England manager Roy Hodgson wants his side to provide a greater attacking threat against Sweden in Kiev on Friday.
Boss eyeing more clinical England against Sweden in Kiev
England manager Roy Hodgson wants his side to provide a greater attacking threat against Sweden in Kiev on Friday.
The Three Lions began their Group D campaign with a battling 1-1 draw with France in Donetsk on Monday.
They were widely praised for their resilient defensive display against the group favourites, spending much of the game defending deep inside their own half.
They offered precious little at the other end though, mustering just one shot on target in the entire 90 minutes.
Hodgson revealed he was satisfied with the France result and the platform it provides England in the group.
However, the 64-year-old admits he wants his players to be more clinical going forward against the Swedes.
"I was happy with the start. We played quite well, certain aspects of our game were good," said the former West Brom boss.
Attacking
"We must maintain that and, if we are going to win matches, we've got to continue to work hard on the attacking side of the game.
"We have to try to make certain when we do get these good counter-attacking opportunities that we maximise them and take advantage to the full.
"When we win the ball back and break out, we've got to make certain the last pass, cross or actual finish is very clinical.
"It is hard to get good goal chances at this level of football. You are not going to get many during the course of a game and you have to be very effective when the chances come your way.
"I am not talking about the clear-cut one versus ones with the goalkeeper but the situations where you've got behind the defence and it's a question of making sure the last pass gives someone the chance to score a goal.
"That is something we've been working on consistently."
Set-pieces
England's opening goal by Joleon Lescott on Monday stemmed from a free-kick by Steven Gerrard and Hodgson acknowledges set-pieces are one of his side's greatest attacking weapons.
Their opponents, Sweden, are also noted for their dangerous set-piece deliveries and the England boss revealed it has been one of his priorities in preparing for this game.
"We all agree, in today's football, set-pieces are very important and it is rare not to have respect or concern over the quality of the opponents' set-plays," he added.
"I'm also fortunate we have some good set-play specialists of our own and we scored against France not least thanks to Steven Gerrard's wonderful delivery from a free-kick.
"All you can do is prepare in the best possible way and make it clear to your team what threat the opponents pose.
"France posed a lot of threats from their set-plays and Sweden will be the same."
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