LIVELY and exciting in attack; sporadically shambolic in defence. This might only have been the first of three warm-up matches ahead of this summer’s European Championships, but it appears as though the template for England’s tournament has already been established.

Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy furthered their claims for a starting spot in France, with the former scoring an early opener and the latter claiming a close-range winner with seven minutes left. Kane missed a penalty and Vardy only really looked comfortable when he was moved infield late on, but both players could be content with their work.

The Northern Echo: England's Jamie Vardy scores his side's second goal of the game during the international friendly match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday May 22, 2016. See PA story SOCCER England. Photo credit should

England's Jamie Vardy scores his side's second goal of the game during the international friendly match at the Etihad Stadium

The same could be said of Dele Alli, who set up Kane’s opener, and to a lesser extent Raheem Sterling, who showed early signs of promise on the right-hand side before gradually drifting out of the game.

But for all that Roy Hodgson’s side displayed enough attacking intent to suggest they should be a handful for their opponents at the Euros, their shortcomings in defence were alarming enough to counsel against too much unbridled optimism.

Danny Rose was caught out of position as Turkey equalised through Hakan Calhanoglu, the visitors threatened on three separate occasions from second-half set-pieces and Joe Hart had to produce a superb stoppage-time save to prevent Olcay Sahan from scoring after the Turkish substitute found himself completely unmarked at the back post.

Chris Smalling will return to the back four for Friday’s game against Australia in Sunderland, having been absent yesterday because of his involvement in the FA Cup final, but Hodgson’s defensive options are limited. If England are to succeed this summer, you already suspect they are going to have to score quite a few goals.

With that in mind, the presence of both Kane and Vardy in the same international starting line-up for only the second time was one of the more interesting features of today’s game.

Could they start together in France? It is possible, although with Hodgson seemingly hell-bent on playing Wayne Rooney, fielding both Kane and Vardy would probably require the latter to start in a wider position as part of an attacking three.

That was where Vardy found himself for most of today’s game, lining up on the left-hand side as Kane filled the central attacking role and Raheem Sterling started on the right.

He tried his heart out, but didn’t look a particularly natural fit in a wide position. While Sterling was capable of beating his opponent on the outside, Vardy found himself constantly looking to cut in, with a succession of crosses floating beyond their intended recipient and out for a goal-kick.

He looked much more comfortable in the final 20 minutes when Hodgson switched to a more orthodox 4-4-2, so a role as an impact substitute would appear to be his likeliest involvement in France.

He would no doubt prefer to be starting centrally, but Kane’s performances over the last two seasons entitle him to regard the ‘number nine’ role as his own.

The Spurs striker finished last season with the Golden Boot thanks to his 25 Premier League goals, and today’s third-minute strike was his fifth international goal in 11 appearances.

He was marginally offside when he received Alli’s threaded through ball, but could hardly have been more composed as he slotted past Babacan. Alli has clearly developed a strong understanding with Kane during the pair’s time together at White Hart Lane, and the effectiveness of their relationship is a compelling reason to include both in the starting line-up for the Euros.

The Northern Echo: England's Jamie Vardy is fouled by Turkey's Mehmet Topal (right) to earn his side a penalty during the international friendly match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday May 22, 2016. See PA story SOCCER

England's Jamie Vardy is fouled by Turkey's Mehmet Topal 

Where that leaves Jack Wilshere remains to be seen, but having confirmed his well-being with a 66-minute run out, the Arsenal midfielder is surely now a banker for the final 23-man squad that Hodgson has to submit to UEFA by May 31. The same is true of Jordan Henderson, who came off the bench and looked equally injury-free.

Wilshere’s best moment came courtesy of a first-half dribble into the area, but for all that there was much to admire in aspects of England’s attacking play, there was also some troubling traits to their performance.

Two Turkish midfielders were completely unmarked in the area as the visitors mounted a fourth-minute attack, and while Kyle Walker slid to the ground to block Ozan Tufan’s goalbound effort, the warning signs went unheeded. Nine minutes later, and Turkey were level.

Rose was the defender at fault, with the Spurs full-back pushing too far forward and enabling Oguzhan Ozyakup to play the ball behind him. Volkan Sen took advantage, and when the midfielder beat Hart to pull the ball back into the area, Calhanoglu was left with the simplest of side-footed finishes.

