Daniel Sturridge injury tops England worries.
With England facing perhaps their toughest game of their Euro 2016 qualifying group tonight, CaughtOffside looks at five reasons that there is surely more misery to come for fans of the Three Lions.
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Daniel Sturridge injury
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With passion for the national side at an all-time low after a terrible World Cup earlier this summer, and an uninspired performance in a 1-0 win at home to Norway last week, this certainly looks like a challenging game that has come far too soon for this team…
5) Their best player is out injured
Make no mistake about it, England have lost a vitally important player in Daniel Sturridge after the Liverpool striker was ruled out with injury. The 25-year-old has risen his game to a new level in recent times under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, and now genuinely looks like this country’s closest answer to a world class talent. In his absence, England will have to rely on the out-of-form Wayne Rooney and either Danny Welbeck or Rickie Lambert in attack – hardly a frontline that will strike a great deal of fear into the hearts of any top side, not least the Switzerland defence.
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4) This team is in transition
With youngsters such as Everton and Arsenal defenders John Stones and Calum Chambers earning call-ups to this latest England squad, there is no hiding the fact that this must be one of the least experienced group of players that the Three Lions have had for a long time. Even back in 1998 when the likes of David Beckham and Paul Scholes were key figures in the national team, they were at least coming on the back of plenty of experience and, more importantly, an experience of winning trophies at Manchester United. Few of this group can truly be classed as among the very best players in the Premier League, and it will take some time for them to form a solid core for England, who are still recovering from the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard retiring from international football.
3) Roy Hodgson is feeling the pressure
For perhaps the first time in his England reign, manager Roy Hodgson genuinely seems flustered under the pressure. So far his teams have done very little in the games that have mattered, with seemingly no progress made since he took over in 2012, and he must know that his job security will come under increasing scrutiny if his team do not start to put some results together, or at least show some signs of playing good, attacking football. With the 67-year-old somewhat losing it in his press conference this week, is he starting to lose the dressing room as well?
2) Players’ focus is on start of club season
Although these players are professionals, it would be no surprise if a large number of them are keen to put this summer’s disappointments with England behind them. With the club season only a few games old as well, the likes of Wayne Rooney in particular will surely have their heads turned by commitments elsewhere, with players adapting to new managers and club colleagues after the summer transfer window, and eager to take the chance to climb the Premier League table.
1) Switzerland are pretty good!
Switzerland have a good blend of youth and experience and currently look like arguably a more balanced and generally more impressive team than England. Although they are adapting to a new manager after Ottmar Hitzfeld’s retirement after the World Cup, they have plenty of quality players such as Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri – linked several times with Liverpool this summer – Gokhan Inler, Granit Xhaka and Josip Drmic, who all play for some of Europe’s biggest clubs and who will certainly prove a big threat for England tonight.