Hart - 7 - Solid and generally confidence inspiring for the defence, though I wish he'd come for the cross on that Balotelli goal. It was in the air long enough if he was positioned properly.
Baines - 6 - disappointing in both defence and attack, it only needed the attacking player to cut inside to leave him for dead. Maybe Shaw against Uruguay ?
Jagielka - 7 - very solid all night.
Cahill - 7 - Should mention it was poor from Cahill to leave Balotelli, there was nothing in front of him and he should have stuck to him, otherwise the CBs played very well.
Johnson - 7 - just don't get the haters on here. I should realise that they will stick the boot in, even when unwarranted, just because they hate his face. Solid game in defence, midfield and attack (it was Italy - do you seriously think a FB is going to romp through their defence - that was Sterling's/Sturridge's/Rooney's job). Kept possession well and was one of the main fulcrums between defence and attack. Comparisons to Italy's RB are disingenuous because Italy's set-up was completely different.
Gerrard - 7 - against a solid defence his passing often helped us spread the game. Picked off loose passes and kept possession well, don't remember him giving it up once.
Henderson - 6 - usual energy which was always going to tell against him in the heat.humidity. Solid without adding anything special.
Welbeck - 7 - a very good first half where he gelled well with Sterling/Sturridge, but faded in the second.
Rooney - 5 - One pass aside (a beaut.) he really contributed nothing of note. Shouldn't be starting but is undroppable.
Sturridge - 7.5 - His pace and control was a constant thorn in their side and he took his goal superbly. A striker full of confidence.
Sterling - 8.5 - He simply terrified them. Once they realised how good he is they doubled/tripled up on him whenever he was in possession and often this still didn't stop him. Still needs to work on his shooting/crossing. He and Sturridge looked a world-class partnership in the making.
Lallana - Not enough time to properly assess - looked like he could do a lot more than Rooney given more minutes.
Barkley - 5 - constantly gave away possession, one good run and shot. Not a positive impression but maybe not the right match/team for him.
Wilshere - 6 - Hardly noticed him. Would have been better to keep Henderson on though he was fading in the heat/humidity. Totally over-rated player.
Budgie - 8.5 : Fat toad sitting crunched up on the sidelines. Still, that shouldn't detract from the fact he put out the team we all wanted to see (and realistically he was never going to drop Rooney). Kudos. Made his subs early and benched the right players. Only mistakes he made were maybe pulling Serling over to the right and Barkley instead of Lallana, a matador not a picador was required. Unfortunate maybe in that neither Barkley nor Wilshere made any impact.
Conditions :
The heat & humidity meant we were unable to 'defend-from-front'. It should be better in other locations ........
".......especially on a day in which playing football was difficult,”
Marchisio told Sky Italia in reference to the humid conditions in the Amazonian city. “In certain moments, due to the hot temperature, it felt like we were having hallucinations."
Pirlo said: “We have suffered, but the hot climate was incredible.
Uruguay : same team. Maybe I'd consider Shaw for Baines though maybe Uruguay will suit Baines better though I think not with Cavani /Suarez. Rooney should be dropped but won't be so pointless debating it.
Two sets of stats :
ESPN : England 18 shots (8) and Italy 12 (5). Possession 48-52%
OPTA:
