Sam Allardyce will oversee his first game as national manager on Sunday confident a group of players scarred by the manner of their exit from the summer’s European Championship will prove England are “back on track” in Slovakia.
He took the unusual step of naming his side on Friday in order to focus minds before the opening Group F fixture in qualification for the World Cup, with eight of those who will begin in the City Arena having started the humiliating loss to Iceland in Nice at the end of June. The other three were all in Roy Hodgson’s squad in France.
There is an acceptance within the revamped coaching setup that this group of players, who enjoyed a pristine qualification record before Euro 2016, must now regain the faith of the public for the Russia World Cup in two years’ time.
“It’s so far away at the moment, that tournament, I can only focus on this game,” said Allardyce. “Hopefully the fans who are here will go home very happy with what they see and those back home watching on television will turn off the telly saying: ‘England are back on track and looked great.’
“The nation was proud of the team up to the Iceland game. It was only that result which turned everyone against them. It was a hugely disappointing result for everyone, and none more so than them [the players].
“Everyone involved in England hurt that night, but the players more than anyone else. There’s a perception that they don’t hurt, but they do. It’s something we have to try and achieve again, where 2014-16 was a fantastic ride for this young team.
“I just hope they gain in confidence, get there and then do better when they get there in Russia 2018 … I have a very talented squad. In the Euros it was the youngest average age, and this squad can only mature and get better.”
Wayne Rooney, who will become England’s most capped outfield player when he leads the side out, likened this fixture to the opening European qualifier in Switzerland two years ago. That was arguably the hardest match in that group and was won 2-0, courtesy of two Danny Welbeck goals.
“The last game for us was Iceland, and it ended in great disappointment,” he said of that last-16 defeat. “So it’s important to get back out there and into a game again, a match similar to that one against Switzerland two years ago on the back of a World Cup which had been a disaster for us.
“That Switzerland game away gave us a huge amount of confidence to go through the qualification campaign unbeaten and then into the tournament itself. It’s a chance to do that again, to look forward rather than back.
“We’re a close group of players but, since we’ve met up, it’s been about the game tomorrow rather than looking back. You can always wonder what might have been if we’d done things differently, but it’s not going to change anything. We have to look forward.”
Allardyce admitted he will be nervous before his first game in charge, a role he recognises is “the best job for me at this stage of my life”, but he is convinced he has picked “the strongest team to beat Slovakia ” to ensure that England start the group with a morale-boosting victory.
Harry Kane, scoreless at Euro 2016 and without a club goal this season, will lead the line, with Jordan Henderson drafted into midfield. There is hope that Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling, whose performances drew criticism in the summer, will be revived by recent events: the goalkeeper with his loan move to Torino, and Sterling with his form under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. John Stones, another whose confidence has been buoyed at the Etihad stadium this season, will earn an 11th cap, having not played in France.
The Manchester United left-back, Luke Shaw, had not been selected for the game and did not travel to Slovakia after suffering discomfort in the right leg he broke so horrifically in a Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven almost a year ago. The 21-year-old has returned to Carrington for treatment as a precaution, though Allardyce is confident he will be fit and available for next Saturday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
“It’s a slight problem with the leg, but I don’t think it’ll keep him out too long,” Allardyce said. “A little ache, muscular. He felt a little uncomfortable with it and, with what he’s been through, we didn’t want to take a chance. It’s the calf where the break was.
“He’s done exceptionally well given the games he’s played, but he didn’t feel comfortable so the wise thing to do was send him back to United. He wasn’t starting anyway. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t OK for United’s next game.”
