how they ended the match before the break- completely in control. Yet the tension remained around the home of football, that England were not absolutely demolishing their part-time opponents. 

There was a chance for Gary Cahill- returning to the heart of defence at the expense of Joleon Lescott- which was put wide and Carrick again tested the keeper, but initially England were not able to add to their tally.

These waves of pressure from the Lions continued until Rooney added his name to the score sheet for a second time with a fantastic curling shot which was bent beyond the keeper’s stretching arm. Welbeck also completed a brace of his own when Tom Cleverley delivered a grounded ball and the Manchester United forward had the simple task of turning the ball into the corner of the net.

Andy Carroll and Jonjo Shelvey were introduced in the later stages, but it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who rounded off the night’s work with a goal of his own, finally beating Simoncini with a calm finish.

England now move top of the group ahead of the trip to Poland on Tuesday, with undoubtedly the easiest three points they are likely to earn this campaign.

England Should Score Plenty Against Whipping Boys San Marino

Almost 19 years ago England played footballing minnows San Marino for the second time in their history. Needing to win by seven goals to have any chance of qualifying for the USA World Cup in 1994 Stuart Pearce under-hit a back-pass in the ninth second of the match and Davide Gualtieri nipped in to put his name into footballing folklore. His goal, scored after 8.3 seconds, remains the fastest ever goal in World Cup football.

Tonight the two nations meet again, this time nearer the beginning of a World Cup qualifying campaign. The last time they met at Wembley David Platt scored four in a comfortable 6-0 win for England. 

Not much has actually changed since that day in 1993; England still struggle in matches that they should win and haven't won a trophy while San Marino remain the whipping boys of European Championship and World Cup qualification. 

In 2006 Germany travelled to the micro-state's home stadium, the Stadio Olimpico, and broke the European international record for the biggest winning margin. The visitors won 13-0, with Lukas Podolski netting four times. 

Both times England have faced the 'David' of international football one of their players has scored four. Platt scored four in the home fixture in 1993 and Ian Wright did the same in the 7-1 win that confirmed that Graham Taylor's men would not be going to America. 

Tonight Wayne Rooney will skipper England in the absence of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, through injury and suspension respectively. A home win is almost guaranteed, with bookies giving odds on an England victory at around 1/200 and a San Marino win priced at 80/1.

Roy Hodgson is expected to tinker with his starting eleven a little bit, and news has already filtered through that Everton left-back Leighton Baines will start ahead of Ashley Cole. Cole escaped an England ban after apologising to FA chairman David Bernstein for using an expletive on social networking site Twitter that was directed at the governing body.

Baines has been on excellent form so far this season as Everton have made a flying start, sitting pretty in fourth place in the Premier League table. 

20-year-old Liverpool centre-midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has been called up to the senior squad after an impressive start to the season, although it is likely that he will not feature in the oncoming matches. 

Roy Hodgson's men will be expected to win by a bare minimum of five goals against a country whose population is only 32,404, just over a third of the size of Wembley. They showed no signs of improvement in their 6-0 defeat at home to Montenegro in their first qualification match and have scored just 19 goals in their 114-game history, conceding 473.  

What Can The Average Fan Learn From England's 5-0 Win In Moldova?

Ahead of England's opening World Cup 2014 qualification fixture in Moldova there was plenty of doom and gloom surrounding the England camp after their usual exit on penalties at the quarter-final stage of a major championship. This summer it was Italy who dispatched of the Three Lions in a shoot-out after failing to score against a dogged England side. Roy Hodgson's men got their own back in a friendly in August, but in what was a very low-key game with both sides under-strength.

So tonight heads turned to see how the nation ranked third in the FIFA world rankings would get on in their latest quest for World Cup glory. Moldova, a country with a population of barely more than 3.5 million, were always going to be making up the numbers, despite being at home. The visitors duly dished out a 5-0 thrashing to make England fans immediately start bigging up their team and their World Cup hopes. Despite the apparent formality of the result for England, this did appear a much more convincing performance than the ones seen under Steve McLaren and in Fabio Capello's last months in charge. 

