The full-back claims that the Three Lions were suffering from fatigue against the Italians, which ultimately caused their departure from the European Championships.
Roy Hodgson’s troops were on the end of a severe bashing from the Azzurri, who completely dominated proceedings in Kiev.
Armed to the tooth with sublime talents, Cesare Prandelli sent out a team with attacking verve and they had England on the back foot from the very start. Daniele De Rossi’s superbly taken volley rattled the bar in the opening stages and it set the tone for
the two hours that followed.
While http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 were clearly the ones dictating the tempo, the English chose to park the bus and rely on their robust defenders rather than facing the former World Champions head-on.
As a result, the likes of Andrea Pirlo ran rings around http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steven-Gerrard-c34196 and Scott Parker but were unable to get the breakthrough even after extra-time. A penalty shoot-out ensued and with a history of breaking down twelve yards from goal, England choked and
were sent home packing.
While many have blamed the philosophy of defensive football for the defeat, Liverpool’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Glen-Johnson-c15050 claims that the team was too tired to push forward and instead stood back and absorbed as much pressure as they could.
"There were times when we gave the ball away cheaply. If we’ve got the ball, the opposition are working that bit harder. We definitely need to keep the ball better and then, when we do go forward, we will be a bit fresher to cause them more problems.”
“We worked well as a team, we defended well and we caused them a few problems. They had the majority of possession and, when you haven’t got the ball, you are working that bit harder. When we did have the ball, we weren’t fresh enough to cause as much damage
as we would have liked,” he said.
After their exit, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 now face a stern test in turning around their fortunes, as a large number of their major players are winding down their careers. The team has several youngsters coming through and the fans can only hope that Roy Hodgson chooses
to give them a chance rather than opting for the tried and tested.
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