Thursday 9 October 2014 20:06, UK
Former England winger John Salako believes width will be the key for England when they play San Marino at Wembley on Thursday.
Roy Hodgson’s side got their European Championship qualifying campaign off to an excellent start with a 2-0 away victory over Switzerland last month and Salako now expects them to brush the Group E minnows aside as long as their tactics are right.
Salako told Sky Sports News HQ: “We've got to adapt to every game. San Marino are joint-bottom of the world rankings; they're not going to come and cause us too many problems. It's a game that's about how many goals we are going to win by.
“Switzerland was a tough game, a big game - they were ahead of us in the rankings - and that was a strange position to be in.
When you're playing against San Marino, you want width - Wembley's big - and you want an expansive game.
“But we adapted there; we got a solid base and played on the counter-attack. When you play a diamond it's very narrow and you rely on your full-backs to get forward.
“But when you're playing against San Marino, you want width - Wembley's big - and you want an expansive game. You want tempo and you want to cause them problems. Let's pass it short and pass it quick.
“I still think English teams are suited to playing 4-4-2. Jose Mourinho was the first manager to win the Premier League playing 4-3-3 but he had Didier Drogba, a colossus who could hold off defenders and get it out to wide areas.
“But the players should be good enough or intelligent enough to adapt to different formations. I think we're still scared to be adventurous and open-minded - is that Roy or is that the players?”
England captain Wayne Rooney has scored 41 goals in 97 appearances for England and Salako expects him to move closer to Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 England goals by getting on the scoresheet against San Marino.
“Wayne Rooney has got a great opportunity; he should be thinking, 'I can score four or five here.' No one, when they look at the records is going to think, 'Yes, but he scored those goals against Gibraltar or Jamaica'.
“This game is about getting on the front foot and starting quickly. I'd say to Wayne, 'Go and get a few goals in the first half, get a bit of confidence and get people off your back'.
“Then Roy Hodgson might look at getting on some of the youngsters, who'll be itching to play, and try and get a 7-0 or 8-0 win.”