Roy Hodgson has become the first national manager to get fully behind Steven Gerrard and give him the permanent captain's arm-band. The rewards have been great as the Liverpool has excelled in every recent performance. The way that Gerrard and Frank Lampard played together tonight would have delighted Hodgson, especially after years of the two mid-fielders struggling to strike up a partnership. However it would have been the displays by youngsters Tom Cleverley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that would really have pleased the boss as they seemingly took apart their opponents with ease. 

The former Switzerland and Finland head coach said: "Cleverley was excellent for 90 minutes and when you watch him, you understand why Sir Alex Ferguson is pleased with him. Alex had an excellent first half. He hasn't played much football, and I think even at half-time, he was tired, and we were worried about leaving him on for too long, because his 15 minutes in the second half weren't as good as his 45 in the first."

Although Hodgson was pleased with his team's blend of youth and experience and an excellent result, it is clear that this match must not be taken out of context. England want to be in a position where they can challenge for major trophies while Moldova are ranked 141st in the world and for whom any points in this qualification campaign would represent a decent result. A convincing win against a team like Moldova is not going to quash any fears that England are still a long way off where they want to be. 

Captain Gerrard has insisted that England could still win in Rio and said: "We have to have that faith and keep believing. You never stop believing in football. Miracles do happen." Nevertheless the use of the word 'miracle' still suggests that he feels that this is a long way from happening with England as they are now. He echoed these thoughts: "When I speak, I'm realistic and honest. At the moment we're not one of the favourites to win the World Cup but that doesn't mean you stop believing, working hard to improve and try to learn from mistakes you have made in previous tournaments."

England will struggle to improve on their last eight exit in the Euros in two years time, but they do have some real quality in the team. First and foremost is this qualification campaign and England face a much tougher assignment against Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday. A 1-0 win over the Eastern European team secured progress from their group in Euro 2012, although the goalscorer from that match, Wayne Rooney, is absent with an injury. 

England should be able to qualify for 2014 in Rio without too many problems. Poland, Montenegro and Ukraine are all tricky fixtures, but also ones that Gerrard and co. will go into as hot favourites. It will be at the finals where Hodgson and his squad are really put under the microscope. 

England Beat Italy In Euro 2012 Re-Match

Two of Europe's biggest footballing nations met in the Swiss capital of Berne in a re-match of their Euro 2012 quarter-final. On that occasion in Kiev Italy out-passed and out-classed England but only just ended up winning in a penalty shoot-out. This was always going to be a low-key affair but it was pleasantly entertaining as both sides, although under-strength, looked to attack as much as possible. Roy Hodgson's men produced an encouraging display in their first match since that agonising defeat as they won 2-1 courtesy of goals from Phil Jagielka and Jermain Defoe.

The Three Lions fielded a youthful side that included 19-year-old Birmingham City goal-keeper Jack Butland and Team GB representatives Ryan Bertrand (substitute) and Tom Cleverley. New £12 million Manchester City signing Jack Rodwell failed to get off the bench after his new team-mate Adam Johnson started the match. In what was always going to be an experimental game manager Roy Hodgson took the chance to tinker as he named ten players that did not travel to Ukraine two months ago in the squad. 

England started the first half brightly and big Liverpool striker Andy Carroll headed over from a corner early on. However it was the European runners-up who took the lead after a quarter of an hour through a powerful Daniele de Rossi header from an in-swinging Alessandro Diamanti set-piece. England responded well and continued to pass the ball crisply and equalised 12 minutes later when Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka smashed home. Both sides had more attempts before half-time to complete an exciting first 45, but the break came with the scores level.

Hodgson made two changes at the interval as he swapped the brute aggression and heading ability of Carroll with the speed and clinical finishing attributes of Jermain Defoe. The goal-keepers were also swapped as the original third-choice keeper for Euro 2012, John Ruddy, replaced the man who took his spot on the plane in June, Butland. Ruddy was forced into an early stop as he got down well to thwart Roma forward Mattia Destro. Italy boss Cesare Prandelli only used one of his changes at half-time and it was the man he brought on who almost regained the Azurri the advantage on 57 minutes. Atalanta left-back Federico Peluso broke into the area but could only hit his shot on the slide into the side-netting as Ruddy closed the angle.

