Roy Hodgson was satisfied with England's display against Portugal despite criticism over the ineffective deployment of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy.
Having come through hard-fought 2-1 wins against Turkey and Australia, the Three Lions welcomed the side ranked eighth in the world as they wrapped up their Euro 2016 preparations on Thursday evening.
Chris Smalling's late header secured a 1-0 victory to the delight of the sell-out Wembley crowd, but the performance left more questions than answers with England having stuttered against a side reduced to 10 men after a ludicrously high 36th-minute challenge by Bruno Alves.
It was an underwhelming display and the toothless attack was particularly concerning, with Hodgson unable to effectively shoehorn the triumvirate of Wayne Rooney, Kane and Vardy into the same line-up.
Former England striker Gary Lineker was frustrated to see Kane and Vardy tasked with providing width instead of the full-backs, while Alan Shearer was perplexed by the in-form pair's use.
"If you're going to play @HKane & @vardy7 then at least play them as centre forwards & not wingers," he posted on Twitter. "Or what's the point?"
Rooney was coy when asked about how he felt things went in attack and Hodgson was not prepared to add his "voice to the debate" after the match.
"We played with split strikers,'' the England manager said. "When you play with that system, you need your strikers to split.
"If you play with them going down the middle and Rooney in behind them, you would never be able to defend the wide areas.
"There were moments in the game where they were too wide, but basically speaking their job is to split and come together."
Hodgson was "not prepared to accept that we didn't play well" against Portugal, but captain Rooney knows better performances are needed if Euro 2016 is to be a success.
"We won the game but it was always difficult for us when Portugal went down to 10 men,'' he told ITV Sport.
"They made it difficult but we kept going and we got the win so that was obviously important to us.
"We know in these games there have been a lot of changes. We haven't been at our best, but we have won the three games which is important, especially as a young team.
"We are winning games when we are not playing well. We have to improve and in tournament football you have to improve to win games."
England's 23-man squad have some time off before travelling to France on Monday and taking on Russia in their Group B opener on June 11 at Marseille's Stade Velodrome.
The talking points.
1) A win but hardly the send-off that was desired
After all the experimentation, the conclusions feel confused. Even in victory this was an anticlimactic mish-mash. The crowd did not necessarily demand a rip-roaring send-off before the team’s departure for France but they were dismayed by the awkward nature of England’s approach. Roy Hodgson might point to promise in his tactical tweaks but it was not always easy to discern much logical pattern to his team’s approach. For long periods five of the outfield players were effectively being used out of position, if Chris Smalling’s employment as a left-sided centre-half is taken into account. “Formations don’t win you games,” Hodgson had said but surely a level of familiarity in approach may have helped nine days from their opening Euro 2016 Group B fixture.
2) Diamond formation feels like a blunt instrument
Hodgson has fiddled with his formation over these friendly fixtures and appears to have concluded Danny Welbeck’s absence rather nullifies the 4-3-3, leaving his team built around the diamond. Yet whether the combination who started this contest should be deployed is open to doubt. Wayne Rooney sat at the tip – he had never played with Jamie Vardy before – though his eagerness to break beyond Danilo split the strikers and pinned them to the flanks. Harry Kane felt wasted out there, forever a raking pass away from his club-mate Dele Alli, where their close combination play had previously felt so key. The influence of the two most prolific English forwards in the Premier League felt unnecessarily blunted. The confusion was self-inflicted.
3) Alli’s talent is in real danger of being wasted
The England manager had been asked pre-match what had disappointed him from the two previous friendlies and had offered up frustration at the sight of opponents charging through his side’s midfield. Those told to shield the backline had not provided sufficient “screening”. Athleticism and mobility are apparently the key that could potentially count against Jack Wilshere – and to that end Eric Dier did offer reassurance at the base of midfield, flanked by the energy of James Milner and Alli. The former is always industrious but the latter would surely be more effective in advanced positions, as Mauricio Pochettino concluded over the season at Tottenham. The last thing England want is Alli growing frustrated on the periphery.
4) Will these be the players to take on Russia?
The likelihood is this England lineup will provide all but a couple of those who will begin against Russia at Stade Vélodrome. Maybe Jordan Henderson, with another week of training in Chantilly under his belt, may replace Milner. In defence John Stones, so impressive in the previous friendlies, could challenge Gary Cahill depending on the state of the latter’s hip, and Raheem Sterling or Adam Lallana will feel they warrant inclusion in midfield. It does not look quite so promising for Nathaniel Clyne given Kyle Walker was arguably this team’s most eye-catching performer, offering width, pace and delivery down the flank. Certainly, if the management opts to pursue familiar combinations then Walker and Danny Rose would feel like a natural full-back pairing.
5) We’re still unclear about Portugal’s credentials
Judging what threat will be carried by Portugal in France is tricky on this evidence alone, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo still sunning himself on a yacht in Ibiza and Pepe’s snarl also absent after the Champions League final. Certainly Fernando Santos’s side lacked an obvious goal threat with Nani, playing as a centre-forward, summing up their lack of bite by shooting high into the stand early on. They can console themselves that they have one of the world’s most potent attacking players ready to return, a figure they should have no problem incorporating into their system given the world tends to revolve entirely around him. Should England meet them later in the tournament then Portugal will surely pose more of a threat than this.
The question on every one's lips is can England go all the way?
With the array of stars, one will expect the best but reality check, can they?
Over the years, England has always flattered to deceive faltering when it mattersthe most.
But with four of the players making the PFA best eleven, might this just be the time?
After the woeful performance against a Ronaldoless Portugal, it is hard to see how an improved side will turn out.
With Rooney, Kane and Vardy, one will expect that goals will not be a problem for the 3lions, but it took a smalling to save the day against a ten men toothless Portugal.
Quality definitely will not be a problem but Hodgson's tactical and technical genius will be put to the test.
As he once said, formations don't win u games but need me remind him that If it doesn't there shouldn't be a need for a tactician.
Straight up to the euros England!!!
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