There is a lot to work to do for Allardyce and several players need to up their game or face the chop – in particular the labouring Kane and sloppy Rooney. But still, a win is a win. England have three points on the board. Slovakia, who ended up with 10 men after Martin Skrtel was sent off, are grim to watch when they sit back like that but should get results against the lesser teams in this group. Thanks for reading – and for your emails and tweets, even the rude ones. Until next time!
Full-time! Slovakia 0-1 England
And that’s it. England win in Allardyce’s first game in charge thanks to Lallana’s first international goal. It was not pretty for long spells and it took 65 minutes for a shot on target but their pressure persevered and the visitors found a way. A win to be filed in the drawer marked ugly.
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GOAL! Slovakia 0-1 England (Lallana)
90 min +5: It’s happened! Rose does well to get in a low cross from the left. It is deflected off Kubik and into the Liverpool player’s path. Surrounded by players, he composes himself and finds a way past Kozacik.
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90 min +4: Walcott sends a cross in but it’s cleared.
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90 min +3: Play restarts but Stones commits a foul deep in Slovakia’s half. That will use up another 30 seconds.
90 min: There will be four minutes added on. But it will become more because Kozacik has sat down and taken a rest. The trainer is coming on for him.
90 min: Sturridge is under pressure from Kiss and the ball reaches the patch of Walcott and unmarked three yards out, he finds the net. But he is certainly offside. England protest but it is the correct call.
90 min: Walcott finds the net but it is offside!
89 min: Sturridge cuts in from the left and tries to curl past Kozacik from 25 yards. It’s easy for the Slovakia goalkeeper.
86 min: It is all England now but there is no way through. Rooney picks out Walcott with an accurate pass but the substitute is both offside and unable to find the target from a decent position.
85 min: Lallana has a pop after being fed by Stones. The shot drags across goal and wide.
84 min: Walcott completes a decent move for the first time since coming on, almost finding Sturridge with a cross from the right. But the substitute is a whisker away from cleanly connecting a few yards from goal.
83 min: Rooney, growing increasingly desperate, has a shot from 25 yards blocked by one of the wall of Slovakia defenders in front of him. He needs to be more clever than that.
81 min: Daniel Sturridge is Allardyce’s final switch, coming on for Kane. Rooney, by the way, went down very easily.
80 min: Rooney goes down in the box under pressure after a cross from the right by Walker. It’s hard to say on first viewing whether it should be a penalty or not.
78 min: Slovakia’s final sub sees Kiss come on for the lively Svento.
76 min: And now Lallana’s pot shot hits the post. Walcott’s rebound is completely mishit but then Lallana shoots again, only to be denied by Kozacik. In the words of Andy Townsend: “better!”
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76 min: Alli plays a good ball towards Walcott on the right but the Arsenal player’s first touch is shocking and the break falls apart.
75 min: Hamsik has been very quiet today.
72 min: Slovakia make their second change. Kubik replaces Mak, who was one of the hosts’ best performers.
71 min: Rooney fails to hit the target with his free-kick.
70 min: The referee gives England a free-kick after Durica fouls Alli but the Spurs player had a definite advantage. It is Sterling who is coming off for Walcott.
69 min: Theo Walcott is getting ready to come on. For, you suspect, Lallana.
68 min: Alli, at least, looks to have a bit more zip. Rooney finds him in the area but he is crowded out by white shirts.
66 min: Rooney shoots from a little under 25 yards and Kozacik parries. Alli almost gets to the rebound but it ends with a corner. The pressure is finally being piled on. That is England’s first shot on target!
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64 min: Alli is finally coming on, for Henderson. And he looks to be taking over a more advanced role.
64 min: A good chance for Lallana, who still has not scored an international goal. Walker sends a tasty ball forward for Henderson, who flicks it back to his Liverpool team-mate. Lallana lacks composure and blasts wide off his left.
Style watch: “Watching this on the Spanish channel in the US,” emails Luke Crane. “Boring as hell but I did notice that while Skrtel (doesn’t he get sent off every game) was stamping on Kane, that he is sporting hair on his head rather than the shaved to the bone. A much better look for him. He looks handsome. Almost.”
