How Tottenham Can Beat Iceland for England

By Ryan Wrenn | Jun 26, 2016

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 25: Dele Alli; Kyle Walker and Eric Dier walk out during the England training session at Manchester City Football Academy on May 25, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

A rest in the final group game against Slovakia should allow England’s Tottenham contingent to make the difference against Iceland on Monday.

The poor 0-0 draw against Slovakia saw any progress England seemed to make in their last minute win over Wales stall out. While Slovakia are due some credit for their defensive display, Roy Hodgson’s side looked completely out of ideas about how to overcome it.

Germany’s ease at passing by the Slovaks on Sunday in their 3-0 win only underlined just how dismal England’s efforts were. The likes of Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana should have been able to find a way through.

Now, of course, this was a heavily rotated English side. The previous matches against Russia and Wales saw England sides formed around a core of Tottenham players, with the full-back pair of Kyle Walker and Danny Rose proving particularly effective. The Slovakia result, in contrast, came at the hands of a team that only included one Tottenham representative: Eric Dier.

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Hodgson should bring be bringing back Dier along with the full-backs, Dele Alli and Harry Kane in Monday’s match against a Iceland side punching well above its weight. Gylfi Sigurdsson — formerly of Tottenham — has led his nation to their first major international tournament, and they now find themselves progressing most improbably onto the knockout rounds.

While their campaign has proven to be one of the highlights of the tournament so far, there is so escaping the fact that they have made it this far thanks largely to a strangely non-competitive group stage. Portugal, Austria and Hungary were never going to play the most inspired football, but their difficulties made it so that both the latter and Iceland managed to squeak into the round of 16 on just five points after the first three matches.

In England, Iceland will have a much trickier opponent. While Hodgson’s side — including the Tottenham elements — have tripped over themselves in the face of more defensive efforts, they haven’t been exactly terrible. They manage the second highest amount of shots per game with 21.3, with an average of five being on target. That latter figure is more than Spain, Italy and France so far.

As we saw with Kane at Tottenham early last season, the key is patience. The 22-year-old striker knows how to pick his shots, and will find a way through given enough minutes on the pitch. He would also benefit immensely is Hodgson were to revert to the 4-3-1-2 formation he used in pre-tournament.

Having Vardy or Sturridge alongside him will stretch play both horizontally and vertically. Having Alli operate in the hole behind the strikers instead of central midfield will also be a potential boon. The 19-year-old combined supremely well with Kane at Tottenham throughout the season, and if Hodgson sees fit to give both players freedom it’s entirely likely that that success is replicated on Monday.

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The key will be Hodgson. He needs to be flexible and realize that everything he’s done so far has struggled to work if it’s even worked at all. He’s already seen how he benefits when he allows Tottenham’s full-backs to do what they do best on the flanks. Alli and Kane deserve the same level of trust. Get the ball to their feet, and England makes it through to the quarterfinals.

Now, England’s Slovakia slip up puts them on a difficult route to the Euro 2016 finals. Should they win on Monday they will need to take on France. If they somehow get past the host, they will have one of Germany, Spain or Italy waiting for them in the semifinals. Even England’s formidable Tottenham core might not be able to overcome those odds.

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