Long exposes English woes

The silence of England’s reluctant captain had dominated England’s build-up while the prospect of Daniel Sturridge making his full international debut had provided a more compelling subtext.

Both, however, proved to be little more than side-issues — unfortunately so in the case of Sturridge who was forced off with injury after just 32 minutes — as a more familiar England problem was exposed, largely by Shane Long.

England’s central defence has frequently been a point of weakness ever since Rio Ferdinand’s knee injury immediately before the 2010 World Cup broke the Manchester United defender’s long-standing partnership with John Terry.