With the Premier League starting on Saturday the England manager would have felt under pressure to keep his players in top condition. On the hour mark he brought on Manchester City duo Joleon Lescott and James Milner for Ashley Young and goal scorer Jagielka to try and make an impact. England appeared to have taken the lead in the 66th minute thanks to a thumping Gary Cahill volley but the strike was ruled out by Swiss referee Sascha Kever for an apparent push by Lescott. 

Italy came close to breaking the dead-lock came in the 78th minute as a miss-kick by Destro fell kindly for substitute Verratti whose drive was well tipped away by Ruddy. From the resulting corner Bertrand had to head off his own line with his first touch of the ball, but in doing so set up an England counter-attack led by James Milner. Milner found Defoe who turned his man on the left corner of the box before firing into the top corner with plenty of panache. In the closing stages it was England who looked the more likely to score on the counter-attack and a low James Milner cross almost found Defoe who would have had a simple tap-in had the ball reached him.

Photo courtesy of The Guardian

England and Italy Set For Scrappy Battle

On a great day for the English nation in 1966 Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy after a momentous 4-2 win over West Germany in extra-time. However since then England are yet to reach a major final in 46 years of pain and misery. England have had high hopes many times before; in 1970 England were favourites for the World Cup but lost a 2-0 advantage to West Germany in the quarter-final. The amount of tight defeats since then have been endless. From dropping out of the World Cup in 1982 unbeaten to the endless penalty shoot-out defeats of the last 22 years the Three Lions have continued to fail time and time again. 

This year it seems that the English public have finally given up and expectations have been unusually low this summer. With a new manager and an injury-prone squad no one thought Roy Hodgson's men had a prayer in this tournament. But since then England have shown great resolve and grit to progress through a tough group on top. Today they face a much harder task in a determined Italy team hoping to also prove their doubters wrong. Italy have many world class players and will provide a very close examination of England's apparently water-tight defence. Despite this England have had five different goal-scorers in the group stages and will definitely create some dangerous moments for the Rossoneri on the counter-attack. 

Italian manager Cesare Prandelli will be aware that the opposition will be hard to break down but will still hesitate to start with enigmatic striker Mario Balotelli. Despite undoubtedly being their main goal threat his temper poses a very different problem for the opposition. His countless discipline problems have caused a headache for his manager who is likely to leave him on the bench again tonight. Prandelli does have other attacking options in Antonio di Natale and Antonio Cassano who have both scored so far this tournament. Despite this the game will probably be won and lost in midfield where the Italians will probably have an extra man as England are likely to play a 4-4-2 system. Scott Parker and captain Steven Gerrard will have their work cut out as they try to stop the creative influence of players like Juventus veteran Andrea Pirlo. These two English bulldogs are sure to hassle and hurry him to a point of no return and Pirlo can struggle when constantly put under pressure.

England have goal threats of their own in the shape of Manchester United strike pairing Danny Welbeck and Wayne Rooney who scored 47 goals between them for their club last season. Add the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner and the attacking threats from Gerrard and right-back Glen Johnson and this shows a definite capability of scoring goals. There is also the threat on the bench of big Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and the Arsenal youngsters Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who both have plenty of pace to burn.

Tonight  is sure to be a tightly-fought contest between two similarly set up sides. Roy Hodgson spent much of his management career in Italy and usually sets up his teams to play in an Italian style. It could well happen that the two sides cancel each other out and extra-time and penalties is a very big possibility. However the game pans out this will be a massive occasion for both nations as they attempt to prove critics wrong. 

England 3 Sweden 2: England Keep Qualification Hopes Very Much Alive With Exciting Win

England hauled themselves out of a massive hole in Kiev this evening as they came back from 2-1 down to beat Sweden 3-2. With both sides desperately needing a win it proved to be an exciting match with plenty of chances at both ends.

'The Three Lions' started the better of the two sides and were rewarded for their pressing play when surprise selection Andy Carroll scored a thumping header in the 23rd minute from a brilliant Steven Gerrard cross. Neither side threatened much before half-time although Joe Hart was forced into a couple of stops from long-range Ibrahimovic efforts.