It was a poor goal to concede, exposing the frailties right across the England backline. Hodgson selected four full-backs as part of his initial 26-man squad, and none are particularly convincing when it comes to the defensive side of the game.

Having ceded the lead, England spent the rest of the first half attempting to reclaim it without ever quite displaying the finesse required to unlock a Turkish defence that kept clean sheets against Holland and Czech Republic in the final three games of qualifying.

There were some attractive moments, most notably from Alli, but Babacan was rarely required to make a telling save. The Turkish goalkeeper claimed low shots from Wilshere and Kane, but the closest England came to a second goal before the break was when Eric Dier headed wide of the target from a corner.

The same thing happened at the opposite end eight minutes after the break, with Cenk Tosun losing Dier much too easily as he headed wide of the upright.

Tosun led the Turkish line effectively as a lone striker, and John Stones in particular looked reluctant to get too close to the Besiktas forward. Tosun should not have been able to turn on the edge of the area shortly before the hour mark, but with Stones standing off him, he shot narrowly wide. Gary Cahill has his limitations, but with Stones having performed poorly for much of the season with Everton, the Chelsea centre-half is probably the best bet to partner Smalling.

England’s defensive vulnerabilities were exposed again when an unmarked Hakan Balta nodded wide from another corner, but the hosts would have reclaimed the lead had Kane displayed more composure from the penalty spot with 18 minutes left.

Vardy earned the spot-kick, although it was a debatable one, with the Leicester striker falling to the floor amid the slightest of contact from Mehmet Topal. The incident was not too dissimilar to the one that resulted in Vardy’s dismissal against West Ham in the Premier League, but it was rendered irrelevant when Kane’s spot-kick clipped the outside of the post.

England’s winner eventually arrived with seven minutes left, with Babacan palming Cahill’s header into Vardy’s path, enabling the Leicester striker to drill home from close range.

HOW THEY RATED:

ENGLAND (4-1-2-3)

6 Hart: Committed himself too easily as Turkey equalised, but made a superb stoppage-time save to frustrate Sahan

6 Walker: Looks more comfortable on the front foot than when defending – although the same can be said of his right-back rival Clyne

5 Stones: Has looked out of sorts for most of the season and granted Tosun far too much room for most of the second half

6 Cahill: Isn’t the most mobile, but looks more reliable than Stones at the moment and continues to provide an aerial threat from set-pieces

5 Rose: Got himself badly out of position as Sen broke free for Turkey’s equaliser and faces a battle with Bertrand for a starting spot

7 Dier: Looks like being England’s most important player at the Euros, although he could have done with some additional defensive support

5 Wilshere: Proved his recovery from injury is complete, but was unable to dictate proceedings from the heart of midfield

8 ALLI: Was involved in most of England’s best moves, particularly in the first half, and played a lovely ball for Kane’s opening goal

6 Sterling: Started brightly with some incisive breaks down the right, but was unable to sustain his impact and was eventually replaced

7 Kane: Won’t want to see his penalty miss again, but took his goal neatly and looks a danger whenever he gets a sight of goal

7 Vardy: Looked much happier when he was moved infield for the final 20 minutes and now boasts three goals in his last three England games

Subs:

5 Henderson (for Wilshere, 66): Proved he is over his injury worries and can probably expect to start against Australia at the Stadium of Light

Drinkwater (for Sterling, 73)

(not used): Forster (gk), Heaton (gk), Bertrand, Delph, Barkley, Townsend.

TURKEY (4-5-1):

Babacan 5; Gonul 6, Topal 5, Balta 5, Erkin 6 (Koybasi 69, 4); Inan 6, Tufan 5 (Erdinc 86),OZYAKUP 8 (Tekdemir 69, 5), Calhanoglu 6 (Sahan 78), Sen 6; Tosun 7.

Subs (not used): Kivrak (gk), Tekin (gk), Ozbayrakli, Calik, Potuk, Tore, Malli, Oztekin, Soyuncu, Mor.

Man Of The Match: DELE ALLI – The pick of England’s midfielders once again – it is imperative Roy Hodgson does not dilute his impact in an attempt to get Wayne Rooney into the team.