With a set of new players making their debut for the team, Roy Hodgson will look to assert England’s authority over the team ranked 94th.
England have always boasted of a great set of players amongst their ranks, however the lack of synergy has caused them to play at half their potential. With a few crucial injuries and a few more key players hanging up their boots. Hodgson must try and experiment to find his best eleven, this game against Lithuania presents him with this opportunity.
Team Selection
There can always be two ways of picking a team one, with the recent performance and over all stats of the player and the other with their reputation and how well they play alongside their fellow country man. With at least two players for each position available. Hodgson will have to put on his thinking cap and set out a side that can perform in unity.
Roy Hodgson had a dilemma when it came to goal keepers, with the regular Joe Hart and Southamptona s Frazer Forster to choose from. Southampton this season have been exceptional when it comes to defence. Having conceded only 21 goals this season, they have let in the least in the premier league and instrumental in this feat is their goal keeper. Averaging 2 saves a game and maintaining 14 clean sheets, he was most definitely the pick of the lot. However with his recent knee injury, it is no doubt Joe Hart will be the pick of the lot. After all 10 clean sheets and 59 saves this season isna t too bad and after that performance against Barcelona, Hodgson wouldna t be troubled.
Defenders
For years England relied on world class defenders such as Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and more recently John Terry. However with all of them retired, Hodgson should pick from Cahill, Smalling, Jones and Jagielka. Jones and Smalling have no doubt been amazing in the last two fixtures for Manchester United. However, the two best defenders statistically for England have been undoubtedly Cahill and Jagielka. Raking up 21 and 29 blocks respectively, Cahill and Jagielka lag behind only Steven Caulker of QPR amongst the English defenders for most number of blocks. It seems like a no brainer to go for the winning combination of Jagielka and Cahill, however it wouldna t be surprising to see if Hodgson will experiment with the united duo.
In the past few weeks there has been some criticism thrown towards Roy Hodgson regarding his selection of wing backs. Opting to ignore Ryan Bertrand, who has been in sensational form for Southampton, Hodgson was subject to quite a bit of heat from the three lion supporters. People claiming he would have been a better pick than Gibbs and probably even Danny Rose. However, Tottenham boss Pochettino has stated that hea s currently Englanda s best left-back who got a call up shortly after Luke Shawa s injury was discovered. Although Rose has been in blistering form, is he really Englanda s best left back. Going by the stats, the two best left backs in numbers seem to be Baines and Rose. With both players scoring two goals each, Baines has the edge over Rose in Assists with 8, four more than Rose. Baines also manages to outshine Rose in his defensive duties, managing to maintain more clean sheets even though his team is miles below Tottenham. However with 2 goals and 2 assists, Ryan Bertrand has double the clean sheets. It comes as a surprise as to why he hasna t even featured in the squad list.
The right back role is being contended by Tottenhama s Kyle Walker and Southamptona s Clyne. Walker has struggled under pressure and has poor positioning. This was seen in the United game, with the only added bonus of picking him. It would be quite stupid to see him picked in the squad ahead of Clyne. However the world has seen stranger things.
Midfield
Andros Townsenda s inclusion in the English side after his struggle at Old Trafford opened a flood gate of criticism on social media. Fans questioned the exclusion of Ashley Young, who quite clearly tore Townsend apart, which then led to the latter being substituted within 30 minutes. However, looking at the stats, Townsend seems marginally the better winger with two goals and two assists. Young on the contrary has only one goal and one assist. However, having played defensive football for the half of the season, Young has racked up more clean sheets and has also delivered more number of crosses. Stewart Downing on the other hand has scored 5 and set up 8, surprisingly his name hasna t cropped up on Hodgsona s list. However, now named in the squad Townsenda s winger roles on either side of the pitch are threatened by Sterling, Milner and Walcott. Sterling and Milner are the two who have been most consistent amongst the other midfield players should feature on the right and left respectively.
The middle of the park has a host of talents to choose from. Carrick, Henderson, Mason, Barkley and Delph are all accomplished footballers. However, the exclusion of Shelvy who has been exceptional for Swansea is a surprising, maybe it was attributed to the number of red cards he has received. Carrick and Henderson have both been instrumental in their respective teama s run of form. Clearly the two best midfield players among the lot will no doubt be the first players to be picked in the starting eleven. Carrick as an anchor showed what United have been missing all these days, whilst Henderson has clearly replaced Gerrard (with all due respect to Stevie G) for Liverpool by leading the team and running the show in the middle of the park as a player as well as a captain.
Strikers Galore
In the striking department, if statics is anything to go by, Harry Kane is their best striker. Having scored a hat-trick in the previous fixture for Spurs, the north London talisman has been in sensational form. Oozing with confidence, Kane should be the first name in the English starting eleven. However with Rooney, Sturridge and Welbeck all having experienced a taste of International football. Roy might be tempted to put one of the three ahead Kane, especially Rooney. If Hodgson opts to play with two strikers Rooney and Kane would be the most lethal attacking pair. However if it were only one, Roy would rely on a man with more experience and someone who has been in good form, Wayne Rooney. It should be kept in mind that Hodgson might be tempted to use Welbeck as a winger.
Going by the statistics, and sticking to the popular 4-2-3-1 formation. An ideal starting eleven would be as follows.
Mason or Barkley could come on in the second half, if the team has a lead in place of Carrick. While Sturridge could be kept as replacement if Kane misfires.
Mr Hodgson has been reputed for making decisions that have usually surprised fans. Hence it will remain a mystery as to who he will field in the game until the last minute. However picking players in form as well as who have team chemistry would be vital. Who would feature in your starting eleven?