England are 100 per cent so far, but can they win Euro 2016?
The arguments for and against success for Roy Hodgson's side in France next summer
Sunday 29 March 2015 11:40, UK
England’s 4-0 win over Lithuania at Wembley on Friday was their seventh victory in a row since flying home early from last summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
Five of those have come in a so far unblemished Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, leaving Roy Hodgson’s side as one of only four teams boasting 100 per cent records at the halfway stage ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.
Hodgson now wants his revitalised squad to take a maximum 30 points from qualifying, which in turn begs the question: can England go to France next year and win the whole thing? Here, we look at the arguments for and against…
Yes we can
England have confidence and momentum
Even by English standards, form and confidence looked desperately low after losing to Italy and Uruguay and then drawing with Costa Rica in Brazil. And yet a more youthful England side are now playing with a swagger, appear to be enjoying themselves more than ever and are producing some of the best football we have seen from the national side this century. Confidence is flowing, a winning mentality has developed within the squad and, crucially, England are now taking momentum into every game.
Wayne Rooney is back at his best
Rooney’s performances for Manchester United have not always been glittering this season due to Louis van Gaal’s experimentation with playing him in midfield, but for England, his form has been outstanding. Rooney has netted seven in seven since the World Cup and has once again become England’s talismanic leader and goalscorer in chief.
The next generation is flourishing
Rooney aside, the England squad is bursting with exciting young talent. Danny Welbeck has scored five times since the World Cup, including twice in a crucial win over Switzerland, while Raheem Sterling lit up Wembley on Friday night with the latest in a string of eye-catching performances. Then there's Daniel Sturridge, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and, of course, the irrepressible Harry Kane also in the picture – and they are all going to keep getting better in the lead-up to France.
Other nations look out of sorts
While England have been sweeping aside all before them, the other big nations have been having a much harder time of it. Germany had won only two of their four qualifiers going into the weekend’s fixtures, Spain were beaten by Slovakia, the Netherlands have lost twice and Portugal have also been defeated. The only traditional powerhouse whose record comes close to matching England’s is Italy.
No, don’t be silly
England haven’t beaten any big teams yet
With every respect to the seven teams England have beaten since the World Cup, you wouldn’t expect any of them to win Euro 2016. Or even reach the semi-finals, for that matter. The real test of Hodgson’s revitalised side will be fixtures such as the friendly against Italy in Turin on Tuesday.
The squad is still a work in progress
Granted, the likes of Rooney, Welbeck and Sterling are all in fine form as the front three, but other areas of the side are far from settled. Hodgson is yet to find a regular partner for Gary Cahill in central defence, the right-back position looks to be still up for grabs and the composition of central midfield is far from concrete. Injuries to the likes of Jack Wilshere haven’t helped, but continuity is currently missing from the England set-up.
We lack knockout-phase experience
England can play as well as they like in the rest of the qualifiers and then the group phase of Euro 2016, but the bare facts are that none of the squad have any experience of the latter rounds of a major international tournament and the unique challenges they present. England haven’t progressed past the quarter-finals of either a World Cup or European Championship since 1996, whereas Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy have all been to finals in the past five years.
We still don’t have a winter break
The pros and cons of a winter break are a separate debate, but there can be no disputing that England will probably be the most fatigued team of the all the major nations going into Euro 2016. And this will only be exacerbated by the fact that there will be 24 teams in France as opposed to 16 in past European Championships, which means the finalists will have to play seven games rather than six.
