Chance must be taken against Northern
Ireland to stop the rot, and the players have the Olympics looming too
It is unusual for much emphasis to be placed on friendlies. Yet here we are, days from a friendly between
England and
Northern Ireland, looking to glean insight from a game we would usually treat with a degree of flippancy.
In some ways the fact that it is a friendly means the pressure is off for England. This match is behind closed doors, against a team ranked 49 in the world, 43 places below England. There is a new temporary manager in charge. There is a distance from a poor run of form that was starting to weigh heavy (England have three wins from their last 11 games, including a run of five without a win).