England - Slovenia.
When the draw was made for this Group it was believed that England would easily win this group with three victories. However, the truth has proven to be completely different, as the English drew 1-1 against the USA in their first clash with a below par performance, while in the second clash against Algeria they didn’t create one clear cut chance and had to settle for the dreaded scoreless draw. Capello conceded that if they do not win today then he will be sacked and given he is the most highly paid national team coach in the world it would come as no surprise. He has a decent roster of players to choose from and appears incapable of managing them. It was a huge error not to use Joe Cole in a 4-5-1 formation with Rooney on his own up front, which is a system and tactic previously proven when used. Even the 4-4-2 formation he uses is a mistake because this includes both Gerrard and Lampard and neither of them mark any players. It could even be said the use of Heskey to partner Rooney instead of Crouch is also an error. Fabio Capello needs a win today to get them through to the final 16 and his only concerns are in central defence. Ledley King is still injury and his replacement Jamie Carragher is suspended, which means the internationally inexperienced West Ham defender Matthew Upson will partner John terry.
Probable Line-up: James, Johnson, Terry, Upson, Ashley Cole, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole, Defoe, Rooney.
Slovenia missed out on a great opportunity to qualify for the round of 16 when they led the USA by 2-0 but in the end required a refereeing mistake to hold on to a 2-2 draw. But a draw today would see them go through to the following round and head coach Kek will field a team with a defensive attitude and try and hit the English on the counter. Midfielder Pecnik is out for three months.
Probable Line-up: Handanovic, Brecko, Suler, Cesar, Jokic, Radosavljevic, Birsa, Krhin, Koren, Ljubijankic, Novacovic.
Selection: I finally expect England to live up to expectations and gain the victory that will take them through to the following round. |