61 min: Svento sends a dangerous cross in from the left but Rose covers well under pressure from Mak to head away for a corner. Mak takes and Henderson gets rid.
60 min: Dele Alli is being readied to come on. Meanwhile, Lallana tries to find Rooney from the right but there’s too much weight on the cross and Slovakia will have a throw-in on their right flank.
Skrtel is sent off for a second yellow
58 min: Should have had a bet on that when mentioned earlier. This is oh so predictable. He wins the ball off Kane, who then goes to ground after a fair but firm challenge. However Skrtel follows through and nastily stamps on Kane’s calf. That is ugly and he deserves a straight red, but it’s a pair of yellows. Just before that Gyomber replaced Pecovsky.
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56 min: Slovakia win a couple of corners. Mak delivers outswingers from the right on both ocassions but neither lead to a clearcut opportunity for the hosts.
53 min: Rooney picks out Henderson with an improved delivery sent towards the back stick. The Liverpool midfielder heads across goal but Kozacik claims it.
52 min: Skrtel has generally been comfortable when up against Kane but, on a yellow, he launches into a silly challenge on the left. It’s just a foul but what odds the centre half failing to complete the match?
51 min: Kane gets half a sight of goal but cannot connect cleanly. Scrap that earlier mention of a formation change, Rooney is back in midfield.
50 min: Henderson shoots high and wide from range. That’s not going to bother anybody but the supporters behind the Slovakian keeper’s goal.
48 min: From the corner the ball breaks to Sterling and his shot is deflected out for another. The second time, Dier is penalised for being a little too physical in the area. Kozacik will take the free out.
48 min: England have switched to the 4-2-3-1 we all expected before the game!
47 min: Sterling backheels between Pekarik’s legs and the defender frustratedly then fouls the England player. The free is taken short to Sterling on the left, via Kane, and England win a corner.
Restarted!
46 min: Slovakia restart. And the stand across from the TV camera looks pretty much empty. Can you blame them for spending a little longer getting a bite and a sip?
The players are back out.
“Same as it ever was”
Some of your half-time thoughts
“Rooney being picked, then made captain, makes little sense,” emails Carlos Escobedo. “Great club player but awful England player. He carries all of the negativity, pessimism and and losing ways of all the recent England teams. Let’s make someone like Dier or Cahill the captain and leave Rooney back at home, please!”
@alansmith90 It must give Wayne Rooney incredible encouragement, to know that no matter how lousy he plays he's in the team regardless
— Dan Pressland (@SteelyCityDan) September 4, 2016
“Who was the last manager that England players actually enjoyed playing for? Sir Bobby?” asks Scott Stricker.
@alansmith90 Question from abroad: why do you English pay Rooney 300.000 pounds per week, yet seem confused week in & out hes not 10% that?
— Frank_Lopez (@Frank_Lopez_123) September 4, 2016
“England’s consistency is worthy of the highest praise,” writes Juan Carlos Escandell. “Even the inspired appointment of Allardyce hasn’t affected the team.”
If there's to be another referendum, it should be a straight yes/no vote on whether Danny Drinkwater should start for England @alansmith90
— Daniel J Rice (@itsnotvatsimple) September 4, 2016
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Half-time: Slovakia 0-0 England
45 min +1: The half ends with Rooney finding Rose in the box but he is tackled by Skrtel and both end up injured. If we are being kind, it’s not been vintage.
45 min: Pleasingly, there will be one minute added on.
43 min: Skrtel is in a tussle with Kane and the striker hits the deck but play continues. Some referees may have given the former Liverpool a second yellow for that.
43 min: Rooney picks up possession in his own half and tries to play a simple sideways pass to Dier but, inexplicably, he gives it straight to Mak. Awful.
42 min: Durica leaps and gets it away with Kane lurking behind him.
41 min: Kane has actually had a shot. It’s deflected out for a corner by Skrtel. Cahill and Stones are up, Rooney will take.
40 min: Skrtel has really been doing a job on Kane so far. He is too strong and too wise, despite getting that booking earlier on.
39 min: Ok, this is better. Kane cuts the ball in towards Sterling. He composes himself well but shoots across goal and narrowly wide. That is the first shot of the game.
