Projected England Line up To Play Against Uruguay: Liverpool Stars To Lead The Line, Rooney As No 10

England’s World Cup campaign is in serious jeopardy and if the Three Lions fail to win their next assignments against Uruguay, Roy Hodgson’s boys could well be heading to the airport to catch their flight back home. England did impress against Italy in short spells but were on the wrong end of the score line at the end which means they will now have to pull their socks against Oscar Tabarez’s dangerous outfit who were brought crashing down to earth after a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Costa Rica.  What should be Hodgson’s plan to quell the South Americans and what would be Hodgson’s starting eleven for the crunch encounter for wither sides? We here at Soccersouls have the answer.

Goalkeeping:

Joe Hart will take his place under the sticks yet again for his side and the Manchester City shot stopper was hardly at fault in both of Italy’s goals. While Hart was simply stranded thanks to Andrea Pirlo’s immaculate free kick late on, the 27 year old looked quite comfortable and did well with his collection coming out of his lines. Hart though needs to improve his distribution abilities and look to play out the ball if a counter attack is on in between the channels. His greatest threat, though would be Luis Suarez, who is in all probability to be fit to face the Three Lions.

Defenders:

Leighton Baines was constantly caught all alone as Wayne Rooney failed to track his markers on the left flank while Glen Johnson too didn’t have the best of games. Both the full backs need to be careful against Uruguay’s front three who can well drag the central defenders out of position to create chances for the overlapping full backs to hit early crosses to the target man up front. This is where Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill in the heart of the defense need to be careful in maintaining their shape and make sure they don’t allow an inch of space to the likes of Cavani and Luis Suarez. Both the central defenders have to make sure that they cover each other up as Suarez has the ability to win the match on his own.

Midfield:

There have been a lot of talk regarding England’s tactical setup after their defeat to the Azzurris. However, Steven Gerrard will probably continue to feature in his quarter back role that he has played for Liverpool the entire last season while Jordan Herdenson will give him extra support combining in the double pivot as Hodgson shifts from a conventional 4-4-1 to a more flexible 4-2-3-1.

As reported by the Guardian, Rooney is set to feature in the number ten role while Danny Welbeck will have to put a good shift in on the left wing. A more proactive decision would have been to put Adam Lallana on the left with Raheem Sterling on the right, the latter who was impressive against the Italians with his trickery, pace and imagination.

Strikeforce:

With Wayne Rooney set to be deployed as the number ten, Daniel Sturridge will lead the line up front on his own. The Liverpool striker is expected to make more direct runs in the Uruguayan defense with club team mate Sterling making early cut ins in the attacking third.  The Liverpool duo will have to make sure that they capitalize on any half chances that falls on their way in this crucial tie.