How England’s XI lined up in this evening’s trip to Basel to face Switzerland.
England traveled to Basel to face Switzerland this evening in the first, and perhaps most important, match of their qualifying campain for Euro 2016, to be held in France in two years’ time.
SEE MORE:
FIFA 15 player ratings released.
Arsenal could’ve signed Micah Richards.
Borini ready to fight for Liverpool future.
Lining up in an unfamiliar diamond formation, it took the Three Lions some time to find their feet, but in the end it proved to be a satisfactory evening for Roy Hodgson and his players after two Danny Welbeck strikes handed them victory in Basel.
Here are how Roy Hodgson’s men rated:
GK – Joe Hart (7) – A good display from the England number one, who made two or three good saves and claimed anything that came into his box.
RB – John Stones (6.5) – A few nerves seeped through for John Stones on his competitive debut for England, with a couple of wayward touches, but he was largely solid.
CB – Gary Cahill (7) – A solid and calm presence at the heart of the England defence, Cahill is perhaps the first name on the teamsheet.
CB – Phil Jones (6.5) – Jones was largely solid alongside Cahill until he limped off into the second half, bur did make one first half lapse to allow Haris Seferovic in for a glorious chance.
LB – Leighton Baines (6.5) – A quiet but effective night from Leighton Baines, who was fine defensively but offered less than usual going forwards.
DMC – Jack Wilshere (5.5) – Perhaps the big disappointment on the night for England, Wilshere was largely anonymous and didn’t show enough authority in dictating the play from deep.
CM – Jordan Henderson (7) – The kind of display that both England and Liverpool fans have come to expect from Henderson, who was neat and tidy whilst covering a lot of ground for his team.
CM – Fabian Delph (7.5) – Really impressive debut from Aston Villa’s Fabian Delph, who was accurate in his passing and very busy once he settled after a frenetic opening 15 minutes.
ACM – Raheem Sterling (7) – Sterling was unusual wasteful at times, but a constant threat to the Swiss defence – as he showed when he broke clear to square for Welbeck’s crucial first.
SC – Wayne Rooney (7) – The England captain is clearly lacking in confidence in front of goal, taking a touch when he should’ve struck first time, but showed some intelligent touches, not least in the build up to the first goal.
SC – Danny Welbeck (9) – Star man on the night for England was two goal hero Welbeck, who recovered from a first half error when he failed to square to Sterling for a tap-in to notch two well taken strikes.
SUB – James Milner (7) – Slotted in between the centre halves effectively when replacing Wilshere to give his side a little more solidity.
SUB – Phil Jagielka (7) – Came on for the injured Phil Jones and slotted in seamlessly alongside Gary Cahill.
SUB – Rickie Lambert (7) – Seemed as though late substitute Lamert’s key contribution would be a booking for time wasting, before he provided a fine assist for the late clincher.
MAN – Roy Hodgson (7.5) – Lining his team up in a risky diamond formation eventual paid off for Hodgson, despite the Three Lions losing their shape somewhat in the first half. It was the pace on the break that did for Switzerland, whilst Delph was an inspired pick in the centre.