England managed to secure a 1-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday evening in their first World Cup. A goal deep into injury-time from Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana gave the Three Lions the victory in Trnava.
The visitors had played for over half an hour with an extra man after former Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel was dismissed following a stamp on Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
New England boss Sam Allardyce has made very few changes to the starting eleven last fielded by predecessor Roy Hodgson, so the fact that the result was similar was hardly a surprise, although this time, the Three Lions snatched a last-gasp win.
Allardyce has his own methods and will no doubt in time instil them into his team. England under the West Ham will certainly not be easy to beat. The experienced boss now has a chance to show his managerial abilities on the big stage, something he has craved for a long time.
It was a solid if unspectacular start for the former West Ham, but that probably best describes the experienced boss’s managerial career thus far. England will no doubt produce better performances in the future under Allardyce.
The Three Lions have some decent players available to Allardyce, much better than their showing at Euro 2016. Allardyce has a solid base to build a decent team over the next couple of years.
However, the experienced boss cannot turn the situation around in a couple of days. He will need time to change things around in the Three Lions set-up.