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38 min: England’s response: a dreadful, pointless pump forward from Wayne Rooney.
38 min: What a chance for Slovakia. Rose is robbed in his own box by Pekarik, who then gives it to Duris. The lone striker plays a low cross towards Svento but he just fails to connect.
Early days and all but this is fair based on the opening 37 minutes.
The only difference I can see Big Sam having made is to have left our best player at home. Crosses awful, backwards play, ... @alansmith90
— ToffTwits (@ToffTwits) September 4, 2016
35 min: Yep, this time Henderson gives it away. But Slovakia cannot keep the ball either and England will continue to play it conservatively across the defence.
34 min: Duris tries to cross from the right but Stones covers the angle, giving Slovakia their first corner of the evening? Mak puts in an outswinger and Hart is fouled. The free out is taken short and England will, suffice to say, pass it about ponderously for another minute before conceding possession with a misplaced ball forward.
33 min: England play it around the back and Hart passes to Stones, who is closed down by Mak and subsequently fouled. From the free-kick a long ball is played forward towards Kane. He is offside.
32 min: Who is looking forward to the return of the Premier League?
31 min: Joe Hart shanks a clearance into touch.
30 min: Cahill commits a pointless foul on Gregus near halfway, and at the same point Rooney is the deepest of all England players, closer to Hart than both Cahill and Stones.
29 min: Uefa’s press kit says the pitch is in “excellent” condition. They may need to revise that – there are divots everywhere.
27 min: It is sent towards Stones but Kozacik is out to claim, a tad more confidently than the last cross he faced from that side of the pitch.
26 min: Rooney pumps the ball in and Skrtel heads it away for a corner. The England captain jogs over to take it.
25 min: Ouch! Harry Kane takes one on the nose from Martin Skrtel’s left elbow when battling to win a long ball. It’s not intentional but it’s a free kick about 35 yards from Kozacik’s goal and the Slovakia centre-half earns a yellow card. Kane will receive some treatment but he should be fine.
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24 min: Henderson picks out another smart Sterling run but the attacker slips and Slovakia have a goal-kick. The pitch appears to be cutting up quite badly here.
22 min: A good chance for the hitherto anonymous Kane. Walker sends an excellent low cross in and the striker’s swinging boot meets nothing but the fresh air of Trnava.
19 min: That counter yields a throw-in, from where Dier sends an average cross towards Kozacik. It should be bread and butter but the goalkeeper spills it under pressure from that renowned aerial presence Raheem Sterling. At the second time of asking he keeps hold of the ball but let that be a message to England – get those crosses in.
18 min: Stones fouls Mak on Slovakia’s right wing. Svento swings it in and Kane heads it away. Eventually they break through Lallana, via some ping pong.
“If he thinks this team is more defensive then apart from Sterling why is the midfield and forwards full of plodders?” asks Graham Randall via email. “The build up is so slow and disjointed. Possession for the appearance of possession with no idea what to do with it.” It’s hard to disagree with that but Allardyce has also said this is the most difficult game of the group.
15 min: Rose advances again down the left, running on to a back heel from Lallana. Mak is tracking him, though, and makes a fine tackle to dispossess the England left back. It’s a corner, taken short by Rooney, who is given it back from Lallana. Rooney then crosses. It’s way too deep and Slovakia have a goal kick.
13 min: And in the absence of any real action, the 1,900 travelling supporters are singing rude songs about the Scotland manager.
On the pitch, England enjoy a prolonged spell of possession but the move ends when Henderson puts too much on a through ball for Sterling, who tries to sprint past Hubocan. Kozacik comes out to smother before the Man City attacker can get to it.
12 min: It’s not been a great start, really, but is anybody surprised? Allardyce actually reckoned that this Slovakia XI is more defensive than the one England faced in France. On the early evidence, he is right.
9 min: Rooney plays a Hollywood pass from deep towards Sterling, who was cleverly running diagonally in an attempt to catch the Slovakia defence out. Durica heads it away.
7 min: Mak’s delivery is headed away from danger by Cahill and Sterling is then tripped up by Svento.
6 min: Pekarik is fouled by Rose and wins a free-kick on the right. Both centre halves are up and this may be Hart’s first test of the evening.
