Modern formations include, among other things, variations of a 3-5-2 system, whereby the five players are initially stationed as it were in a midfield position. These five, however, are given the freedom to assess any given situation and, where warranted, join in on the attack, effectively making it possible to switch to the much more offensively-inclined 3-3-4 system, for instance. I didn't see the England game in question, but "feeding the ball into the inside left channel" corresponds with my hunch and Dave's explanation of playing a ball into space behind the defenders, making them turn (thereby losing pace vis-a-vis the striker -- very difficult to defend against), so that Rooney could get clear and finish (clinically;-) from the top of the penalty box and burst the twine. HTH. Cheers, R.