Euro 2016: England must expose wide areas - it's where the Iceland match can be won, says Danny Higginbotham
If you look at the goals that Iceland have scored, and the goals that Iceland have conceded, that tells you that the wide areas will be where this game will be won and lost
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Your support makes all the difference.England will face some of the same problems against Iceland on Monday that they failed to solve against Slovakia last Monday. And if they are to make it through to the quarter-finals then they will have to play better and faster, making more use of wide areas.
Iceland did exceptionally well to get to Euro 2016 and to get out of Group F, and the way they play – defending narrow in a 4-1-4-1 – will force England to go wide. In that sense they are similar to Slovakia, but we saw how slow and laboured England were on Monday night. They will need to speed up and take the initiative tomorrow, and that means restoring Wayne Rooney to midfield and Harry Kane up front.
If there is one side that this Iceland reminds me of it is Tony Pulis’ Stoke City team that I played in. They use Aron Gunnarsson’s long throw, they try to exploit set pieces. They are happy to sit back, soak up the pressure and then attack on the break.
Look at the four goals they have scored so far in the European Championship: two have come from crosses down the right, and two from set pieces, one from a long throw and the other from a penalty that was won from a corner.
And, like Pulis’ Stoke, they do not look to dominate the ball. Just look at the possession figures from their three group games: they had 28 per cent possession against Portugal, 29 per cent against Hungary and 31 per cent against Austria. They are not especially bothered about possession.
Across their qualification games and the group stage itself, Iceland have conceded nine goals, and only two of them were in the first half, seven in the second. Conceding so few goals early on is a sign that they are a side who sets out to be hard to beat.
But if you look at the goals that Iceland have scored, and the goals that Iceland have conceded, that tells you that the wide areas will be where this game will be won and lost. Because Iceland will happily concede the wide areas on Monday and condense the middle of the pitch.
That is why I think – and I have written this in this column before – that England should go back to the 4-4-2 diamond for Monday’s game. Their best opportunities will come from crosses and when they get into those positions they should make sure they have enough men in the box. Roy Hodgson’s narrow 4-3-3 only gives them two men in the box from crosses. But with the 4-4-2 diamond England would have four: their two centre-forwards, their man at the tip of the diamond and their midfield from the opposite side.
I would have Harry Kane up front alongside Jamie Vardy. If England’s game is based on crosses then they need Kane in the box. I would just give Vardy the edge over Daniel Sturridge, because I think that pair has better balance, with Vardy stretching the play and Kane coming short. While Kane hasn’t been at his best so far, I don’t think he has been asked to play to his best, as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 spending too much time in wide areas.
They need an early goal, because if they don’t it will be a frustrating game. That is what happened for the Slovakia game and it became harder as it went on. But if England score early then it will force Iceland to come out and change their natural game, because unlike a group game they cannot afford to lose. England need to take the initiative and take the game to Iceland.
What will be most important is how quickly England can switch the ball from one side to the other, whether they can do it in one or two passes rather than four or five. That was where England struggled against Slovakia, I think because Wayne Rooney did not start, and he is the best that England have at spreading the play. If they are to play better against Iceland on Monday they will need to move the ball out wide far quicker, to attack Iceland down the flanks. Then, when the crosses come into the box, they need more men in there. If they can just show more purpose then they will get that early goal, which could be the difference between an easier evening and a difficult one.
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