Home   >   Opinion   >   England; Pin it on the Players?

England; Pin it on the Players?

By on June 3, 2014

It’s 8 days until the opening match of the 2014 World Cup at the Arena De Sao Paulo, where Brazil and Croatia will kick off the international tournament. Today we will look at the chances of the England national team; can they defy the odds and get out of a hardly contested Group D alive? England’s opponents, Italy and Uruguay will be sure to provide a stern test, with respected minnows of the tournament Costa Rica to provide a potential banana skin to the team.

England qualified for the World Cup via European World Cup Quals group H, narrowly missing out on having to contest in a playoff. Despite winning the group by just one point ahed of the Eastern European national side Ukraine, England remained undefeated throughout the whole of qualifying winning six and drawing four of the ten games they contested in with converted attacking midfielder Wayne Rooney scoring 7 goals in the process.

Has England got a marquee player of whom the whole of the nation can pin their World cup hopes to? The answer to that question is simply no – many see Wayne Rooney as the footballer who can spearhead England in Brazil and get them out of Group D, which is also been labelled as the ‘Group of Death’,  but I don’t think we should pin so much hope on the 28-year-old. Rooney has been the player that the whole of the nation has pinned their hopes of international glory on, and there is no question about it on his day Wayne Rooney can be a world beater, but when it comes to producing on the big stage, he can’t, it seems.

After scoring an excellent goal on Friday night against Peru, many are hoping Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge can replicate his club form on international level, and he has all the ability to do so, with his daring runs and cuts inside and not being afraid of shooting from outside the box making him a contender to be England’s main man in Brazil. The Birmingham-born striker began his plying trade at Manchester City before moving on to Chelsea and having a short loan spell at Bolton Wanderers, but he has never quite produced until now. Having had an excellent season at Liverpool, scoring 31 goals in 43 games, it’s refreshing to see a player move on to a club and begin to reach his potential that many thought had deserted him. If Sturridge can keep fit and stay as consistent as he has been throughout his club campaign, he may be able to help England through the group and beyond.

England’s 23 man squad is yet to be decided by manager Roy Hodgson, with 7 players yet to be cut from his preliminary squad, but one player who may make the team but is not guaranteed a starting spot in Hogdson’s 11 is Liverpool-born attacking midfielder Ross Barkley. Likened by his manager Roberto Martinez to England legend Paul Gascoigne and ex-German midfielder Michael Ballack, he has also been called the “Diamond of English football” by the Spaniard.  It’s there for all to see there is no doubt Barkley is an England star of the future, but can he be the star of the present? Playing with little pressure on his shoulders personally, at all, I think the whole world will be surprised at what Barkley can do; his powerful runs through midfield in which it seems the balls is glued to his foot at all times, his eye for picking out key passes is something that not many footballers are lucky enough to possess, and his confidence to shoot from almost anywhere inside the opponents half is something you would not expect of a footballer at such a tender age.  Don’t be surprised if you see Barkley running through defenses and making a nuisance of himself in the tournament in the next few weeks, and also expect him to play a huge part in England’s next two pre-world cup friendlies against Ecuador and Honduras in the coming week. He is definitely the one to watch.

Although Hodsgon has took somewhat of a more youthful approach to his squad selection this time around, leaving out players such as Michael Carrick and Ashley Cole, the latter whom has now retired from international football, it is key that the blend between experience and youth is there within the national team. So taking players with whom have endured an illustrious national career with England is also very important. Step forward; Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, two players with a combined total of 213 caps for England. The midfield duo have always been a major part in any England team, but now coming to the end of long spanning careers, is it time they stood down and let the next batch of England youngsters take their places? You could argue both ways, but for this tournament I would say not yet. The leadership skills that both have them have attained will be key in helping the youngsters in their national development, and this can only be seen as a positive thing in the long run.

Who do you think will perform in Brazil? Will a dark horse step out of the shadows and provide England will a lifeline or will an international regular such as Rooney finally peak at a major tournament? Or will it be another disappointing tournament for the England team and fans alike? Only time will tell.

About Callum Kenwright

Evertonian. Angler. Oasis. Spanish Football. Aspiring Football Journalist.