Roy Hodgson happy to have stumbled on to winning formula for England

It may have been Plan B, but it worked against Wales

Jamie Vardy sweeps home England's equaliser against Wales (Getty)

Roy Hodgson would not be the first England manager to stumble upon a winning formula at a major tournament, but having rolled the dice successfully to change the outcome of his team’s encounter with Wales in Lens, he may argue that judgement, rather than luck, has triggered the accelerated evolution of his best XI ahead of Monday’s Group B finale against Slovakia.

England travel to St Etienne on Sunday sitting at the top of the group, needing only a point to be certain of qualification for the second round, having overturned a 1-0 deficit with second-half goals from substitutes Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge.

Hodgson’s acknowledgement of his own mistake, in keeping faith Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling ahead of Vardy and Sturridge, was rectified decisively at the half-time interval at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis and England were a team transformed following the change.

Sturridge and Vardy and likely to be retained in the starting line-up against Slovakia with Hodgson keen to build on the momentum generated by the dramatic victory over the Welsh. But having made the decision to change approach and revert to a diamond formation with twin forwards as opposed to Kane as a lone striker with three attacking players behind him, will Hodgson be able to resist further tinkering?

When the likes of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson were forced into changes at previous World Cups – 1966 in Ramsey’s case and 1986 and 1990 with Robson – injuries and suspensions prompted the altered approach, so there was no other option.

By the time Jimmy Greaves had regained full fitness in 1966, having started the tournament only to lose his place due to injury, Geoff Hurst’s performances had made it impossible for Ramsey to recall Greaves for the semi-final and final.

Similarly, injuries to Bryan Robson in 1986 and 1990 forced Bobby Robson to change tack and the end result was a more attacking and fluid style of play which took England to the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.

England still have some distance to travel on the road to success in France, but they will face Slovakia having ironed out the flaws of their first 135 minutes at Euro 2016. And Hodgson admits that the best team before the tournament is often overtaken by a better one once the competition gets underway.

“Players have to prove their worthiness to some extent and sometimes the ones that you are convinced about before the tournament, because they will be a big hitter for you, turn out not to be,” Hodgson said. “Someone who you think might just play a part in helping you do well, he turns out to be the big hitter.”

Kane, the Premier League’s 25-goal top scorer last season, arrived in France as England’s undisputed first-choice forward, but his unconvincing starts to the tournament have seen him make way for Vardy and Sturridge.

Marcus Rashford’s exciting substitute cameo as a wide forward late in the game led to some suggestions that Kane had gone from first-choice to fourth-choice in the space of 45 minutes, but while that is undoubtedly a harsh assessment, Hodgson has now certainly given himself options by successfully changing his personnel in Lens.

We’ve taken a lot of attacking players with us so the options are there. I’m looking behind me and thinking: ‘who do I want? Sturridge? Vardy? Rashford?

&#13; <p>Roy Hodgson on his attacking options</p>&#13;

And as for Sterling, the Manchester City winger’s woeful display against Wales has without question pushed him down the pecking order.

“Harry and Raheem did well enough against Russia, we played very, very well, but I thought, in the first half against Wales, that they showed signs of wear and tear, so it was quite an easy decision at half-time to change it,” Hodgson said. “We’ve taken a lot of attacking players with us on this occasion so the options are there.

“I’m looking behind me on the bench and thinking: ‘who do I want? Do I want Sturridge on? Vardy? Rashford?’

“Rashford has been very good in training, very lively, but of course he’s new to us and the way we try to play, the way we try to attack and defend. He’s picking that up every day, but what he has got is an incredibly good technique for a very young player. He’s got that pace and athleticism which are pretty good things to have when you are 18 years of age. He’s not scared at all.”

While Rashford has potential to become the joker in Hodgson’s pack – the Manchester United youngster’s ability to glide past players unsettled Wales in Lens – Sturridge’s quality and goal-threat, as displayed against the Welsh, has justified his selection in the squad, despite pre-tournament injury concerns. Hodgson makes no attempt to disguise his admiration of the Liverpool striker who, according to sources close to the manager, was never going to miss out if he proved his fitness.

Marcus Rashford rushes to congratulate goalscorer Daniel Sturridge after England's late winner against Wales (Getty)

“I’m pleased for Daniel because he had that injury, there was speculation, and questions if he was the right player to be in the 23 and whether he should he go,” Hodgson said. “I’m delighted that I showed confidence in him because he’s not let me down very often.

“He’s a special player, there’s no doubt about that. Since he got back from that injury situation, he did have a very settled period of play when he played on a regular basis and he just picked up that injury in the Europa League final.”

England’s challenge now is to back up the Wales victory with a convincing performance against Slovakia – England begin their World Cup qualifying campaign against the same opponents in Bratislava in September – and progress into the knock-out stage as group winners.

Within that lies a test for the likes of Sturridge and Vardy, to prove they are now England’s best option and prevent Hodgson from having to rip it up and start again.

“All of our strikers need to be challenged, they need to accept that,” Hodgson said. “I would like to believe that none of them are so arrogant that they sit there and think their place is absolutely guaranteed in the team. I would be very upset if that was the case because I see them in training every day.

“There are a lot of quality strikers, they do have qualities and even the young ones have qualities. The Rashfords, the Jamie Vardys with only four or five international caps, they have got qualities.”

One 45-minute spell has changed the landscape. Now it is all about momentum and proving that is was not a flash in the pan.