England stepped up their preparations for the summer’s World Cup finals with a confidence-boosting Cyprus Cup triumph, the striker Lianne Sanderson’s goal giving Mark Sampson’s team a 1-0 win against Canada in Wednesday’s final at Larnaca’s GSZ Stadium.
Two wins and a draw in their three group games had preceded the final, and Sampson will be happy with a tournament performance that gave him lots of positives following back-to-back friendly international defeats by the world’s top two teams, Germany and USA.
In a competition whose main importance was World Cup preparation rather than winning the Cyprus Cup, the head coach used different combinations match to match throughout his team’s lineup as he looked for what will hopefully be a winning formula to take to Canada for the summer’s world finals.
After the chastening experience of November’s 3-0 Wembley defeat by Germany, who clinically exploited Sampson’s attack-based diamond midfield formation, the coach opted for a more pragmatic approach which almost earned a draw in last month’s 1-0 defeat by USA and in Cyprus employed the same 4-4-2 lineup in each of the four matches.
Though the formation remained constant Sampson rang the changes in personnel as every player in the 23-strong squad was given ample game time. He made nine changes from the first game to the second, seven for the third group game and then nine again for the final.
With several regulars missing through injury, he on occasion used players out of their usual positions to assess and improve the squad versatility that will be required in the eventuality of injury problems either before or after arriving in Canada.
The coach’s experimentation was generally successful and, with just one more friendly – against China at Manchester City’s new Academy Stadium next month – left to play before heading to Canada, he will have the vast majority of his squad pencilled in.
Whether he knows his best starting XI is perhaps a different matter, with competition for places stronger than at any time since the team managed by the former head coach Hope Powell reached the 2009 European Championship final.
All four of the squad’s strikers performed well in Cyprus with three of them, Chelsea’s Eniola Aluko, Arsenal’s Lianne Sanderson and the Portland Thorns player Jodie Taylor sharing eight goals, Taylor netting a hat-trick in the 3-0 group win against Australia.
Better finishing from the players around them will be needed if the team is to flourish in Canada, however, and the strikers will need greater support than they received at times from the midfield in Cyprus. Too often when the ball was struck into the final third the midfielders failed to get forward quickly enough to join in attacking moves.
There was some impressive defensive midfield work, though, including a solid return to the England fold of the Chelsea midfielder Katie Chapman after four years of international exile owing to childcare issues now resolved for the mother of three.
The defence conceded only one goal from open play throughout the tournament, a pleasing statistic for Sampson though his back four were occasionally caught out by the pace and guile of players such as the Holland midfielder Danielle van de Donk. But the defensive make-up of the squad was, to be fair, three players short because of injuries affecting the captain Steph Houghton, her Manchester City colleague Lucy Bronze and Arsenal’s Casey Stoney.
Sampson’s squad seem, as the coach put it, “in a good place” with the start of the World Cup less than three months away. Another two or three warm-up games, not just one, would be handy, but if England continue the momentum they have built up in these last four outings they can head to Canada with confidence.
What went well
Team spirit: after the disarray that led to a disastrous Euro 2013, the harmony in the squad built by Sampson in his 15 months at the helm appears to be strong.
Eni Aluko’s goals: the Chelsea striker scored twice to take her impressive recent run to 19 goals in her last 27 appearances. If she can continue her scoring streak into the World Cup she will be England’s likely top scorer.
Katie Chapman’s: the Chelsea captain has been missed during her four years away from international duty. Her combative approach at the base of midfield helps protect the back four and can also be the springboard for attacks.
What went not so well
Apart from Aluko, hat-trick scorer Taylor and Sanderson, the finishing was not up to scratch.
The defence was generally solid enough but on occasions was sliced through by opponents attacking with pace and finesse.
A knee injury to the captain Houghton, who will miss next month’s meeting with China but should be fit for the World Cup
Star player
Eni Aluko : she showed her growing confidence in front of goal, which, added to her blistering pace, will make her a difficult opponent for whoever England face at the World Cup.
Aluko was England’s star performer but the player of the tournament was the Scotland playmaker and golden boot winner Kim Little, an inspirational captain who hit five of her team’s seven goals including a hat-trick in the final day 3-1 win against the Netherlands.
Goal of the tournament
Aluko’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands. Collecting the ball midway inside the Dutch half and near the right touchline, the Chelsea striker went on a diagonal run that took her past four defenders and into the left-hand side of the penalty area before striking home a 10-yard shot.
Improvements needed for World Cup
Apart from the strikers’ goals, too many scoring opportunities were not taken and the team’s finishing will have to be sharper to get the results required to progress beyond the group stage, never mind to be successful in the knockout rounds.
Sampson’s 4-4-2 formation is proving more solid defensively, but against the strongest opponents – as was shown in last month’s 1-0 defeat by USA – a quicker transition from defence to attack, with more players supporting the strikers, is vital.
