Slovakia vs England
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Sunday; 4-September-2016
Kick-off: 23:00 GMT +7
Venue: Stadion Antona Malatinskeho (Trnava).
It is Slovakia again. It is a game to stir unpleasant memories for England, the day that, with the benefit of hindsight, their Euro 2016 began to go wrong.
It is less than three months since Roy Hodgson made six changes, saw his side register 30 attempts but no goal in a stalemate and, rather than winning the group, saw them plunged into the tougher half of the draw and the ultimately catastrophic meeting with Iceland.
Fast forward 10 weeks and some things have changed, but others remain the same. Hodgson is gone, along with Jack Wilshere. The midfielder’s last competitive start came against Slovakia. His next will come for Bournemouth, a development few anticipated even when he looked woefully out of touch in Saint-Etienne. Sam Allardyce has been appointed, but every member of the new manager’s starting 11 was in France.
Joe Hart remains in goal, despite an awful Euro 2016 and aided by the withdrawal of his major rival, Fraser Forster. Wayne Rooney retains the captaincy, meaning he will overhaul David Beckham and become England’s most capped outfield player Sunday.
Allardyce has taken the unusual step of naming his team two days early. It shows his confidence and a faith in two of England’s most gifted young players, Raheem Sterling and John Stones, who, for very different reasons, experienced demoralising European Championships, but not in two more, Dele Alli and Ross Barkley. The Tottenham midfielder seems Rooney’s designated understudy. The Evertonian is not even in the squad.
A preference for the captain has consequences. Rooney has been restored to the No 10 role, his favourite position, in what is probably his favourite environment. His displays in major tournaments have been decidedly patchy but he has been unrivalled in ensuring England reach them. Thirty of his record 53 goals have come in qualifiers, 14 of them in the last two campaigns alone. England have a recent habit of landing in relatively weak qualifying groups and Rooney is a reason why they have tended to ensure smooth progress.
Now they are pitted with Slovakia, Slovenia, Scotland, Lithuania and Malta. It is tempting to regard Marek Hamsik, the one world-class player possessed by any of their immediate rivals, as the principal obstacle to a place in Russia in 2018. The Napoli captain illustrated his considerable talent against Russia in France. He was subdued against England, partly because Hodgson’s team dominated possession. He ought to be more of a threat on home soil in Trnava.
England will look to Harry Kane for incision, although he extended his record of never scoring a Premier League goal in August. It will be intriguing to see if there is a focus on set-pieces, which Allardyce’s previous sides showed, although it is a safe assumption that, unlike Hodgson, he will not ask Kane to take the corners. It will be instructive, too, how quickly they play the ball forward. As he admits himself, Allardyce is unable to shake off an unwanted reputation as a long-ball merchant, but he has selected Stones, a footballing defender. They are not natural allies but the 61-year-old has long insisted he is more flexible and progressive than depicted.
His ego explains why some are reluctant to afford him credit. He has spent this week wondering if there will be a Sam Allardyce Suite at St George’s Park, England’s training centre, and wondering if he was overlooked for the job in 2006, when Steve McClaren was chosen, on "political" grounds.
"I was good enough then," he said this week.
We are about to discover if he is good enough now, although the real examination may come in Russia.
Slovakia: Team News
There are no surprises in Jan Kozak’s 23-man squad to face England on
Sunday. Markek Hamsik remains the key player to watch out for, while
the likes of Miroslav Stoch and Robert Mak has plenty of pace and skill
the English defense.
Slovakia: Expected Starting Line-up vs England (4-2-3-1)
Kozacik – Hubocan, Durica, Skrtel, Pekarik – Kucka, Pecovsky – Weiss, Mak, Hamsik – Duda.
England: Team News
From the first impression, it seems like Sam Allardyce has got it
right in his team selection for the World Cup qualifier against
Slovakia. Jack Wilshere is rightly dropped from the squad together with
Ross Barkley and Ryan Bertrand.
The exciting versatile winger from West Ham, Michail Antonio has
earned up his first call, while Danny Drinkwater and Theo Walcott has
been recalled to the squad after missing out on the Euros.
It is almost certain that Joe Hart will keep his place between the
posts with Southampton goal-keeper Fraser Foster suffering an injury.
England: Expected Starting Line-up vs Slovakia (4-2-3-1)
Hart – Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose – Dier, Henderson – Alli, Sterling, Rooney – Kane.
Slovakia vs England: Head-to-Head
The latest meeting between the two sides was during the final match
day of the group stages at the Euro 2016, where they settled for a 0-0
stalemate.
England are unbeaten in the four meetings against Slovakia with 3 wins and a draw.
Their previous two legged meeting was for at the 2004 Euro qualifiers where England won both and away leg by 2-1 margin.
Slovakia vs England: Prediction
England will be looking for a positive start after disappointing
Euros and Sam Allardyce has the luxury of a fully fit squad. However, it
remained to be seen how quickly the players adjust to the new manager.
While Slovakia have a good home record and lost only once in the last
14 games played in front of their home fans. At the same time, they
haven’t defeated England in the four meetings so far and conceded 8
goals from the three meetings before the Euro 2016.
So England will go in as slight favourites and the defensive vulnerabilities of both sides of over 2.5 goals. I will be also backing a 2-1 win in favour of England.
Slovakia vs England: Betting Tips
Both Teams to Score and England to win at 4/1 (5.00)
Over 2.5 goals at 7/5 (2.40).
