Pair of Tottenham Stars Make Big Impact for England

It wasn’t as easy as England fans might have liked, but the Three Lions earned a win over Wales on Thursday thanks in no small part to two Tottenham men.

Dele Alli provided the assist for Daniel Sturridge’s stoppage time winning goal, and Kyle Walker earned the Man of the Match for his efforts to contain Gareth Bale and provide width in England’s attack.

It wasn’t at all clear that that would be the outcome after the first half however. Wales weren’t exactly getting a tremendous amount of penetration even with Bale on the pitch, but England also proved unable to fine a way through to Wayne Hennessey’s goal. For all the talent on the pitch — many of which were Tottenham stars past and present — it seemed closer to a stalemate than anything decisive.

That didn’t seem as if it would change until after Wayne Rooney clumsily sacrificed a free-kick 40 yards from Joe Hart’s goal in the 41st minute. When Bale stepped up and launched the ball accurately over England’s wall, the Manchester City keeper lost track and let it slip past him into the goal.

Being a goal down at halftime was not the best omen for England’s hopes in the European Championship. After matchday one’s 1-1 draw with Russia and Slovakia’s win on Wednesday, a loss here would likely result in England failing to reach the competition’s next round.

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Roy Hodgson recognized the problem with England’s offense and immediately remedied it at halftime. Tottenham’s Harry Kane was taken off along with City’s Raheem Sterling, the two forwards replaced with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and Liverpool’s oft-injured Daniel Sturridge.

Kane could not have taken his removal easily, but it’s difficult to say it was the wrong call from Hodgson. However talented Kane might be, he relies heavily on the efforts of the players behind and on either side of him.

While Sterling and Adam Lallana certainly have their talents, they are not quite Christian Eriksen or Érik Lamela. Those latter two players function in more selfless roles, threading the line between midfield and attack and generally creating and finding space for Kane to thrive in. Sterling and Lallana are more direct, and as a consequence Kane suffered. He will continue to grow and evolve as a player, and one day might be able to boss a game like this as much as Bale did on the opposite end.

As thing stood, Vardy ended up vindicating his substitution quickly. He scored the equalizer for England ten minutes into the second half, and provided a regular threat at the head of the line for the remainder of the game. This make sense. At 29, Vardy is more well-rounded than Kane, and is used to featuring in sides where he’s not regular getting service from those around him. His goal was scrappy and opportunistic, and exactly what England needed.

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The Tottenham players that remained on the pitch continued to push right up through the end of 90 minutes, even as some — Alli among them — seemed to slow from the exertion. Wales’ defense could only hold out for so long, however.

A surging Alli wasn’t able to break them down, but the ball he laid off found Sturridge in just enough space for the former Chelsea man to send the ball into the net. England walked off the pitch with a 2-1 win, and their hopes of progressing to the next round higher than ever.