Chris Smalling failed to cement his place on the plane for the World Cup with an unconvincing display in England’s laboured 1-0 friendly win over Denmark.
The Manchester United central defender had a chance to make an impression on Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson with first-choice Phil Jagielka out with a hamstring injury, but was undone on two occasions.
While Smalling, who was tipped for a future England starting role by Red Devils boss David Moyes last month, still has a good chance of making the final 23, it is unlikely he will be troubling Jagielka or partner for the night Gary Cahill for a starting spot.
Smalling, 24, was nowhere to be seen when a Michael Krohn-Delhi pass split the defence in the first-half, but Jakob Poulsen’s hesitation kept the game goalless.
And, after the break, Smalling was the one who hesitated, allowing Morten Rasmussen in behind the back four and only smart work from Joe Hart saved his blushes.
Speaking to ITV before the game, Smalling had said the chance of a trip of a lifetime this summer was a huge motivational factor for improving his performances and impressing manager Roy Hodgson.
“To say hopefully that you went to the World Cup and had an impact would be something that would last with me forever. That vision of being on the plane is what I will strive towards,” he said.
“I’ve got to prove I can be the number one centre back who Roy can trust and the country can trust to go to the World Cup.”
Hodgson only saw the positives in the largely drab display from his team, who have been grouped with four-times winners Italy, twice champions Uruguay and Costa Rica in Brazil.
“You couldn’t get me to say anything negative about any of the young players,” said Hodgson.
“At one stage we only had Gary Cahill, Joe Hart, Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard who would consider themselves seniors.
“The others were finding their way and yet we still didn’t give Denmark a sniff at our goal. That’s a positive thing. I wanted the young players to have a chance to get out there and play.”
Hodgson said improved performances from the likes of Smalling would come in time and that hopefully by June the United man will be on top form.
“We’ve been building up over the last couple of years – it’s not Raheem’s first game, or Jordan Henderson’s, Adam Lallana’s, Chris Smalling’s, or Jack Wilshere’s. I’d just like to think these players will grow in confidence playing in the Premier League and for their club sides.”
Elsewhere, it was a mixed night for the Manchester-based players.
In contrast to Smalling, club team mate Danny Welbeck did his Brazil hopes no harm at all.
Introduced on the hour mark to replace a frustrated Wayne Rooney, Welbeck added urgency to an England display that had been dogged by a sluggish tempo and static movement and it took two smart stops from Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to keep him from scoring.
The son of former United legend Peter was quick to react to a powerful low drive shortly after Welbeck’s introduction.
Longsight-born Welbeck then saw Schmeichel use his father’s trademark ‘starfish’save to charge down another close-range effort after a slick through ball from Jordan Henderson.
Despite missing out on capping his performance with a goal, Welbeck looks likely to make the squad but, on this evidence, he could yet muscle his way into Hodgson’s starting eleven.
Manchester City keeper Hart had little to do for the majority of the evening but showed authority and was alert on both occasions he was called upon to keep out the Danes.
Hart, who missed out on City’s Capital One Cup win at the weekend after Manuel Pellegrini opted to stick with ‘cup keeper’ Costel Pantilimon, showed no signs of the poor form that saw him dropped to The Etihad bench earlier in the season.
His City team mate James Milner was the only other Blues star to feature but he had little chance to make an impact after replacing goalscorer Daniel Sturridge with two minutes remaining.
As for the rest of the United ranks, Rooney put in a muted display.
Although the usual work rate and tenacity was present, Rooney’s tendency to drift and drop deep often contributed to England’s directionless attack.
It is telling that the man still considered by many to be England’s only world class performer, when firing on all cylinders, failed to muster anything more than series of speculative long range shots that were wildly off target.
Michael Carrick was the only other Manchester-based player in the squad, but he remained on the substitutes’ bench all night.
England have no more fixtures before Roy Hodgson announces his provisional 30-man squad.
They will play Peru at Wembley on May 30 as the national boss looks to whittle his team down to 23 players.
A training camp will follow in Florida in the US where England will meet Honduras and Ecuador in the final warm up matches before they kick off their World Cup campaign against Italy in Manaus on June 14.
Image courtesy of UEFA via YouTube, with thanks.
