Euro 2016 Team Guide: Group B – England
You couldn’t really ask more from England from their qualifying campaign. Ten games played, ten games won, 31 goals scored and just three conceded.
But let’s face it, England were in the easiest group of Euro 2016 qualifying and it will have done little to prepare Roy Hodgson’s side for the stiffer challenges ahead in France.
The Three Lions’ record in the Euros is much like theirs in the World Cup – abject.
Since they first entered the Championships in 1968 they’ve only reached the semi-finals twice (1968, 1996) and have been knocked out on penalties in three of the last four tournaments they qualified for.
It’s high time England delivered a tournament to remember for their long-suffering fans.
Maybe, just maybe, this will be the one.
Star Man – Harry Kane
While England now have a glut of striking options to consider, it will almost certainly be the young Tottenham striker that will be leading England’s line in France this summer.
Despite a sluggish start to the current domestic season, he has once more proved his quality becoming the Premier League’s top scorer for the second season running.
Strong, instinctive and endlessly energetic, Kane already has four goals in ten games for his county and is set to be one of the first names on Hodgson’s team sheet.
Harry Kane, in action for England against Holland, could be the main goal threat for his country this summer
One to Watch – Dele Alli
Kane, Stones, Barkley, Dier – there’s a new, younger spine starting to develop for the England team but it has been the form of Dele Alli that has really made people sit up and take note.
This time last year there were precious few people outside of Milton Keynes that had heard of the attacking midfielder but after a season to savour at Spurs, he’s now the hottest young talent in the English game.
It has been a meteoric rise for the 20-year-old and if he puts on a show in France then the world really will be his oyster.
Coach – Roy Hodgson
After a sensational comeback win against World Champions Germany recently, there is now a sense that England are on the verge of some long-overdue success.
Certainly, Roy Hodgson could do with some. While he’s universally liked and respected, his record in major championships is, for want of a better word, rubbish.
Four years ago, the Three Lions went out on penalties to Italy in the quarter-finals while in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil they finished bottom of their group without a win.
But, by chance or by design, Hodgson now has an exciting, young team blessed with real pace and attacking verve and if they can just fulfil their potential there may be knighthood around the corner for the England manager.
Imagine that?
Factfile
Most capped player: Peter Shilton (125)
Highest goalscorer: Wayne Rooney (51)
Best performance in Euros: Semi-finals in 1968 and 1996
FIFA world ranking: TBC
Odds: 9/1
Group B Fixtures
Saturday, June 11: Wales v Slovakia (17:00, Stade de Bordeaux)
Saturday, June 11: England v Russia (20:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Wednesday, June 15: Russia v Slovakia (14:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Thursday, June 16: England v Wales (14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens)
Monday, June 20: Russia v Wales (20:00, Stadium de Toulouse)
Monday, June 20: Slovakia v England (20:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne)