England show tactical flexibility ahead of World Cup
On Tuesday night, two leading international football teams played a friendly before the World Cup with the victors, a diminutive side replete with pace and skill, beating one which was rigid in its formation and relied on its physical presence.
Guess which team was England?
In contrast to the England side that Fabio Capello was responsible for in the men's World Cup last summer, Hope Powell's women's team is proving a breath of fresh air from a tactical point of view.
Their 2-0 victory over Sweden, who are five places above them in the Fifa rankings, came after a very impressive 2-1 win over the United States in April, and has given the England team genuine belief going into the World Cup in Germany starting on 26 June.
No-one in the England camp is getting carried away, of course, but the way in which Powell has formulated a 4-3-3 system to utilise her talented players is starting to bear fruit at just the right time.
It is also showing a tactical flexibility that her male counterpart might have done well to consider in South Africa.
Powell said the Sweden result was more satisfying than the one against the US, who are top of the Fifa rankings, because England still won despite not playing particularly well.
"I wasn't best pleased with the first-half," she told BBC Sport afterwards. "I was really disappointed because I think we came out a bit nervously. I think it's all about the expectation that's been placed on us, but at half-time we had a good discussion, made a few changes and came out as a team we know we can be."
In both cases England played teams which were roughly set up in a 4-4-2 formation, although they had far more success against the US in the first half than they did the Swedes at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium.
At Leyton Orient six weeks ago, central midfielder Fara Williams played a pivotal role by quickly spraying the ball wide to wingers Jess Clarke and Rachel Yankey, who both scored first-half goals.
But Everton player Williams was missing from the line-up on Tuesday because of a knee injury and she was sorely missed in the first half where England were fortunate not to go behind on more than one occasion.
In the first half, Williams' replacement Anita Asante struggled to link play between the defence and the forwards quickly, while fellow midfielder Jill Scott did not see much of the ball either.
Instead, it was Swedish pair Lotta Schelin and Jessica Landstrom who were causing England all sorts of problems, and it was only after the visitors hit the post that the hosts began to spring to life.
Clarke, who was named player of the match, started to get more of the ball and once again showed her willingness to attack the opposition left-back as she registered England's first shots on target.
But it wasn't until a few choice words at half-time and an early second-half goal that Powell's side began to find their rhythm.
There was a touch of fortune to England's opening strike, not in Scott's header which was well taken, but the corner it came from was awarded even though the ball appeared to strike substitute Eniola Aluko, who was one of four changes at the break.
The US-based Sky Blue forward, who is a trained lawyer, made a more telling contribution as the half wore on.
Winning her 55th cap, Aluko's pace meant that the Swedish defence were always fearful that she could be played in behind them so they began to drop deeper.
This allowed Karen Carney, who replaced Kelly Smith at the interval, more room to receive the ball and offer another route to Clarke and Yankey.
The Birmingham forward, who went on to score the second goal from the penalty spot after being hauled down, clearly wanted to make an impression as the deadline for the World Cup approaches and improved her chances no end.
But it was Aluko who offered more urgency to England's attacks and she almost capped a fine display with a goal, when Swedish keeper Hedvig Lindahl saved her shot after a twisting run that had the opposition defence in tatters.
Stand-in captain Casey Stoney said afterwards: "Eniola changed the game a little bit because she has that burst of pace and can get in behind their defence, so it stretched them and meant we could pick passes and play through them."
With confidence growing from another solid display at the back from keeper Karen Bardsley and Stoney, England finished the game with a real momentum aided by some marauding runs by right-back Alex Scott.
And the way in which they turned the game around will give Powell plenty to ponder as she finalises her squad to be announced on 10 June.
The starting line-up against Sweden was the same as the match with the United States, except for injuries to Williams and skipper Faye White, who both face a race to be ready for Germany.
So a large number of players will be confident that they have done enough to book their tickets to the World Cup.
But what about the other names - who do you think should make the final 21-woman squad? And following the victories over the US and Sweden how far do you think England can go when the tournament begins?
Powell's team will have to defeat teams with a more physical presence if they want to go deep into the finals, but they appear to have a formula to do just that.
You can also discuss more tactical issues and suggest future ideas on Twitter
Matches are often won or lost thanks to a moment of magic or a simple error, but sometimes a manager's tactical switch or why a team or player have hit form are worthy of further investigation. That is what this blog intends to do, with the help of expert opinion, tactical statistics and, of course, your ideas. 
Comment number 1.
At 13:23 18th May 2011, ben wrote:Great result for England, good to see we have two good England teams (despite what people say the men's team is good, if maybe a little tactically naive, they're just not the best) hopefully they show the world cup on TV because as of yet there hasn't been any mention of any stations picking it up. It would be a shame if they don't show it because this England team have a very good chance after some positive showings in previous tournaments.
With the likes of Kelly Smith who's been world class for years, Karen Carney, who is top goal scorer in the WSL and hopefully captain Faye White we have a great chance to have a successful tournament.
Hopefully people watch them on there own considerable merit instead of a reaction to what they conceive to be a poor men's team as that would be unfair as we don't consider the women's team when watching the men's team so why should it be any different.
With the men's u21's and the women teams looking good, I look forward to watching some awesome football this summer!
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Comment number 2.
At 13:37 18th May 2011, David Rolls wrote:An excellent game if not performance (1st half anyway).
It goes to show how far women's football has come in this country when we play badly against Sweden and are still level at half time, especially with some influencial players missing.
Well done to Jess Clarke as well. Here is a women fighting for her place in the team.
We have a really good chance of doing well in Germany this summer and I would like to wish all the ladies the very best of luck in the tournament - I for one will be cheering you on.
Good luck to Chelsea in the WSL - you can get back into the title race :)
Dave.
ps: Nice to see the BBC "finally" giving the women's game some exposure. You just have to improve the womens section by 100% and us fans will be happy :)
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Comment number 3.
At 14:44 18th May 2011, Reinasbaldhead wrote:1. At 13:23pm 18th May 2011, ben wrote:
Great result for England, good to see we have two good England teams
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Please tell me the 'other' England team is our cricket one?
If not, you need your head testing, the football team is awful and always have been and always will be until the grass roots of football is changed
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Comment number 4.
At 14:57 18th May 2011, Reinasbaldhead wrote:Good blog btw Alistair
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Comment number 5.
At 16:11 18th May 2011, Alistair M - BBC Sport wrote:#1 Ben there will be news of a broadcaster picking up the rights to some of the World Cup games but I cannot say who and I cannot tell you which games. Yet.
#2 David You are right about Jess Clarke, she looked very good against Sweden last night and did well against USA too. She provides real balance to the team with Rachel Yankey on the left, and with Alex Scott marauding down the wing from right-back that side of England's team is very strong and will cause problems for any team.
As for our coverage, I am hoping you have noticed a change in the women's page since the start of the WSL. It will hopefully only get better in the next month or two, but any feedback you have is always welcome.
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Comment number 6.
At 16:37 18th May 2011, David Rolls wrote:The WSL needs to have its own page & headings. At the moment you go to have a look at the table under "women", and the premier league is on top of the WSL - at the very least they should be the other way round. If the BBC wants to promote the WSL, which I assume it does, they should give it they own heading under "women" with all the information under a WSL heading. The other information on the English game could then be put into a sub-division heading. You could also put a separate one for the national teams of the home nations - especially with the world cup & olympics next year - it will give the players and the WSL more exposure.
As for Jess Clarke, she needs to play well every time she gets a chance because Yankey, Smith & Carney are in front of her for a start at present. I would like to see what she does on the left.
Alex Scott - best right back in the world (by a mile). She is the Dani Alves of the womens game and can defend !!!
As for coverage, in 2007 BBC2 picked up a hightlights show which last between 30 minutes and an hour every night. I hope they do the same but if they don't ESPN will be showing games as they annouced last night.
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Comment number 7.
At 17:21 18th May 2011, Antichthon wrote:Great to see how the team continues to develop under Powell. Shame that Katie Chapman's family commitments mean she is unavailable though - she would still be my ideal defensive midfielder.
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Comment number 8.
At 18:18 18th May 2011, spoonman wrote:According to my game notes the Swedish forwards were Forsberg and
Landstrom and the Swedish system was not rigid at all as it was a 4-4-2
in defensive shape and 4-3-3 while attacking with Schelin tucking in on
the right wing alongside Seger and Hammarstrom with Sjogran on the
opposite wing.
England were lucky not to be 2 or 3 nil down at half time and Powell
making 4 changes made the difference but I don't think for a second that
the win is due to a tactical flexibility as the England system is fairly
rigid with players staying in their designated area. The win was made
possible by the players performing well when coming on a subs and Sweden
inability to keep their defensive block as much as in the first half.
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Comment number 9.
At 19:15 18th May 2011, Richyyy wrote:There's basically no 'tactical flexibility' whatsoever in the England women's set up - Powell's been playing 4-3-3 and never deviated from it for about a decade. She's usually very reluctant to try anything else. That's not flexible, it's just a different starting point than 4-4-2.
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Comment number 10.
At 23:38 18th May 2011, Isle of Manc wrote:I am hoping you have noticed a change in the women's page since the start of the WSL. It will hopefully only get better in the next month or two
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Is this a joke Alistair?
Let me get this straight. The BBC are trying to make cuts so they decided to remove the 606 forum, all while revamping the Women's Football pages and coverage!? I'm pretty sure the 606 boards receive much more attention that a low quality, second rate football league does, so I don't see how this makes sense.
I'm not being sexist, because in my opinion, all sports should be integrated into one fair, multi-sex system; essentially ending women's football in general.
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Comment number 11.
At 08:29 19th May 2011, Helbee wrote:Really great that you plan to update the Women's football page in the light of the new professional league. It would be fantastic if you could show some coverage of the Women's World Cup as I enjoyed watching England play in the final last time on the BBC. Do you have any plans to pick up games if England progress?
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Comment number 12.
At 09:56 19th May 2011, ben wrote:3: reinasbaldhead-
"Please tell me the 'other' England team is our cricket one?
If not, you need your head testing, the football team is awful and always have been and always will be until the grass roots of football is changed"
Always awful? we've won a world cup, but then I guess every other country has done that.
Jonathan Wilson makes a great point in his book 'Inverting the pyramid' in which he makes very valid points concerning peoples own opinions regarding their own national teams, such as the fact that Brasillians consistently bemoan their own performances, wishing they had the tactical knowledge of the Italians all the while the Italians wish they had the physical prowess and mental strength of the English, and surprise surprise the English wish they had the technical ability of the Brasillians.
He also states that English football is not in decline as many English would have you believe, several quarter finals and a semi is not decline. Hungary, after having a team every nation envied in 1950s and smashed England 6-3 in 1954, now fail to make it to fifa top 100 rankings. And what about Uruguay, twice winners, only reaching a semi for the first time for 50 odd years in South Africa.
The fact is we, being from England, are incredibly fortunate to be good and one of only 10 teams genuinely in with a chance of winning any major tournament we enter in a sport we love so much. we praise Spain yet they have only just come good, the same for France, at least we have ALWAYS been consistent.
So whether it is our men's, Women's or youth level, we are and will continue to be a top footballing nation.
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Comment number 13.
At 11:08 19th May 2011, Chris the happy hammer wrote:Good blog Alistair and it's got me thinking. I think Hope Powell would be an excellent choice as the next manager of my beloved hammers.
Be interesting to see what others think.
COYI.
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Comment number 14.
At 11:20 19th May 2011, Alistair M - BBC Sport wrote:richyy - the point about flexibility is compared to the men's team. Playing 4-3-3 is not something you see often from them, although I understand that some of the England youth teams play this way and I have to say it is a system I prefer, both to watch, coach and play in. Like you say, different starting positions perhaps, but allows the team to be a lot more fluid and avoid playing in straight lines.
helbee - there might be some news on this front very soon.
Chris the happy hammer - personally I would love to see Hope Powell manage in the mens game. She has said in the past she would consider it if offered a position. You just wonder if she fancies a change, although she is building something of a dynasty with the England womens team and I get the impression that momentum is building on that front as we head into the World Cup
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Comment number 15.
At 12:06 19th May 2011, Bellion-Wonderland wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 16.
At 12:22 19th May 2011, Christopher wrote:I really hope Queen Fara regains her fitness quickly. She's the lynchpin of the midfield, as you so rightly observed against the USA and the middle of the pitch didn't really cope well without her against Sweden, although they settled as the game went on.
More coverage of the women's game please. Would it hurt to show brief highlights on Football Focus or Match of the Day? I sigh everytime I watch the BBC screen a match and have the usual natter of BBC pundits saying that the sport deserves more coverage. If only the BBC had some way of being able to film and show highlights on a TV screen...
Not in favour of live WSL matches though. I think the game needs to build a proper fanbase of people that are willing to pay to go to matches without having their head turned by them being screened live on BBC3.
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