England’s performance against Costa Rica will help decide who finishes first in Group D, but for the Three Lions, Tuesday’s match in Belo Horizonte will be the last 90 minutes of their 2014 World Cup.
As a result, manager Roy Hodgson is ready to overhaul his lineup. According the FA’s web site, nine new players will called into the lineup for tomorrow’s match against Costa Rica, while left back Luke Shaw and midfielder Ross Barkley will get their first senior-level starts.
“When you’re at a World Cup and don’t realize your expectations and hopes and have to leave the tournament, that final game is inevitably the one that leads you into the future,” Hodgson said, explaining his change in approach. “We have a lot of time to think about the future. We have a long qualification campaign ahead. Euro 2016 is a long time away.”
Form reporting by The Guardian:The manager has named a radically changed selection for the game at Estádio Mineirão, with Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley to gain their first competitive starts and Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Ben Foster drafted into the defence.
Frank Lampard will captain the side on his 106th and potentially final appearance, with the veteran midfielder echoing his manager’s calls for the team to show their character, as well as potential, against the group leaders.
Adam Lallana, James Milner, and Jack Wilshere are also expected to be in tomorrow’s XI.
There are a number of other good quotes from Hodgson in the links, above. According to The Guardian’s post, the England boss was “emotional” as he reflected on his team’s premature demise, describing “how painful it is to build up your hopes and to see a lot of good preparation proved to be to no avail ...”
From that pain comes a brand new team, with only Gary Cahill and Daniel Sturridge retaining from the XI that started against Italy.
According to Hodgson, the lineup will be:
G - Ben Foster
RB - Phil Jones
CB - Gary Cahill
CB - Chris Smalling
LB - Luke Shaw
M - Jack Wilshere
M - Frank Lampard
M - Adam Lallana
M - Ross Barkley
M - James Milner
F - Daniel Sturridge
Talent-wise, there’s no reason this team can’t beat Costa Rica, but as the Ticos showed over their first 180 minutes, talent is only one part of a successful equation. Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, the Costa Ricans are moving on, while England’s going home.