Our team guides you through what we learnt from Tuesday’s matches, including how the future is looking bright for England - especially when compared with Sweden…
Alli and Dier hog centre stage
After years of disappointment and frustration watching two superb midfielders in Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard
flatter to deceive as a cohesive unit alongside one another for their
country, England fans deserve surprise double act Dele Alli and Eric
Dier.
The excellent form they’ve displayed for club and country thus
far this season is even more of a bonus when you consider they are a
squad defender pushed forward out of necessity and a promising young
recruit from the lower leagues.
Many assumed wouldn’t be ready for the big time for a few years,
but Dier and Alli’s teamwork has been extremely effective and seen them
skyrocket from the nucleus of a makeshift Spurs side to the heart of
one of England’s finest performances of recent years. Yes, this was just
a friendly and of course, many are distracted by the Paris
tragedies, but these two over-achievers have nonetheless issued a
statement of intent to the usual suspects battling for midfield spots in
Roy Hodgson’s final squad next summer.
Stones is rock at the back
He’s by no means the finished article and he only has a handful
of caps to his name, but is John Stones now in line to be in the
starting XI for Euro 2016?
England's John Stones (left) and France's Olivier Giroud (right) in conversation after the final whistle. - PA Photos
Against Spain, England struggled to build attacks and keep the
ball, in part because they didn’t have centre half who could distribute
from the back. But the Everton
21-year-old showed he can fill that void last night while sticking to
his defensive duties and exuding a calm authority. Rumours of Chelsea’s
interest over the summer show he is highly rated outside of the England
camp as well. Surely, on form, Hodgson has to find a spot for him in
this side.
Ukraine have much work to do before next summer
They may have squeezed through by the odd goal in Slovenia, but
Ukraine will be one of the rank outsiders in France next summer. While
Yevhen Konoplyanka
and Andriy Yarmolenko provide a good strike partnership up top, they
were outplayed in midfield and came under big pressure defensively by a
side not known for their attacking prowess. They need to work on making
themselves much harder to beat before they rub shoulders with the
heavyweights next summer.
Take Zlat in a couple of years
Denmark show Sweden a worrying glimpse of the future. The game
might have finished with a draw, but by the time Denmark scored their
two late consolation goals, Sweden knew their chances of qualification
were already almost certain. The reason they held such a significant
advantage was because of the magical ego and ability of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
There was nobody else on the pitch of either side who had nearly the
same quality, and it was plain that Denmark struggled. Sweden will enjoy
the success Ibrahimovic has given them, but their neighbours hint what a
future without special talents look like.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates inspiring Sweden past Denmark to qualify for Euro 2016 - AFP
Messi-less Argentina roll up their sleeves for huge win
Lionel Messi is doing everything in his power to be fit for Barcelona’s huge Clasico clash with Real Madrid
on Saturday. Of course, an appearance for his country on Tuesday was
out of the question, despite it being a crucial World Cup qualification
test away to a formidable Colombia side. Without him, the World Cup
finalists ultimately entered a very impressive, workmanlike display to
grind out a 1-0 win and hand Colombia their first defeat under Jose
Pekerman in Barranquilla, after seven wins and one draw.
Even without Messi, Argentina had strong attacking firepower in the form of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo
Higuain and yet the only goal of the game came courtesy of battling
box-to-box midfielder Lucas Buglia. Come 2018 in Russia, assuming
Argentina make it to the finals, this could be the result their fans
look to when it comes to the story of their latest successful
qualification.
Alexander Netherton, Michael Da Silva, Liam Happe, Kevin Coulson
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