SOMETIMES there is simply no case for the defence.
England’s back four remains deeply-flawed and there is some serious structural
work to be done before Euro 2016.
Roy Hodgson’s forwards got this suspect defence off the hook on Saturday when
they outscored the world champions in Berlin.
When the goals run out, as they did here, England must learn the value of
keeping clean sheets.
They had taken the lead through Jamie Vardy in the 41st minute, but then
allowed Holland to sneak in through the back door.
Inevitably there has to be questions about John Stones because his second-half
slip led to Danny Blind’s side equalising from the penalty spot.
Then there is his Everton team-mate Phil Jagielka, who was bullied off the
ball in the build-up to Luciano Narsingh’s 77th-minute winner.
There were justifiable complaints that Jagielka was fouled by Vincent Janssen,
but England switched off and gave Narsingh his moment of glory.
The feel-good factor, when Hodgson’s men swept to victory in Germany on
Saturday, has already faded.
This defeat, sadly, is a reality check for the Three Lions chief.
It is the first time England have been beaten at Wembley since Germany won 1-0
in November 2013, but this feels so much more acute.
The Euros are just around the corner, where England will play Russia, Wales
and Slovakia in Group B.
To make progress, Hodgson must stop these goals flying in.
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His side have no problem scoring them — as they showed when Vardy, easily the
best player on the pitch, put England ahead.
It is in these sweeping moves forward that Stones excels, moving swiftly into
midfield and sending the ball out to James Milner on the left.
Daniel Sturridge’s intelligent dummy on the edge of the area allowed Adam
Lallana to work some space and find Kyle Walker steaming down the right.
Memphis Depay, as dozy as they come in either Dutch or Manchester United
colours, switched off and gave Walker time to cut back.
And Vardy, who levelled against Germany with a clever back-flick, met the
full-back’s pass to beat Jeroen Zoet from close range.
Vardy is the coming man, making his own little bit of history by scoring the
100th goal of Hodgson’s regime.
There should have been more because he drew the best out of Zoet with a
stinging long-range effort that forced the keeper to dive to his left.
Sturridge, a touch subdued in his first England start since September 2014,
was peripheral. Two years ago he scored England’s equaliser against Italy in
Manaus in the opening group game of the 2014 World Cup.
Now he faces a six-way fight with the best forwards in the country for a place
in Hodgson’s final 23.
Vardy is nailed on, forcing Holland’s central defenders Jeffrey Bruma and
skipper Daley Blind into mistakes with his constant hassling.
Others will be sweating after this, but Danny Drinkwater improved as the game
wore on.
The Leicester midfielder, making his England debut, deserves another go in the
May friendlies against Australia, Turkey and Portugal.
He made a decent impression, improving after clattering into Holland
midfielder Riechedly Bazoer with his first proper touch.
Hodgson made eight changes from the victory in Berlin and it took them time to
settle. After Ross Barkley made a sleepy Memphis look foolish on the byline
in the first half, he started to get a bit too elaborate.
He misjudged the flight of Milner’s corner with an ambitious scissor-kick and
drilled another effort wide before the break.
Perhaps Dele Alli’s strong performance in Berlin has put the wind up the
Everton midfielder.
Alli scored his first England goal against France here in November, a
long-range effort that beat Tottenham team-mate Hugo Lloris. He sat this one
out from the start, already assured of his place in Hodgson’s squad.
England did not appear to need him when Vardy scored the opener, underling the
importance of pace in this team. With firepower like this they can frighten
anyone.
But so can this defence and they gave away a 50th-minute penalty when Danny
Rose handled Narsingh’s cross.
Hodgson was unhappy with the decision, but he missed Rose’s crunching
third-minute challenge on Holland right-back Joel Veltman that should also
have been a spot-kick.
This back four, with Stones slotting in alongside Chris Smalling, failed to
provide any reassurance.
Stones’ slip in the second half gave Janssen a chance to level, but his shot
was superbly saved by Fraser Forster.
The clearance fell to sub Narsingh whose cross was handled by Rose inside the
area. This time it was given and Janssen buried his kick.
Hodgson sent for reinforcements, turning to one of the heroes of Berlin —
Harry Kane — to provide something different.
Alli came on with ten minutes left, but it was nowhere near long enough to
make a difference. England’s defence had already done the damage.
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