7 Truths: Jamie Vardy needs space, Wales could go all the way

“Vardy’s on fire, your defence is terrified,” goes the chant (to the tune of ‘Freed From Desire’ by Gala). And the lyrics were spot on against Slovakia. Their back four retreated every time the Leicester striker got the ball and resorted to cynical fouls when he turned to face goal.

His pace is such an asset in attack - and defence when shutting players down - but the problem comes when teams sit back and soak up pressure, leaving no space for him to exploit. He needs to find a way to be more effective when England are camped in the opposition half.

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Eric Dier is turning into an exceptional player. He runs the game for England from just in front of the defence. He knows when to pass, when to dribble and when to drop off and split the centre-backs. He also had the vision to find Daniel Sturridge with a sublime 40-yard pass over the top of the Slovakian defence in the first half.

Some pundits have already started talking about him as a future England captain. He’s handled the pressure of playing for at a major tournament with ease so far, so why not pile a weighty tag on his shoulders as well!

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Daniel Sturridge struggled to play on the right of a front three, just like Vardy does when he is not a central striker. The Liverpool man looked threatening when he cut inside on a couple of occasions but couldn’t make much of a mark on the game and it was no surprise he was replaced by Harry Kane in the second half.

Hodgson played him through the middle with Vardy for the second half against Wales, now he must decide if he can do that from the start of a match.

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Despite finishing second in the group and despite only scoring three goals, England have dominated their opening three games, and, at times, looked a team able to trouble the best of Europe.

The much-maligned defence has looked solid enough, while the rest of the side have played with a vibrancy rarely associated with a Hodgson or England team.

If this side can ‘click’ then they could go very far.

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Gareth Bale has been seriously impressive for Wales. His explosive talents are perfectly suited to this Wales side, who are defensively sound but also contain the requisite quality in midfield to pick out Bale’s penetrating runs.

He has carried his league form into the tournament and is the only ‘big name’ to have really turned up. Should he sustain his excellence, then Wales could go very, very far into the tournament. They could even win it.

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Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey can’t win the tournament on their own… although they’re trying their best. Despite the duo dismantling the Russian defence, the Welsh were a little nervy at the back. You can get away it against a thoroughly disinterested Russia outfit; you won’t be quite as fortunate against one of the favourites – as England showed in Lens last week.

Ashley Williams was meant to provide solidity to the Welsh backline, but he’s been caught out on multiple occasions already. He was at fault for both England goals – fully culpable for Jamie Vardy’s opener, unlucky to see the ball squirm away from him for Daniel Sturridge’s winner – and was left floundering from a routine goalkeeper punt in the first period against Russia. Wales need their captain in top form if they’re to launch a deep run in France. And currently he’s a little off.

Russia resembled a playground team during spells of their harrowing defeat to Wales. No one was remotely interested in defending – presenting Gareth Bale with acres of space – and only showed a flicker of interest when the ball was deep in opposition territory. They were meant to threaten top spot in Group B. They finished bottom. In two years, Russia will welcome – hopefully, anyway – the globe’s finest teams to their turf. If they are as abject as they were against Slovakia and Wales, they will bow out at the group stage.