10 Big Questions Raised By England's World Cup Squad

8. What Role Will Steven Gerrard Play?

Perhaps the most important question surrounding England's World Cup campaign revolves around captain Steven Gerrard, whom it is safe to assume will be a guaranteed starter for any games he is fit for. Infamous slip against Chelsea aside, Gerrard enjoyed a revelatory season at Liverpool and was the driving force behind his team's unexpected challenge for the title. In theory this bodes well for England, except much depends on whether Roy Hodgson has been taking notes on the very specific, and different, way in which Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been deploying his captain in order to get the most out of him in his twilight years. Gerrard has typically been fielded in an attacking role for England, driving the play forward with late runs towards the penalty area. It's a role which has generally suited him, despite his diminishing mobility in recent years. That's no surprise given he will be 34 by the time the World Cup gets underway, but expecting someone of his age to play such a high energy role for 90 minutes in the heat and humidity of Brazil seems a gamble unlikely to pay off. Instead, Hodgson would be wise to consider the deeper role Gerrard plays for Liverpool, providing a shield for the back four whilst orchestrating the play with his long range passing ability. Given there is no other viable option for the holding role in England's squad apart from Phil Jones, who is not a natural in the position, moving Gerrard further back could allow him to fulfil a similar role for England as Pirlo does for Italy, reducing the need for his ageing legs to do too much running whilst taking advantage of his excellent organisational ability and instinctive capacity for reading the game. Hodgson has shown himself to be a surprisingly adaptable tactician before and the manner in which he decides to deploy his captain at the World Cup could be a make-or-break call for England's chances.