Substitutions are a work of art in football, and Roy Hodgson was an unlikely Picasso this evening.
After naming an unchanged line-up, much to the surprise of many, England were dull and haphazard in the first-half, while Wales were hardly better.
For all their possession, England were far too slow and it took one moment of magic for Gareth Bale to quite literally tear right through the England soul.
Enter a double-substitution by Roy Hodgson that changed the entire outlook of the game.
Here’s what we learned from the match:
‘Battle of Britain’ delivers
It was the most hotly anticipated match of the group stage and did it have a late delivery. Daniel Sturridge bobbed up with the late-winner to breath life into England’s quest to top Group B, getting the deserved win against a gallant Wales outfit. A match that produced a deafening atmosphere in Lens with Wales on the international stage for the first time since 1958. Perhaps this match might have been the birth of a modern football rivalry where the discrepancy between both sides is as small as it has ever been.
‘Woy Woy’ weaves his wand at half-time
Not necessarily known for being a daring manager, Roy Hodgson needed to pull the rabbit out of the hat at half-time and instead he pulled out Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy. They replaced Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, collectively offering next to zero in the first-half and only assisting Wales in swallowing up the England defence by being so narrow. Straight away both were involved, with a natural lift among all the English players clearly visible.
England’s opener culminated from work between the pair – Sturridge the provider as Vardy poked a fortuitous finish in from a seemingly offside position, only made legal because of a touch from Welsh defender Ashley Williams. 1-1. Half of the double-act then popped up again late in the match, with Sturridge getting on the end of scrappy bit of play started by the brilliant Danny Rose. 2-1 and England win. Necessarily risky from ‘Woy Woy’ and some tactical nous the English fans had been waiting for.
‘Super-Bale’ follows the script
There’s a hero and villain in every story. Gareth Bale is not only the world’s most expensive footballer, he is the equivalent of Superman in Wales, and Joe Hart Lex Luthor. Bale’s free-kick finish toward the latter stages of the first-half gave Wales the lead, completely against the run of play, thanks to the inept keeping from Hart.
Perhaps fooled by distractions in the wall or the late dip in the strike, but Hart was solely to blame for Wales’ opener which was very saveable. The (temporary) hero however now has two set-piece goals in two matches and only strengthening his status on the international football stage. Some player.
– Domenic Favata in Lens
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