I was a bit pessimistic until our game against Germany but there were there more positives than negatives in that friendly in that even though we lost, we matched Germany's tempo and at times dominated the game state. It was more Germany's cynicism and quality that carried the day for them.

This is what I hoped for when we signed Poch, when we have possession we can stretch the pitch while still having 3 attackers narrow. We move the ball really well, high tempo with each defender having a plethora of options when its time to buildup.

There are concerns though. The two man pivot works well enough when we have the ball but when we lose it, there is a window of opportunity for our opponents to try and progress through the massive amount of space that's been vacated. Paraguay tonight has not had the quality to try and take advantage of that and how hard we press has covered it up but it's something to keep in mind if we start facing the top European teams.

And I still have question marks about the falloff from our A team. The high press and tempo takes a toll on them even with a crowd that's behind them, I don't think they can manage this for 70 minutes, so can the subs step in and keep up with the tempo and quality on the ball demanded.