Five things we learnt from England's 0-0 draw against Ukraine

As the Olympic Stadium in Kiev benched around 70,000 people, it played host to a turgid 0-0 draw against England. Hodgson’s men came under scrutiny for not delivering a top-notch performance expected of them. Despite winning against just two teams in the qualifiers, Moldova and the timid San Marino, they neatly sit at the top of group H and in pole position to qualify from the group.

Is that a reason strong enough to celebrate or to fret? Needing two wins from two home games against Montenegro and Poland, England are far from being one of the favourites for the World Cup.

“It was probably a fair result. In the first half, there were quite a few interesting situations. Perhaps we did not have quite the quality we needed to make that count.” Hodgson said in the post-match conference. If Hodgson’s team continue on this dismal pace, it is pretty certain the “Golden Generation” would not lay its hands on another trophy.

A lot can be inferred from England’s performance so far. Here are 5 things we learnt from this draw.

Lampard and Gerrard- the perfect pair?

Steven Gerrard (L) and Frank Lampard (R)

This question sparks a debate dating as long as their first match together. There is no correct answer to this question, and all possible answers have been pondered over enough. Hodgson employed the duo in their usual roles in the central midfield in Kiev.
The youthful dynamics of these box-to-box goal scoring midfielders has given way to a more mature, deep down the field approach, which helps their ageing legs. Their partnership in 61 matches has yielded more sighs than smiles over the years. Neither can be dropped, owing to the immense experience each has at respective club level.

The games of these veteran midfielders was clearly a leg out of place against Ukraine, with Gerrard giving Joe Hart a scare at the back after dangerously clearing a pass. One of the centurions has to be dropped, and that should depend on who the captain is. Currently, the Chelsea man should be benched to allow Gerrard to partner Carrick up front and Wilshere alongside him. It’s a serious issue, one that could undermine Hodgson’s team to shine at the World Cup.