You can win all the qualifying games you like but this is where it matters.
Nobody gave Roy Hodgson any sympathy after Brazil in 2014 because of how they got to the World Cup in the first place.
Cruising through the qualification bouts never amounted to any more slack for Fabio Capello.
It’s tournament time and it’s win or bust time. This is where England managers are judged.
And Roy Hodgson has gone with this line-up as his first team of Euro 2016 to face off with Russia at 8pm (GMT).
ENGLAND XI: Hart, Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose, Dier, Lallana, Alli, Sterling, Kane, Rooney. #ENG #RUS #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/ZdQ5Wg0p6B
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 11, 2016
It looks like Lallana and Sterling playing off Kane with Rooney, Dier, Alli just behind them again.
It means Leicester hero Jamie Vardy misses the cut and takes a seat on the bench alongside Milner, Sturridge, Barkley and the rest.
There’s been a nasty underbelly to this game with the celebrations on the streets marred by violence.
Watch: English football fans are involved in more chaotic scenes in Marseille https://t.co/K7eJs2Na4l
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 11, 2016