The game exploded into life in the second half as Carroll conceded a needless free-kick about 25 yards from goal. From the resulting set-piece a sliced Ibrahimovic rebound effort found its way to Olof Mellberg who was played onside by Glen Johnson who was slow to react. The ball rebounded off goalkeeper Hart onto Johnson before bobbling into the net to give Sweden a priceless equaliser.

England started to look devoid of ideas as Sweden continued to press and they took the lead from another set-piece, this time given away by James Milner. Sebastien Larsson whipped the ball into the centre where veteran defender Mellberg headed home completely unmarked.

England manager Roy Hodgson responded by replacing Milner with 23-year-old winger Theo Walcott. The decision paid dividends as Walcott's first meaningful contribution was to smash a thumping 25-yard swerving strike past the stranded Swedish goalkeeper Isaksson. The game then began to become more and more stretched as both sides pressed for a precious winner.

It was Walcott who was involved once more as England counter-attacked with pace and the Arsenal winger beat his man to cross for Danny Welbeck who scored with an acute back-heel. With just 12 minutes left Sweden continued to press but could not find an equaliser as the last good chance of the game fell to Scott Parker, who blazed over.

It proved not to matter though as Hodgson's men held on to move level on points with group leaders France while Sweden were eliminated. The immediate future looks bright for England as they head into Tuesday's game with co-hosts Ukraine needing just a draw to progress. Added to the availability of Wayne Rooney they are becoming more and more confident.

England Ready to Prove Their Doubters Wrong

'Boring'. 'Too defensive.' 'Negative.' 'Played like Chelsea.'

They were just some of the criticisms aimed at England after their opening 1-1 draw with France. True, England did sit back after taking the lead but that was more down to the French stepping on the accelerator rather than England taking their foot off the gas. People should not forget that France are on a 22-match unbeaten run and looked in great shape in the run-in to this tournament, so a point was a good result for England. One thing is for certain, if England beat Spain by playing 'too defensively' in the final, is anyone in 'our green and pleasant land' going to care?

Tonight the 'Three Lions' will go out against Sweden in a much more attacking frame of mind. Danny Welbeck says that he expects it to be an exciting game, while skipper Steven Gerrard has called on his team-mates to perform in order to seal the three points. The Swedes desperately need a positive result after their opening 2-1 defeat to co-hosts Ukraine and will go out with a plan to frustrate England. Gerrard and co will be ready for this and will know that the Swedes only real goal threats are through star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and set-pieces. 

Going forward against France England looked dangerous but did not create many clear-cut chances. The goal came from an excellent free-kick and England's only other good opportunity was when James Milner could only find the side-netting after rounding goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Against Sweden Hodgson's men will be expecting to create a lot more and to learn from their opening contest. Hodgson looks set to name a more attack-minded side with Liverpool's big striker Andy Carroll likely to get the nod. Whether he plays alongside Welbeck or replaces him remains to be seen, but England are sure to get balls into the box and get at the Scandinavian's defence. 

England's squad seem to have renewed belief under Roy Hodgson and will be hoping to take the game by the scruff of the neck this evening. One thing is for sure; the supporters may have written England off, but the players still hold high hopes. Hodgson denied any thoughts that other teams in the tournament were under-rating England: "I would be surprised if teams were not taking England seriously. I think it is more of a question that in past tournaments we haven't been able to live up to very high expectations."

Legendary Swedish striker Henrik Larsson said he was wary of this 'disciplined' England side: "I am impressed by England because normally they go forward and sometimes play more with the heart than the head.
I think that's one of the reasons England have maybe not had the great results at the European Championships or World Cups over the years."

In the three matches since Hodgson took over England have looked very organized and difficult to beat, whereas in the disaster in South Africa they looked open to the counter-attack and all at sea. Their next two group games will be very tough; Sweden are no mugs and Ukraine will be a force as the hosts. Despite this England should progress out of Group D with at least five points if they continue to do the simple things right. What happens after that is anyone's guess; a quarter-final penalty shoot-out maybe?