Trap, please mind the gap

At the very least, we now know.

At this very top level of international football, Giovanni Trapattoni’s rigid 4-4-2 requires 100% application and optimum performance to fill in the gaps in the framework against modern three-in-the-middle formations. In short, it requires a little more than ultra-minimalism.

It was maximum application, after all, which produced the display in Paris. And it was that which was missing last night.