In his exclusive column for Metro, former England World Cup star David James looks ahead to tonight’s showdown with Norway and Erling Haaland with a place in the World Cup semi-finals on the line.
I think we are all still recovering a bit from what happened at the Azteca in the early hours of Monday morning.
It was probably the best game I have seen from England in the World Cup. In terms of the performance, there has been comparison with the 5-1 victory over Germany as the best game England have ever played. That game was total dominance from England against a powerful nation.
What we saw against Mexico had a bit of everything, rounded off by them holding their nerve on the biggest stage. England needed a bit of everything. The quality of the goals was immense but there was a requirement for defending and it was a better all-round performance from everybody. But I still think there is more.
Exclusive analysis of England v Norway
Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter. Sign up now.
What I found really interesting was listening to Thomas Tuchel afterwards saying he was disappointed they didn’t play the way they trained. That’s good. It means there is more left when we come up against better opposition. I wouldn’t mistake the Mexico result and performance as overconfidence when it comes to winning the tournament. There is still a lot of work to be done.
But I have spoken to a lot of fans since and everyone came to the conclusion that we watched something magnificent. And England needed that. I’m not getting carried away but where there have been issues we have seen immediate improvement.
This team believes in everything the manager asks. And it sounds like he has seen more than we have seen in them behind the scenes and I believe he will get that out of them. Our best game has to be in the final. It is about building to that – if we can do it, we will be one happy nation.
How England will deal with Erling Haaland
Marc Guehi and John Stones will of course know their Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland very well. While he is up front, he still orchestrates the tempo of that Norway side. He gets the ball when he wants it. The players will know how he plays. But I can’t imagine for one minute England will allow Norway to slow down and recycle the ball until Erling is ready. Therefore, the pressure on him will be big, he will have less opportunity to dictate the tempo of his team’s performance.
We know all about his goalscoring – he is having an incredible World Cup. So far, he hasn’t had many shots from outside the box. 16 of his 17 shots in this competition have come from within the box. I’ve studied him over the years, he generally doesn’t shoot from outside the box. And Stones and Guehi who know him extremely well will know that. Yes, he can do the unexpected, it is something you have to be wary of. But stopping the source will be England’s key.
Last season for City, Haaland had 12 shots outside the box in the Premier League, more than any of his previous seasons playing for the club. I think that came from City not always functioning as well and he wasn’t always able to do what he does so well. At times last season for City, he was frustrated with not getting the service, prompting him to start shooting outside the box.
You would like to think Guehi and Stones know this and will make it work to their advantage and frustrate him. I think we could see that on Saturday. Stop the crosses, stop Norway’s flow on the ball, stop Haaland. It sounds easy, but what we have seen from England is they have the energy and ability to do that and win the game.
Of course, we know Haaland is absolutely on it at the moment and is confident taking any shot on, believing he will score. But if he’s not getting the ball, he’s not going to score.
Pickford vs Nyland – two men in superb form
I also take huge encouragement from Jordan Pickford’s performance against Mexico. What he did aerially, his presence, his decision making, his execution, it was all superb. It took pressure off the defence. If Norway target aerial duels all evening, when you have a goalkeeper looking that confident and courageous, it bodes well and it will make Norway question themselves.
On the topic of goalkeepers, Ørjan Nyland had an exceptional game in goal against Brazil. If he didn’t have that sort of night, they don’t win that game. You would argue though he will need to have a similar sort of game against England because we will create chances. With England, it is a very different proposition from Brazil. England are a better defensive unit across the back than Brazil are. Norway had so much freedom up against that Brazilian midfield and I just don’t think England will allow them to do that again.
Mainoo had to wait against Mexico but chance could now beckon
There wasn’t an opportunity for Kobbie Mainoo to get on the pitch with the sending off against Mexico. I loved the changes Tuchel made that night; Dan Burn for example was told get on there and do not let anyone score. He did what he was told and he was magnificent.
Everyone knew their role and improved the defensive side of things. Declan Rice was superb in midfield. Ironically, he looked fresher with less rest than he did earlier in the competition but there will still have to be consideration for that.
I still think there is room for Kobbie Mainoo. I just can’t understand how he hasn’t figured at all at the moment. I doubt he’ll start against Norway and we could see the same starting XI as Mexico – with the exception of the suspended Jarell Quansah – because there has been a bit more time for rest to get players recharged. But I think subs will have a key role to play again.
David James wrote for Metro ahead of England’s quarter-final clash against Norway, brought to you via PlayGuy.co.uk.
No comments:
Post a Comment