Sam Allardyce hopes Adam Lallana’s late victor in Slovakia can help remove the “nervous tension” that exists around the England squad.
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Allardyce revealed afterwards he will now keep the coin, so here Press Association Sport takes a look at five other sporting lucky charms and superstitions.
That game was held up as indicative of England’s tournament failings, yet Allardyce on his debut as manager fielded nearly the same group of players against the same side and won.
“I think it was possession for possession’s sake for the opening 45 minutes rather than trying to break the opposition down”.
Kane is yet to score a goal in a competitive game for either club or country in 2016-17, last finding the back of the net in an global friendly against Turkey in May.
Harry Kane is confident he will start scoring goals for Tottenham and England after a slow start to the season. “It’s what grows you up as a player and that is what I have got to use to help me”. I had it with me in my pocket, we won, so it’ll stay with me.
“Hopefully I can score at the weekend, but if not, we will see what happens”.
“As a striker I want to get goals, it doesn’t matter who I am playing”, he said.
This tactic appeared to contradict assertions from Allardyce in the build-up to the clash that he viewed Rooney as an attacker and intend to utilise him further forward than his predecessor Roy Hodgson had done during Euro 2016.
Before the game, Allardyce said he had no intention of telling such an experienced global where to play and so the decision for Rooney to drop deep, as he also did under Hodgson at Euro 2016, was presumably the player’s.
“But I think I saw a little nervous tension and it’s bound to be in the back of their mind”. He’s won everything at Man United, more or less, and at Champions League and domestic level.
“Adam Lallana is one of our most skilful players but for all but the last few seconds of Sunday’s game I thought his final product was lacking”, said Redknapp, “Then he pops up with the victor and, although it was a little fortunate, that goal will have done Lallana the world of good”.
“With a new manager coming in you want to get him a good victory to start off with, he has been great all week”.
“I felt I did that and I felt in the second half, I had a couple of chance that got blocked and a couple of half chances, but all I can do is put myself in the right positions”.
Though the captain hit some nice passes, and Allardyce described his performance as “brilliant”, Rooney’s display received criticism from the British media.
“I’ve done it my whole career and suddenly it’s big news”.
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“It was a tough game with the heat and the running, but I am getting fitter and fitter”.
