England 1-2 Spain: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#2 Jesse Lingard should play between the lines; Eric Dier’s arrival turns things around

Lingard was more influential when Dier was introduced on the field

England’s primary creative outlet in this setup is Jesse Lingard, whose decoy runs from the inner right channels and the ability to quickly interlink the passes, whilst playing one touch on the move bring a new dimension to England’s gameplay.

However, when Spain exposed the lack of solidarity in England’s midfield owing to the ineffectiveness of Henderson, Lingard was way too deeper than his desired position to have an impact over the proceedings.

His strengths are when he plays ahead of the halfway line, making himself ready for the final pass and then charging up ahead whilst looking for openings in the opposition’s backline on either side.

For having to break Spain’s authority over the possession, Lingard was forced to drop into the defensive midfield area, and thus consequently he was expected to make the final pass, rather than receive one as such.

This significantly reduced his impact in the final third and England seemed to lack the creative edge in attack.

However, once Eric Dier replaced Henderson on the field, the entire system changed and suddenly England pushed higher up on the pitch and moved the ball around faster with more intent as such.

Dier did everything that Henderson couldn’t as the Spurs’ man looked to be more composed when caught in possession and always looked at different outlets to ensure that England were in the attacking front during the last half hour or so.

He played a couple of long balls to the flanks, and as Spain shifted narrower to defend the perceived incoming cross, Lingard sensed and capitalized on the opportunity to move up ahead unmarked and made himself ready to receive the pass.

He offered much more movement and the ability to create space with his runs after Dier’s introduction on the field. Lingard looked livelier in the final third, often picking out passes either to the flanks or to Rashford on the inner channels.

This clearly indicates that he should have played between the lines for a better duration of the game. However, that could have been possible only through the arrival of a more reliable defensive enforcer, like Dier.