World Cup: Bright England, blunt England

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

ENGLAND 3

(Daniel Sturridge 32, Gary Cahill 65, Phil Jagielka 70)

PERU 0

THE BRIGHT SPARKS

DANIEL STURRIDGE

In a game with few outstanding performers, the Liverpool striker shone brightest, capping his display with a brilliant opening goal. He was lively, enterprising and confident, carrying on from where he left off after a fine season with Liverpool, who finished runners-up in the English Premier League.

While he made clear efforts to link up with support striker Wayne Rooney, and vice versa, it was also obvious that they need more games to build up their understanding on the field.

Sturridge's rise to the fore, though, reduces the reliance on Rooney for goals. 

At the level he's operating on, he looks a certain World Cup starter in Hodgson's side.

ADAM LALLANA

The presence of Lallana gives England the sort of cutting edge they lacked at the European Championship two years ago.

Blessed with superb technical skills and quick thinking, the Southampton man floated between the lines to add plenty of dynamism to England's attack.

Even though he started out on the right, it was clear the manager had given him licence to roam.

His off-the-ball running stood out, as did his willingness to run into the penalty box.

One such foray in the 20th minute saw him burst through the Peruvian defence, before stabbing the ball to Sturridge, who flashed his close-range shot inches wide.

He is the element of surprise in the England team.

SET-PIECES

For all the talk about tactics and formations, results often still hinge on set-pieces.

Twice against Peru, the Three Lions pulled off what they practised on the training ground.

Gary Cahill's header for the team's second goal, and Phil Jagielka's close-range stab for the third, were results of set-plays.

In the duo, England have two able men with the aerial and physical prowess to make them count.

It should be noted, too, that both deliveries came from Everton's Leighton Baines, who is not too shabby at going direct from free-kicks as well.

Given that they also have Steven Gerrard to whip them in, opponents will do well to avoid unnecessary fouls against the English in Brazil.

STRENGTH IN DEPTH

Hodgson can go into this World Cup knowing that he has more quality on the bench than he had at Euro 2012.

In their quarter-final loss to Italy two years ago, he had only Theo Walcott available as an impact substitute, even if Andy Carroll and a young Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were on the bench as well.

Against Peru, he fielded what looked like his first 11 for Brazil, but still had an excellent group of players waiting on the sidelines.

In fact, England seemed to attack more fluently after Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere came on for Rooney and Gerrard respectively, although some may argue that the game had opened up by then.

Young Ross Barkley didn't look out of place when he was introduced late in the game.

Frank Lampard and Oxlade-Chamberlain, now more mature, are two other useful weapons in his squad.

THE BLUNT EDGES

SHAKY CENTRAL DEFENCE

Time will tell how much England are going to miss the retired John Terry, who was one of their best players at Euro 2012.

The central-defence pairing of Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill may appear reliable, but they had some nervous moments against Peru.

One must take into account that the visitors, ranked 42nd in the Fifa world rankings, put out a team that were nowhere near their strongest - new coach Pablo Bengoechea had left out players such as Jefferson Farfan, Claudio Pizarro, Paulo Guerrero and Juan Vargas. Despite that, Peru managed to carve out the better chances, especially in the first half.

Jagielka appeared a little rusty after his recent hamstring problem, and at times seemed a little too casual in possession. Peru also managed to beat England's offside trap on a few occasions.

Fortunately, an in-form Joe Hart came to their rescue when his defence let him down.

But against stronger opponents, England won't be so lucky.

GLEN JOHNSON

At times, you wonder if Johnson remembers his primary role.

Too often, his eagerness to join the attack left England exposed at the back, which Peru exploited numerous times.

His tendency to lose the ball while in the opponents' half also didn't help.

Like it was the case at Liverpool, there is no real competition in Hodgson's squad to keep the right back (below) on his toes. He will be the first weak link England's World Cup rivals will attempt to exploit.

WAYNE ROONEY

Playing his first game for a month following a groin injury, Rooney lasted 65 minutes without showing any sign of a recurrence. That's the good news.

But Rooney was far from tip-top condition.

Deployed just behind striker Sturridge, the Manchester United hitman did little to suggest that he will still be England's main man in Brazil.

Several times, he dropped deep to retrieve the ball to build up play, but his contributions were negligible.

Hodgson will hope that Rooney can whip himself into shape by the time they play their opening match against Italy on June 14. The manager must also decide if the second striker's role is Rooney's most effective for England.

If it isn't, then it throws up a major headache of whether to play Rooney, or Sturridge, in his preferred position, or to leave one of them out.

garylim@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 01, 2014.
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