adminMARSEILLE. – England and Russia are the big beasts of Group B and, though each would love a winning start when they meet tonight, the fear of losing could well become all-pervading and lead to a cagey 2016 Euro soccer encounter. The match kicks-off at 9pm. With games against Wales and Slovakia to come, and the potential for three teams to qualify with two guaranteed, a point at the Velodrome might look a very useful result in a couple of weeks.
England, on the back of winning all 10 qualifiers, not to mention a rare victory in Germany in a friendly, start favourites and will expect to make the running in front of a 60 000 crowd that will be predominantly behind them.
However, despite that great run of form, England are anything but a settled side as Roy Hodgson struggles with the question of how to shoe-horn his form players into an established system.
Strikers Jamie Vardy, fresh from leading Leicester City to the most unlikely English Premier League title, and Harry Kane, the English Premier League’s top scorer, seemingly demand selection.
But Hodgson is adamant Wayne Rooney, the captain and most experienced squad member, should get a starting berth, leaving the coach experimenting with his attacking options right up to the last minute.
At least he is picking from strength in that regard as his, and England’s more pressing concern is in central defence where any combination of Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling and John Stones has looked vulnerable and remains England’s Achilles heel.
England have not lost in 90 or 120 minutes in 22 Euro matches in finals and qualifiers, going back to a 3-2 defeat by Croatia in November 2007.
The impressive statistics are skewed, however, as they lost on penalties to Italy in the 2012 quarter-finals and failed to qualify in 2008.
Russia reached the semi-finals that year with a side full of passion and pace but they were disappointing in 2012 and in the 2014 World Cup and the current crop are not a group to have fans on the edge of their seats.
They are, however, a well-organised and technically adept squad and coach Leonid Slutsky has quickly developed a strong team spirit since taking over from Fabio Capello last August.
He has, however, been forced to change his plans somewhat after injuries ruled midfielders Alan Dzagoev and, after last week’s 1-1 draw with Serbia, Igor Denisov out of the tournament.
With that to deal with and winnable games on the horizon, Russia are unlikely to take too many risks today, leaving it up to England to decide whether to open up in all-out pursuit of victory or indulge in 90 minutes of cautious chess.
Meanwhile, coach Leonid Slutsky says Russia are preparing to face a very different Rooney to the one they last met in 2007.
England take on Russia in their opening Euro 2016 Group B clash tonight, the two teams having last faced each other in a European Championship qualifier in Moscow in October 2007, where Rooney scored before Russia hit back to win 2-1.
The Manchester United star’s role has since changed for both club and country. He operated in midfield for much of last season, while Joe Hart said on Thursday Rooney has a key role as a father figure in the young England squad – and Slutsky admits he is trying to work out how to stop Kane and Vardy scoring, with Rooney, now 30, posing a different threat from his early days.
“He has changed his style. He is not the player that he was,” said the Russia coach.
“It reminds me of Vagner Love when he came to CSKA Moscow in 2004. Back then, he was a pure striker because of his speed, his runs, and he scored lots of goals. He was brilliant in the front line.
“Now Vagner Love is very different. He organises, he plays passes. It would be unfair to say that Rooney is worse than before, but he is very different.”
Slutsky admitted England were his preferred choice of top-seeded teams to be drawn against at the tournament, although he expects a very difficult game in Marseille.
“We did speak about how it would be good to play against England from the top-seeded teams and that’s what has happened,” said the 45-year-old, who led CSKA Moscow to three Russian titles before replacing Fabio Capello as national team boss last August.
“However, I’ll say again that there are no weak teams at the European Championship. But in terms of our preparations, some of the teams’ playing styles are more similar than others.” – Reuters.
Online Reporter