What’s the Secret Weakness That Slaven Bilić Has Spotted in the England Team?

September 7th, 2009 | by: Daryl | View Comments

It’s England vs Croatia on Wednesday. A win and we qualify for the World Cup. Simple as that, and definitely do-able.

But Croatia coach Slaven Bilić seems to think he’s spotted a weakness in the England team:

“They have some advantages but they are also missing something from their game,” he said.

“They are missing some Englishness, some of the things that have always made England teams difficult to defend against and play against.

“All I will say is that they are definitely missing something and we know what it is. But of course I am not going to tell you now what it is. It is our secret.”

This is likely just amateur mind games from the Croatia coach. But let’s indulge him anyway. And let’s assume that the weakness he’s spotted is something more tangible than “missing some Englishness”. What could England’s weakness be?

In goal maybe? Robert Green seems to be settling in as #1 without any major problems, but he’s yet to be seriously put under pressure. Wednesday against Croatia will arguably be the first time. Let’s hope he doesn’t pull a Scott Carson. Shudder.

Right back maybe? Glen Johnson is exciting going forward, but still likely to get done while defending. Which is exactly how Slovenia scored on Saturday.

Maybe in central defence? With Rio Ferdinand out, we look likely to pair John Terry with Matty Upson. Two very capable defenders, but lacking the pace and athleticism that Rio brings.

How about our lack of a proper defensive mid? Gareth Barry sort of does it, but he’s not exactly the second coming of Claude Makelele is he? Get well soon Owen Hargreaves.

Theo Walcott’s absence is a problem. Especially after what he did to Croatia last time. But Shaun Wright-Phillips or Aaron Lennon can provide some pace. Maybe we’ll even see David Beckham play there on Wednesday.

Maybe our lack of a left sided midfielder? Although that’s not exactly a secret. Or how about our lack of a world class centre forward to partner Wayne Rooney. Emile Heskey gets the job done, but he’s not exactly Didier Drogba.

So, yes, all kinds of weaknesses in the England team. But what I like about our team is that Capello is solving most of these problems. Heskey may not be world class for example, but he’s definitely getting the best out of Wayne Rooney. Steven Gerrard’s not a left mid, but that role seems to be working out for him and for Frank Lampard. Glen Johnson isn’t too strong defensively, but Wes Brown is much more solid.

More importantly, despite all our problems, we’re unbeaten in World Cup qualifying so far. Which is something Croatia can’t claim. So unless Bilić ha spotted something other than the above, something he can really exploit, then I’m expecting England to qualify for South Africa on Wednesday.