European Under-21 Championship: Glenn Hoddle savages England display
Thursday 6 June 2013 12:01, UK
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Glenn Hoddle fears the poor performance by England in their opening European Under-21 Championship defeat is a sign of the malaise in English football.
Quality
The other match in England's group ended in a 2-2 draw with Norway needing an injury-time equaliser to salvage a point against host Israel.
Liverpool's Jordan Henderson impressed with a high number of passes, but Italy midfielder Marco Verratti, who plays for Paris Saint-German, was the stand-out performer according to Hoddle.
"Henderson may have produced those passes but it's the quality that counts," the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss added.
"I didn't see Henderson play anywhere near Verratti. He was hitting balls that were taking out the whole England team. The English midfield just didn't do that. We didn't see any killer balls and we didn't have that availability or the movement for anyone to hit it.
"Do we have those players to hit that pass? No, whereas Italy have got different options. Our full backs never got themselves forward or high enough to engage with the midfield.
"England will strengthen the team but it's a learning curve and it bodes well for the future but whether it bodes well for the next game against Norway in three days...."
