England U21 1-3 Norway U21: Tactical Player Report

englandnorway

Jo Inge Berget

Part of Solksjaer’s Molde side, Jo Inge Berget is one to watch out for in the near future. With two Norwegian titles already to his name, he made a good case for himself on Saturday night at the Hamoshava Stadium.

Berget was meant to play on the right side of attack; but with England’s pressure naturally become more narrow and central, he attempted to drift wide as often as possible, doing so as the game wore on, with England leaving lots of gaps to exploit at the back. Although Berget usually plays further forward, we got to see a part of his deeper game, and he didn’t fail to impress.

He showed immense maturity to sit deep and distribute balls, also attempting a couple of accurate cross-field balls. He had a decent passing ability, something he wasn’t able to showcase effectively enough as Norway were pegged back for much of the game. But despite that he did show his vision to pick out a pass, creating three goal-scoring opportunities. His game was largely deep at the start, but he began to naturally venture forward at the later stages, and we got to see a whole different side of his ability.

In a more attacking zone, he showcased his impressive first touch. He is immensely good on the ball and, though lacking in terms of pace, does have a few decent touches and tricks to get past his opponent. On the ball, he has a sense of calmness and isn’t rushed into an error even in the face of constant pressure.

His moment of magic came in the 34th minute. After a good run forward into space not tracked by the English defence, Berget received the ball perfectly onto his path from Pedersen’s touch, and he smashed it past Jack Butland in the England goal.

Tom Ince

England v Norway - UEFA European U21 Championships: Group A

After England’s toothless performance against Italy in the previous game, Pearce was quick to admit that England were “awful and stagnant”. With the likes of Ince and Rose back from suspension and Zaha back from injury, England looked the stronger and more exciting team on paper. Coming up against a Norway side they had beaten twice in qualifying, the stage was set for England to get 3 crucial points on the board.

And they started brightly enough. Norway started the game deep, and in the first 10 minutes England looked surprisingly assured. Playing the ball out from the back and the link-up between winger and the overlapping full back on both flanks were reasons for optimism. Although England did enjoy the lion’s share of possession, their lack of creativity was there for all to see. The fact that Pearce switched positions, and eventually even the system, didn’t help matters.

In what was ultimately a laboured performance from the Three Lions, there were a few players who did impress in patches. Nathaniel Chalobah, who replaced Shelvey in the starting line up, made a good start to the game with his distribution from deep pivotal in England’s good start. Shelvey himself improved the tempo of the side after coming off the bench in the 2nd half. However, it was Tom Ince who produced the most eye-catching display.

The Blackpool youngster started on the right and was heavily involved in England’s early attacks. Ince was not shy to take on defenders and run at them. With good dribbling ability, Ince has the gift of ghosting past players with good close control with his left foot. His aforementioned dribbling ability also results in him winning a fair share of free kicks. And it is more often than not Ince who dusts himself off to step up and take them. Dead ball delivery is another of his impressive traits with his free kick resulting in Caulker’s disallowed goal towards the end of the 1st half. Ince did fade from the game as it wore on, but to be fair he didn’t get the kind of service that he and Zaha would thrive on.

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Edited by Staff Editor
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