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| photo by philosophyfootball |
- by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London
England just about got a couple of shots on target, they couldn’t manage to get six or seven successive passes together and they had to get at least ten players behind the ball, especially in the second half. It goes to show how reliant England were on set pieces against the World champions.
However, England didn’t have their strongest team playing at Wembley, yet they managed to produce a 1-0 victory. That goes to show that England has a strong in-depth squad, and that any player who played last night, can be called upon whenever needed.
In the absence of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jagielka and Lescott both had great games. Their defending was quality, especially as they had to face the likes of Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, Torres and Silva. Johnson had a solid game at right back, but it’s beyond me why Capello didn’t choose Richards in the squad. I believe he should have started last night as he’s been playing really well for Man City.
Phil Jones had a fantastic game in midfield. He had lots of space in the centre of midfield on a few occasions, but he chose the wrong pass more often than he did the right pass. We did learn that Jones can play well in that midfield position, despite his strongest position being in central defence. Frank Lampard had a good game, scoring the winner, and that’s proved the doubters wrong. Just when people were thinking if Lampard’s international career was over, he goes out, puts in a performance and scores the winner against Spain. That’s a strong enough message to send out to the doubters.
Darren Bent was struggling alone up front, but I don’t blame him. It was difficult for the supply to reach him, as England kept losing the ball every time they regained it. I don’t think he’s good enough to be in the England squad for Euro 2012, but last night was just an experiment. However, Danny Welbeck looked promising and is certainly a hot prospect for the future.
So what did we learn?
England can play ugly and get a win. They didn’t play their strongest starting eleven, yet were still victorious. It just goes to show England’s depth in their squad.
The players that were missing from yesterday were Terry, Richards, Ferdinand, Smalling, Cleverly, Gerrard, Wilshere, Young, Rooney and Defoe. Add them to the list that played against Spain and I believe England can go far in Euro 2012.
In order for them to do that, they need to stick together, play for each other and all the egos have to go.
Since the world cup, Spain have lost 4-0 against Argentina, they’ve lost against Portugal and Italy. It’s possible for them to be beaten, but at the end of the day, the only statistic that counts is the score line. Spain can dominate possession, have more shot, less tackles etc, but if the score line is against them, than all the hard work goes undone.
Capello has a bunch of players who are all willing to play for England, but he has to find out his main starting eleven before Euro 2012. The upcoming friendlies are important, so it’s important he gives everyone a chance to prove their worth. I hope he doesn’t pick players on reputation, but on merit. He needs to choose players who deserve to be there instead of picking players just because of names.
It may have only been a friendly, but this defeat may have hurt Spain, but nonetheless, it has boosted England’s confidence and morale.
The reality is that they can beat the best if they put their mind to it, but how will they cope in major tournaments and under immense pressure?
