Not broke, why fix it?
Fabio Capello must be sorely tempted to send out the same team against Wales which played so well in Bulgaria, but the Italian is sure to be turning things over in his mind.
It is important not to lose the positive vibe from Sofia by under-performing against Wales at Wembley, a team ranked behind Haiti in FIFA's rankings.
There is the added nuance of a local derby and the desire to solve the puzzle of England's recent home form.
Worked a treat: Bulgaria had no answer to England's fluid 4-2-3-1 system
Home discomfort
It is more than a year since England won at Wembley.
The last time was the 4-0 thrashing of Bulgaria, who came to London last September and played far too freely for their own good.
Since then, both Montenegro and Switzerland have taken qualifying points back home with them from north London.
France also won there in a friendly and Ghana equalised late on against a depleted England team earlier this year.
The counter-attacking tactics which worked so well in Sofia on Friday are more difficult to use at home because 70,000 home fans demand adventurous football played at a healthy tempo.
Wales are unlikely to sit back in the way Montenegro did, but England fans will still expect Capello's team to seize the initiative.
Minor tweaks can be made, like releasing the full backs (although the threat of Gareth Bale may deter him from this strategy) or choosing only one holding midfielder rather than two and playing in a 4-3-3 shape.
The 4-3-3 formation proved effective against Gary Speed's team in March, although Capello has only ever played this way with Jack
Wilshere in the team, perhaps to free the teenager from defensive responsibilities.
In Cardiff, it involved playing Wayne Rooney wide left, a policy unlikely to be repeated.
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Rank | Team | W/D/L | Pts |
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Cities & Stadiums
The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments
Year | Winners | Runner-up | Third place |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Spain | Germany | Russia / Turkey |
2004 | Greece | Portugal | Netherlands / Czech Republic |
2000 | France | Italy | Netherlands / Portugal |
1996 | Germany | Czech Republic | France / England |
1992 | Denmark | Germany | Netherlands / Sweden |
1988 | Netherlands | Soviet Union | Italy / West Germany |
1984 | France | Spain | Denmark / Portugal |
1980 | West Germany | Belgium | Czechoslovakia |
1976 | Czechoslovakia | West Germany | Netherlands |
1972 | West Germany | Soviet Union | Belgium |
1968 | Italy | Yugoslavia | England |
1964 | Spain | Soviet Union | Hungary |
1960 | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia |