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Opportunity knocks for the in-form Manchester United attacker, who will take over Wayne Rooney's second striker role in his club colleague's absence against France and Sweden

Wayne Veysey  England Expert Follow on

For a generation of England players, the national jersey has rested on their shoulders like a lead weight.  

Lions for their clubs, they too often become pussy cats for their country.

The burden of expectation has claimed some notable scalps, with only a select few consistently emerging from international encounters with their reputations unscathed. Ashley Cole, Michael Owen, Sol Campbell, Owen Hargreaves and Wayne Rooney spring to mind.

Then, there is another, even more select band – those collector’s items whose effectiveness increases when the club shirt is chucked in the washing machine and they pull on the national jersey.

Peter Crouch could once count himself in this category. Of the 23 players Roy Hodgson will select his first competitive team from on Monday, Ashley Young stands out as that modern rarity – an Englishman who swims even more smoothly in international waters.

Outstanding in England’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, he has demonstrated such panache and versatility in the national jersey that he has been earmarked to deputise for Rooney in the talisman’s absence against France on Monday and Sweden three days later.

This, remember, is the same task that has pained a player even as celebrated as Steven Gerrard. Reflecting on walking into the England dressing room before a 2006 World Cup warm-up match against Hungary and seeing the injured Rooney’s No.9 shirt hanging on his peg, he wrote in his autobiography: “Talk about pressure. That’s a recipe for me being destroyed. Get real. I’m an attacking midfielder, not an emergency striker.”

ASHLEY YOUNG FORWARD | MANCHESTER UNITED

2011-12 SEASON CLUB STATS Appearances 24 Goals 6 Assists 7 INTERNATIONAL FILE Senior debut vs. Austria (2007) Caps 21 International goals 6

Judging by his performances in the split-striker role against Norway and Belgium, Young is not daunted about slipping into the emperor’s clothes.

His confident side-footed finish in Oslo after turning past Brede Hangeland for his goal as if the accomplished centre-back was a statue gave Hodgson’s England a therapeutic and winning start.

Seven days later, the Manchester United man was equally lively and elusive against Belgium, this time in tandem with Danny Welbeck rather than Andy Carroll. The highlight of Young’s clever use of the ball was the delicious threaded pass to Welbeck that was finished so smartly by his club colleague.

The second of England’s build-up matches ended a goalscoring streak of which any centre-forward would be proud. Young’s four previous internationals had each produced a goal – and at crucial junctures too.

He scored the only goals in 1-0 wins over Wales and Norway, the first of England’s two strikes in the 2-2 draw against Montenegro last October that secured qualification for Euro 2012, and also a late equaliser in the manic 3-2 friendly defeat to Holland in February.

Five years since receiving his first international call-up under Steve McClaren, Young has established himself as a crucial cog in England’s stuttering wheel.

Twenty-one appearances have yielded six goals as well as plenty of creative spark in a team often chronically short of it.

Young has demonstrated over the last 18 months that he has the capacity to make an indelible imprint on his first international tournament

Hodgson has nailed his colours to a twin-striker system, buttressed by two banks of four working feverishly to close the opposition down. 

“When you have a player like Rooney, who is excellent in that position, and a player like Young who is showing signs of being very good in that position, it would be seem a bit strange if you just went to one lone forward,’’ explained Hodgson.

In his first season at United, Young has played almost exclusively wide, usually drifting in from the left flank on to his favoured right foot.

The £17 million June 2011 signing from Aston Villa had an up-and-down campaign, beginning and ending with a flourish, but he was also dogged by inconsistency and accusations of diving. After winning penalties against Villa and QPR in controversial circumstances in April, even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he had “had a word with Ashley” about going down too easily.

It was Gerard Houllier who first spotted that Young’s best position could be ghosting through the middle and the Frenchman gave him the luxury of being the playmaker in the 2010/11 Villa team.

The greater attacking options at Old Trafford, where Young was often in a four-way fight with Nani, Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park for two places, meant he had to settle for being a wing man.

When we get down to the real business of the France game in Donetsk, Young will be the central pivot of England’s attack. Gerrard, Scott Parker, James Milner and probably Stewart Downing will provide the spit behind and either side of him. He will be expected to supply some polish.

Opportunity knocks for Young, who turns 27 next month and is now approaching his peak. He has demonstrated over the last 18 months that he has the capacity to make an indelible imprint on his first international tournament.

From diving force to driving force. It is time for one of the few players who wears the England shirt with freedom to roar.

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