England crash out after shift in tactics and failure to fix defensive flaws | Jonathan Wilson

USA capitalised on cracks that had been papered over earlier in the World Cup and on Phil Neville’s switch to 4-4-2

One of the great puzzles of the World Cup was that England had managed to get through the first five games conceding only one goal. Fluent as they had been at times from an attacking of view, the defence has been a major worry and in the end it undid them against by far the best team they had faced in the tournament.

Steph Houghton’s capacity to pop up with last-gasp interventions has papered over the cracks but goalline clearances are never an effective form of defence for long.

Related: Phil Neville calls for ‘smiles not tears’ after England’s World Cup ends

Continue reading...