England manager Roy Hodgson sought to defend his tactics after seeing his side held to a 1-1 draw by their Republic of Ireland neighbours in an end-of-season friendly fixture at Wembley Stadium.
Ireland were indebted to goalkeeper David Forde for a pair of crucial late saves to thwart Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, as England's attempts to find a winning goal were frustrated.
Although England largely dominated the second half of Wednesday's game, there was a lack of invention to their attacking play, with Wayne Rooney prompting in vain from a withdrawn attacking position.
The performance drew criticism from former England striker Gary Lineker, the country's second-highest leading scorer, who wrote on Twitter that the team's 4-4-2 formation was "a step back to the dark ages".
However, Hodgson said discussions about tactical systems were unhelpful.
"You say it was a 4-4-2. Was Wayne Rooney a midfield player, one who plays behind the front player, or is he an out-and-out front player?" he said.
"I think there's been far too much discussion about systems. We look to find systems.
"I was asked to do programme notes for UEFA (for the Champions League final) about the systems of play that Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund had brought to European football, but as far as I can see, Borussia Dortmund play a 4-4-2 the same way we play 4-4-2.
"The important thing is to have players who can attack and defend. I think tonight we did it. When we lost the ball, our front players worked hard to track back and do a job, and the Irish did too.
"(Robbie) Keane and (Shane) Long, in the first 60 minutes, they worked their socks off, making certain that we didn't get the numerical superiority in central midfield."
Long opened the scoring for the visitors with a superb 13th-minute header, only for Frank Lampard to equalise from a Daniel Sturridge cross 10 minutes later.
Sturridge was stretchered off before half-time with an ankle injury, however, and Hodgson revealed that he would miss the trip to Brazil for Sunday's prestige friendly at the newly reopened Maracana.
The Liverpool striker's absence leaves Hodgson short of options in attacking areas, with Andy Carroll having already withdrawn from the squad through injury.
Hodgson said that Jermain Defoe, who replaced Sturridge, was "not 100 percent fit" and added that Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck would be "touch and go" for the Brazil game with a knee complaint.
"It looks like the 13, 14, 15 players who saw us through this game will have to see us through the Brazil game as well," Hodgson said.
The England manager also paid tribute to the two sets of fans, whose conduct dispelled pre-match fears of a repeat of the violence that caused the abandonment of the teams' last encounter in Dublin in 1995.
"They were magnificent, both sets of fans, and I'm delighted for them," Hodgson said.
"Every time I'm involved in a fixture, something's dragged up from the past that lends an aura of negativity to the fixture, but tonight, both sets of fans were vocal and both sets of fans supported their team."
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said the visitors' performance would stand them in good stead for future tests.
After a friendly with Georgia in Dublin on Sunday, Ireland face an important World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands before finishing the season with another friendly against Spain in New York.
"They need experience and only against the great teams and the great players can they grow," said the Italian.
"The friendly game against Spain will be another great opportunity. Only by confronting these great players and great teams can we see that we can play against them.
Source: AFP
