The Manchester City fans were delighted by the impact Kyle Walker made during his debut season at the Etihad Stadium, and they are intrigued to see how he performs during England’s World Cup campaign.
Gareth Southgate has stamped his own personal mark on the England national side by introducing a 3-5-2 formation which relies heavily on full-backs, and he’s earned plenty of plaudits for the manner in which the new tactic has been implemented thus far. On paper, the system is perfect for a marauding full-back who possesses the lightning pace of Kyle Walker, so it was slightly surprising when Southgate opted to deploy him as a central defender.
The decision makes perfect sense on paper; Walker is able to sweep up and cover his fellow central defenders Harry Maguire and John Stones when they step forward in possession of the ball, however, the natural full-back is in unfamiliar territory in Russia. Although Walker is a solid defender overall, there’s no doubt he has a game-changing mistake in his locker, and he illuminated that notion by needlessly giving a penalty away against Tunisia on Monday evening.
The referees decision to point to the spot sparked plenty of debate within the media, but it’s fair to say that although it was a harsh decision, Walker can have few complaints after raising his arm. The situation in which Walker found himself in was completely alien to him, so he must be forgiven for the decision providing he learns from his mistake.
Aside from the penalty incident, Walker was far from convincing as he struggled to get to grips with his central position. Errors of judgement and a lack of spacial awareness were evident throughout, but the positive news for England fans is that he will undoubtedly grow into the role as the tournament develops and he will have learned a great deal from the opening fixture.
If there’s a time to get individual mistakes out the way, it’s certainly in the group stages where there is some margin for error, especially when Harry Kane is on hand to sniff out opportunities at the opposite end of the pitch. Following a nervy performance which was littered with errors, Walker will now have the chance to analyse his performance with the England coaches and form a strategy to improve in the next game against Panama.
The underdogs from Central America are unlikely to cause him too many problems and the real test will come against Belgium next week, so it’s certainly a blessing that he made his mistakes sooner rather than later, when the consequences of individual errors could prove fatal for England’s World Cup dream.
Man City fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
