England v Netherlands: Five things to look out for at Wembley

Hope and expectation are back on the agenda after Saturday’s thrilling victory from 2-0 down, with Roy Hodgson’s fearless young side capturing the imagination, but it will be a very different England team which takes the field on Tuesday evening.

Roy Hodgson is expected to make no less than 10 changes for the match against the Dutch, who failed to qualify for Euro 2016, so the Wembley friendly presents a big opportunity for the fringe elements of the squad to assert themselves.

What can be gleaned from the final friendly before Hodgson names his squad on May 12? Here are five things to look out for.

The inclusion of Drinkwater, who has had a fantastic season with unlikely table-toppers Leicester City, was the main headline when the squad was announced. He has the daunting task of stepping in for Eric Dier as England’s defensive midfielder, after the Tottenham youngster scored the winner against Germany, and a composed performance at Wembley could see the former England Under-19 international secure a place at the Euro 2016 finals as Dier’s deputy. It would be a richly deserved reward for a season of consistent excellence with Leicester.

Even if he does look completely at home at the base of a three-man England midfield which will have the same configuration as the one which started against Germany – Drinkwater holding in place of Dier, James Milner replacing Jordan Henderson as a shuttler and Ross Barkley taking over creative duties from Dele Alli – Drinkwater’s hopes of going to France will still ultimately hinge on whether Jack Wilshere returns to fitness before the end of the season. Hodgson is desperate to pick Wilshere, who started the qualifying campaign in the holding role, but if his injury problems persist then Drinkwater can position himself as the next best option with an impressive display against the Dutch.

It was during a pre-World Cup friendly at Wembley in 2010 that Fabio Capello’s patience finally snapped. Theo Walcott had just put in an awful performance at the end of what had been an unconvincing season for Arsenal. Still, it was a major shock when Capello axed Walcott from his squad for South Africa, jettisoning a player who had started the qualification campaign with a wonderful hat-trick against Croatia.

Six years on, Walcott can again point to contributions in qualifying, with three goals in four appearances, but his club form has disintegrated since October and with Joel Campbell and Alex Iwobi both displacing him in Arsene Wenger’s plans, he has started only one Premier League game in two months. A poor showing against Netherlands could lead to searching enquiries as to whether he really merits inclusion in the squad when alternative options in the attacking positions include Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane and Adam Lallana – with Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling due to return from injury too.

Speaking of England’s multitude of attacking options, Hodgson has been presented with the classic "nice problem to have", with competition for places intense. Danny Welbeck started on the left of the attack against Germany and played his part well, but having been described as “spectacular” by Joachim Low before the match, Vardy had the Germany coach scrambling around for fresh superlatives after his sensational goal. It was a compelling contribution from the bench.

Against Netherlands, it is expected that Vardy will take Welbeck’s place on the left of the attack from the start, but if he is to break into the first XI when the Euros come around it is more likely he will do so as the member of a front two alongside Kane – the position from which he scored in Berlin. On Tuesday, Vardy will be determined to show his talent from the left in a 4-3-3, but if Hodgson switches to a 4-4-2 diamond again then another electric contribution from the second top scorer in the Premier League could give the coach pause for thought, and tweak England’s tactical approach in his favour. Then the Rooney question will loom even larger...

The status of England’s captain has been a matter of vigorous debate since England’s brilliant performance in Germany and two goals of the highest quality from Kane and Vardy. Both are certainties to go to the Euros and the two top scorers in the Premier League approach the finals in France in fantastic shape. In Rooney’s continued absence due to injury, Sturridge will operate as the central striker against Netherlands, giving the Liverpool striker the chance to get his international career back on track in what will be his first cap since a friendly against Norway in 2014.

Sturridge didn’t play a single Euro 2016 qualifier due to his awful injury problems but it is worth recalling that at the 2014 World Cup, he was given centre-forward duties, pushing Rooney to the left against Italy and deep against Uruguay. Hodgson clearly rates him as a superior option to the captain as the focal point of the attack. If he looks the part, and his fitness holds up in what remains of the season, where does that leave Rooney? He could be fourth-choice striker – or even fifth, if you factor in Welbeck.

It’s been a funny old season for John Stones. He started 2015-16 being pursued by Chelsea, with figures of £40m being mentioned, and has been linked with Barcelona, Real Madrid or Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City seemingly every fortnight. Yet he no longer commands a first-team place in even Everton's shaky defence, with growing concerns that his instinct to play the ball out from the back, and overcomplicate things, can work to his team’s disadvantage. On Tuesday night he will start alongside team-mate Phil Jagielka, with Chris Smalling and stand-in captain Gary Cahill being preferred against Germany. It is clear he has some work to do.

“We believe in John Stones, there is no question,” Hodgson said this week, before pointedly adding: “We think he is the type of centre-half who can be good for England but to use him he has to play well enough to break into his club side as his first task and I can’t do anything about that. He will have to understand that when you are a centre-half at a top, top club you can’t afford to make a lot of mistakes in every game. You have to cut those out. That does not mean that all of a sudden you have to change your game completely and start booting the ball up the field every time. It just means you have to improve and cut out some of the mistakes.”

So if we see a more reserved Stones, who picks his moments to play elaborately at the back and generally keeps things tidy, he might become a contender for a Euro 2016 starting berth once again.