“We’ve seen it all before.” And yet, we might just be about to see it again.
It’s yet another sense of deja vu, isn't it? Pre-tournament optimism, the hope of a different England that can live up to expectation, smashed within 90 minutes of Football. Suddenly, we’re looking down the barrel of a gun whereby our nearest and (not quite so) dearest neighbours have the chance to not only embarrass us on the biggest stage, but all-but eliminate us from the Championships too.
England.
The most frustrating thing, is that it shouldn’t be this way. We deserved to win, comfortably. And we had less than 2 minutes of stoppage time to hang on, a result that would’ve given us crucial breathing space at the top of the group with our Welsh counterparts.
Vasili Berezutski’s heartbreaking 92nd minute equaliser now sets up a mouthwatering all-British clash on Thursday in which England simply cannot afford to lose, with even a draw doing us little favours.
As pointed out by Craig Bellamy, the opening draw for England can work both for and against a Welsh side able to play with freedom and significantly less expectation weighted on their shoulders. In a way, it will really fire up Roy Hodgson’s men and (hopefully) force them to come out all guns blazing, playing attacking, positive football as we look to pick up the three points, forcing pressure on a Welsh defence that on paper is lacking, and on the field really has not been put to the test.
The flip-side is that this could very much leave the English exposed, allowing the creative minds of Bale, Ramsey, and Williams to push forward in space and punish us on the counter, Robson-Kanu adding impetus off the bench against Slovakia and leading the line with vigour as he grabbed the all-important winning goal.
Wales will also be boosted by the likely return of number-one stopper Wayne Hennessey, though his ‘highlights’ package from the Premier League season just gone with Crystal Palace suggests this may in-fact be a boost for England.
What Hodgson draws up as the Three Lions’ battle-plan will be most interesting. The level of performance against Russia suggested it was an effective lineup, but the inability to punish the opposition and see off the game opened major questions to the absence of a certain Jamie Vardy. Many would rather see him start (nevermind even get on the pitch), with Sterling and Lallana the likely men to face the chop after inconsistent performances in the opener.
But whatever happens, please can we take Harry Kane off corners?
Personally, I feel we could do much worse than going with Wilshere from the off, securing the midfield and helping us to control the tempo of the game before unleashing Sterling with his pace and trickery against the tiring legs of the Welsh defence. But what do I know?
It’s the first meeting between the sides at a major tournament, and despite the supporters off-the-field coming together to fight off incomprehensible attacks, there will be surely no love lost on the field. With familiar faces on both sides, it almost feels like a club game and it is up to messeurs Hodgson and Coleman to not fall into the trap of over-compensating for the other’s usual tactics and find a way to outsmart and outplay the other.
If Coleman’s players are willing to fight for every second ball, sit deep chasing the ball for long periods and give anything to fly forward in support for counter-attacks, they have every chance of grabbing a huge result again.
England fans must though take the positives from the Russia game, and believe that our class, tournament experience and determination to right the wrongs of Marseille will see us safely through this encounter.
Only adding to the spice of this British derby were comments made from inside both camps today, a sporadic outburst of trash-talking on both sides making the headlines.
Bale already claims England, the players and it's fans "have bit" after he claimed the Welsh were more patriotic. And now the free-scoring forward has said that "none" of the England players would be good enough to get into Chris Coleman's side.
"There aren't any! We focus on ourselves, others comment on them," added Bale, who doesn't feel players like Rooney, Kane, Alli, Dier or Hart are good enough to start for Wales.
Jack Wilshere ensured we gave as good as we got, suggesting the red-men "big themselves up before they've done anything".
Let’s hope the talk now transfers into a feisty, competitive game, where Three Lions can let their football do the talking and get back on track in this tournament!
Come on England!