Ex-England and Arsenal striker Alan Smith believes Harry Kane’s poor performances for England at the Euros have opened the door for Daniel Sturridge, and believes both he and Jamie Vardy will start against Slovakia, as reported by Sky Sports.
Smith believes England boss Roy Hodgson will go for a bit of a change in formation, with Raheem Sterling’s anonymous performances and the lack of options on the wing forcing him to go with two up front.
He has tipped England to use a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Sturridge and Vardy leading the line together.
“It’s a game we don’t need to win but I think Sturridge and Vardy will play and that might mean he goes to a diamond in the way that he did in the second half against Wales, with Wayne Rooney just at the tip of it,” he said.
Kane has unquestionably been disappointing for England, and after a stellar season with Tottenham he looks totally exhausted. You don’t want to drop a player with a knee-jerk reaction and dent their confidence (although a low confidence Kane next season wouldn’t be the worst thing), but Sturridge is quite clearly more of a goal threat at the moment and deserves a start after his performance against Wales.
Despite the praise coming England’s way for their performances in the first two games, against better teams they surely would have struggled. The complete lack of goal threat and their inability to takes chances would surely have caused problems, but with Vardy and Sturridge in the side that should change.
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Sturridge’s injury problems are obviously a huge concern for both club and country, but when fully fit he’s absolutely deadly and should be one of the first names on the teamsheet.