England vs Wales: Roy Hodgson's bold trio of substitutions pays off handsomely

One of the most enduring football comic strip characters, appearing in a variety of publications such as Scorcher, Tiger and Roy of the Rovers, was Billy Dane, a useless schoolboy footballer who was transformed when he wore an old set of boots that had belonged to an old-time pro Dead Shot Keen.

Week after the week the boots would walk Billy to what seemed the wrong spot on the pitch, only for this positioning to result in Billy scoring a goal. This intuitive ability to be in the right place rather than the obvious place is a hallmark of many great strikers with Robbie Fowler being an outstanding example.

Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy also have this uncanny awareness and it brought England a famous victory in Lens on Thursday. With England losing and the hour-mark approaching it seemed odd for Sturridge to hang away from the action when a cross was floated into the area. But the ball was headed out right to his feet. Meanwhile, Vardy loitered in a palpably offside position, on the edge of the six-yard box. What could he do there? Sturridge chipped a cross in, and Vardy was perfectly placed to score when Ashley Williams’ mis-directed clearing header not only fell to him but also played him onside.

The goal was a rich reward for Roy Hodgson’s bold decision to introduce both at half-time, but also proof that one, or both, should have started. Instead the England manager began with the same XI that started against Russia, presumably on the justifiable grounds that the performance was a lot better than the result. However, the forward line could have done with freshening up as Raheem Sterling took his poor end of season form into the match and Harry Kane looked laboured.

That left Adam Lallana as only the in-form member of the trio and most of England’s better moves went through him. In particular, he spearheaded the counter-attack that should have put England ahead after seven minutes. However, Sterling wasted the chance. It was Sterling’s pace that got him into position to score, but finishing has been one of his weaknesses since he broke into the Premier League and, given his shortage of confidence, his miss was hardly surprising.

Thereafter, aside from a cross from which Kane caused enough concern that Ben Davies inadvertently handled, Sterling was anonymous. So was Kane except for that incident. Though taken off corner duty he was still given free-kicks, but sent a similar opportunity to Bale’s into orbit. Indeed, the only threat to Wales’ goal came from England’s centre-halves at set-plays.

Bale’s goal forced Hodgson to act. He did, removing Kane and Sterling, bringing on the talented but fragile Sturridge, and Vardy, the player of last season. There was a strong argument for adding Jack Wilshere too - with Wales sitting so deep the quick one-twos he plays were as likely a way of breaking them down as any. However, using all three subs would have left Hodgson with problems if there were an injury.

Sturridge immediately showed he was brimming with confidence, seeking the ball, running with it, shooting from wildly optimistic distances. Vardy and Sturridge not only injected belief, they also gave England greater flexibility being much less fixed to their positions making them far harder for Wales to mark.

Then came the moment they linked to draw England level. That prompted wave after wave of pressure, intensified by another bold substitution in Marcus Rashford. Yet it seemed Wales would withstand everything until Sturridge, with intricate fleet-footed, quick-witted, trickery, won the tie.

Sturridge, Vardy, Rashford. Has any manager ever used such a trio of strikers as substitutes in a major tournament? Suddenly England have possibilities.