Who should replace Welbeck? Young? Milner? Neither!

In the 43rd minute of England vs Moldova, England were cruising. 2 goals to the good, Ukraine seemed a breeze. Every England fan was once again placed in a false sense of security as they almost forgot who they were supporting. The 3 Lions never do it easy. Or as the 2008 Euros showed, sometimes they don't do it at all. 

44th minute, Welbeck gets booked and Hodgson's plans for Ukraine go out the window. From his post-match interview, from the clues Hodgson was giving out, he was prepared to drop the excelling Lambert for Welbeck to return to a central role with a winger coming in. You could argue, what's the problem? Either way Hodgson was going to bring in a man on the flank so why is it such a big deal? The problem for Hodgson isn't who replaces Welbeck, but it's who will score the goals against a stubborn Ukraine side. At 22 years old, Welbeck has taken the responsibility of scoring England's goals upon himself. With 8 goals in 18 appearances, he's looked a completely different player for his country compared to his club. His confidence, speed, willingness to take the opposition on, will be greatly missed against a solid Ukrainian team. Welbeck's growing importance to the England side will be highlighted on Tuesday evening, when all those attributes are missing from England's performance.

Welbeck's bewilderment at his upcoming suspension

With Welbeck's inevitable suspension, Hodgson was forced to take off Ricky Lambert, as he needed to rest him and wrap him up in cotton wool for the upcoming match. With 2 goals in 2 games, everything looks to be going great for the 31-yeard old. With another convincing performance against Moldova to back up his cameo against Scotland, Lambert's link up play was top-class, along with his poaching instinct which lead him to his second goal in as many games. But a 'cup final,' as Hodgson described the match at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev will be on another level to what he's previously experienced at Wembley. 

Could Townsend be the man to replace Welbeck?

With Hodgson revealing that the only change the to the team that played Moldova will be Welbeck's replacement, who is the best player to replace him? The obvious candidates would be Young or Milner. With pros and cons with both, it's an incredibly difficult decision for Hodgson. A decision easily avoidable. Although Young and Milner are the obvious replacements, why not choose a player full of unpredictability, skill, pace, and full of engine? Andros Townsend step forth. It's a risk as any selection is, but from his Spurs performances, he merits his place in the team, and has outperformed his competition so far this season. Going forward, he can take players on whilst keeping possession at the same time which seems to be a skill that many England wingers seem to lack. With Ukraine likely to soak up England's pressure and play on the counter, Townsend's pace and willingness to defend will help Ashley Cole if ever he needed it. 

With England's crucial qualifier coming up, this is Hodgson's first true test of his international managerial career. Whether he likes it or not,  previous matches will mean nothing if he loses, but nor if he wins. This match will either be the match that helped England qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, or the match that showed the world that the UK has nothing to offer to the spectacle that will take place in Brazil next summer.