England U21 vs Sweden U21 Review

A 1-0 victory saw England win the game by the skin of their teeth. A frightfully familiar show mimicking England teams of the last 20 years. We got the result we needed against a team that we should have beaten more comfortably. We did not particularly deserve the win and a set piece was the reason we could capitilise.

Some say it is a mark of a great team when they win games after not playing well. Maybe that is a feature of this young team as their record is so good, however, it is not the case in tournements. You have to play well sometimes for that rule to apply. So what happened to England today?

Lack of movement
Players deciding that they were not going to risk the forward run in fear of the counter attack. It is understandable to an extent as Sweden were looking to play on the counter attack however, as the quality of opposition improves so must we, and players of the highest level have to be able to rely on their ability to not only beat the opposition but get back and defend if they don't. Too often zero England players were moving when we had the ball and as result we kept possession in our own half posing next to know threat.

Tempo too slow
This effectively showed a lack of ambition. As no one was moving, the easy pass was often played. The play was predictable, it was slow and far from entertaining. There are times when teams should play slow, for example Sweden had a small period of dominance where England were under attack. They needed to slow the game down to bring it back in their favour. However, for the majority of the game England needed to attack and therefore should have been fizzing the ball around much faster. Of course this would have helped if there was more movement.

More support in attack
This links again. The lack of movement often came from midfield in which they seemed too afraid to join the attack. Rarely balls were played into the feet of Harry Kane and then followed. Harry Kane is great at holding the ball up and this should have been done more. The wingers should have tried to come inside more and make more runs around the back.

Poor performances
Which brings me to the last point and probably the most important. Some players, or most players, didn't have very good games. Our defence looked shaky and out midfielders looked nervous. Nobody grabbed that game by the scruff of it's neck and decided to take charge. It's time for the U21's to step up.