Republic of Ireland tactics
Martin O’Neill set his side up in a 4-4-2 formation with a reliance on direct attacks in order to take advantage of his side’s aerial strength in forward positions.
That meant goalkeeper Kieran Westwood took long goal kicks targeted at Daryl Murphy, with Jeff Hendrick and David McGoldrick converging on him to win second balls and keep play in the offensive half.
When the Boys in Green had to the opportunity to work the ball through midfield, central midfielder James McCarthy pushed forward to support attacks through the middle. Glenn Whelan remained as the sitting midfielder, which allowed full-backs Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady to push into the offensive half and supply crosses to the strikers.
Aiden McGeady kept the width down the left flank as a natural winger looking to provide service into the box for McGoldrick and Murphy. Right midfielder Hendrick tucked inside to support the two strikers in attacking the service from McGeady.
Murphy and McGoldrick led the pressing when defending, while Hendrick and McGeady dropped to the sides of midfield to deal with England’s wingers. McCarthy dropped to join Whelan in double pivoting in front of the back-four.
Hendrick and McGeady also defended as auxiliary full-backs to protect Coleman and Brady from England’s tricky wide forwards.
England tactics
Wayne Rooney reportedly asked to be included from the start, so Roy Hodgson tasked his captain to operate as a centre forward in a 4-3-3 formation. The Three Lions had a more patient offensive approach with wide forwards drifting inside, while the full-backs charged forward to add width down the flanks.
Ryan Bertrand and Phil Jones started as the full-backs, pushing into the offensive half to add width to England’s play. Jack Wilshere operated as the middle central midfielder but with freedom to pick moments when he could push on and support attacks centrally.
James Milner and Jordan Henderson were the advanced central midfielders, tasked to link up play centrally as ball players before making forward runs to support the forwards.
Hodgson turned to the Liverpool pair of Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana as his wide forwards. They linked up with full-backs down the flanks, with Lallana also drifting inside to operate between the lines, while Sterling frequently made diagonal runs into the box to join Rooney.
Rooney completed the offensive system by working across the width of the penalty box as the centre forward. The Three Lions’ skipper also dropped into midfield to help in the build-up of attacks as well as wandering to the flanks to create overloads with the wide forwards.
When out of possession, Rooney led the defending while Sterling and Lallana pressed from the sides of midfield. Milner and Henderson converged centrally to help Wilshere in fighting for regains when Ireland played long balls to Murphy.
Key tactical changes
The Boys in Green shaded the encounter in the opening half as their direct attacks caused England a few problems. Hodgson’s men lacked the cohesion in the final-third to threaten offensively.
Overall, the sides shared periods of dominance on the ball until midway through the second-half when England began to control the game by retaining the ball in midfield for longer.
That compelled Ireland to drop deeper and have two banks of four close together to squeeze the space between the lines in order to contain England. After a couple of changes, McGeady completed the game as a natural right winger with James McClean doing a similar job on the other flank.
Up top, Shane Long provided pace against England’s high defensive line while Jonathan Walters frequently dropped to add a third body in central midfield.
England were the most dangerous side in the last quarter of the game as they switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Milner and Henderson were the central midfielders with Ross Barkley in the number 10 role behind Jamie Vardy.
Harry Arter’s introduction as Hendrick’s central midfield partner threatened to add goals to a relatively quiet game. Arter came on with the enthusiasm and desire to quickly close down England midfielders. He also threatened to run the midfield by demanding the ball when Ireland had possession.
The central midfielder consequently became the driving force behind Ireland’s offensive threats but his offensive endeavours also left Hendrick isolated in central midfield. That allowed England’s attacking midfielders, like Barkley and Andros Townsend, to have spaces between the lines to take shots on goal.
In the end, the result seemed fair as Hodgson’s men still lacked the fluidity in the final-third to really test Ireland’s defence while O’Neill’s charges lost their offensive threat in that final period.
