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England's greatest weakness in the tournament was at the back of midfield.

Steven Gerrard is not a natural holding player, and Jordan Henderson couldn't offer sufficient protection—as anybody who saw Liverpool draw 2-2 with Aston Villa last season knew.

Without a natural anchor, England probably needed a third body in there and to play a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1, as they had in the 1-0 friendly win over Denmark in March.

Oscar Tabarez, arguably the most tactically astute coach in the tournament, exploited the deficiency ruthlessly.

The Uruguay coach brought in Nicolas Lodeiro to operate a midfield diamond, immediately placing a player in that zone just in front of the England back four, and detailing Edinson Cavani to drop deep, placing pressure on Gerrard, which was at least partly responsible for the first goal.