4 min: Slovakia head on their first jaunt forward, Pekarik has a cross from the right cleared. England are actually playing a 4-3-3, it seems, with Rooney on the left of midfield and Kane flanked by Lallana and Sterling.
3 min: Both Rose and Walker are getting forward well already. The latter is fed by Sterling on an overlap from the right but Slovakia clear.
2 min: Wayne Rooney has been sitting a little deeper than expected. But he is trotting over to take a corner now, won by a blocked Danny Rose cross. Durica heads it away.
Kick off!
1 min: Harry Kane begins the Sam Allardyce regime by passing to Adam Lallana.
Every England player sang the national anthem, for those of you bothered by such minor details. Slovakia also belt out their anthem. We are moments away.
@alansmith90 The Slovakian national anthem - fills me with joy to remember the only time I've ever had my answer published in The Knowledge!
— Ben Raza (@TheBenRaza) September 4, 2016
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The teams are emerging from the tunnel. Slovakia are wearing all white today, meaning England are in red with blue socks. Joe Hart is in a Manchester City-like blue.
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“A Kiss on the home bench? A Rose among the visitors? Call me Crazy, but this match has my Seal of approval,” emails Peter Oh.
And Brooklyn Bell asks: “Who is the ‘McCarthy’ on the England bench?” That would be Alex, the Southampton No2 because his club’s first choice Fraser Forster is injured, along with Jack Butland of Stoke.
Sam Allardyce speaks (on ITV)!
“I’m a little nervous I must admit but I’m looking forward to the game. Hopefully the lads give a good performance and most importantly win. It may be a case of breaking down a resilient defensive unit again.”
And on Wayne Rooney: “I don’t need to tell Wayne Rooney how to play. He knows where to go, when to go … I’d like to see him assist or score a goal today if he can.”
@alansmith90 Question is, how many of this XI start in the next WC (assuming qualification)? I'd wager 5 at the most. You?
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) September 4, 2016
As a wild guess: Walker, Stones, Rose, Dier, Sterling, Kane?
The teams
Slovakia: Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan; Mak, Gregus, Pecovsky, Hamsik, Svento; Duris.
Subs: Novota, Dubravka, Gyomber, Kubik, Kiss, Povazanec, Pich, Sylvester, Pauschek, Stetina.
England: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Stones, Rose; Henderson, Dier; Sterling, Rooney, Lallana; Kane.
Subs: Heaton, McCarthy, Smalling, Walcott, Sturridge, Jagielka, Clyne, Drinkwater, Vardy, Alli, Antonio.
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Hello. It’s the dawn of the Sam Allardyce era, but is there much else different when it comes to the England football team apart from the man who will inevitably face the intense criticism when it all falls apart in the quarter final defeat in Russia a little under two years from now?
Eight of the 11 from that diabolical defeat to Iceland in France will start in Trnava this evening against a Slovakia team that are nothing more than ordinary. Then again, the last time these two met it ended scoreless - and if you’ve forgotten about that game in Saint-Étienne then you are immediately forgiven. (Actually, the most memorable thing from that game at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard may have actually been the England fans, who created such an impressive noise while their team looked so muted a few days after those disgusting scenes in Marseille)
I digress. Allardyce, of course, should be given a blank slate and, to be fair to the lad, the lack of changes highlight the scarcity of genuine options more than a shortage of imagination on the manager’s part, with the exception of the omissions of Marcus Rashford and, to a lesser extent, Ross Barkley.
There are plenty of questions to be answered here, too, apart from the manager. How will Joe Hart do after that insipid mess in France and subsequent shipping out of Manchester City with a return ticket in some doubt? Can John Stones, who has already shown signs of improvement since joining City, impress against a team that look likely to start without a proper striker? And what about the performance of his club-mate Raheem Sterling, searching for redemption but in fine form with City? Will Wayne Rooney, making a record (for an outfield player, overtaking David Beckham) 116th appearance, play well behind Harry Kane? And is the Spurs player going to be allowed anywhere near a set piece?
Kick-off in the Stadion Antona Malatinskeho is at 6pm local time, which is 5pm in the UK. The hosts’ confirmed starting team will be along imminently but we already know how England will line up, unless there is a late injury.
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