England come through unscathed in final warm up game
By Richard Newman
England have come through a final warm up game against the Platinum Stars unscathed, and beaten their South African league opponents 3-0 with goals from Jemaine Defoe, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney. It was a mixed performance from England, sometimes unconvincing, that won’t do anything to worry their main World Cup rivals, or indeed the USA.
Both halves in the game seemed to differ. In the first half, the performance from England was very cavalier. A strong side started the game, and England got off to a flier, with Jemaine Defoe slotting home after 3 minutes after being set up by Steven Gerrard. After that, it really was treated as just a kick around, England lacked rhythm, the passing was sloppy, the build up play slightly slack. Indeed, England were lucky to go into half time in front, after an innocuous challenge by Glen Johnson gave the Stars a penalty. It was a very harsh decision by the referee, but there was justice when Bradley Grobler’s spot kick went yards over the bar.
In the second half, England found that rhythm they were lacking. The passing was more slick, they created more chances, and found creativity through Wayne Rooney, James Milner and Joe Cole, and an injection of pace through Aaron Lennon. Heskey missed several chances, but showed presence, and England strolled home with goals from Joe Cole, and a well taken volley from Wayne Rooney.
A good run out for England, but certainly some talking points.
The match…Firstly, in terms of the performance, it’s difficult to scrutinise it too much. This was what should have been a ‘behind closed doors’ friendly, which turned into a glorified practise match in front of a 12,000 vuvuzela blowing fans. It was good for England to play in front of the spectators and raise the intensity up a notch.
Wayne Rooney…Scored a great goal, on the volley from a James Milner cross. It’s been some time since Rooney scored for England, so to go into the World Cup having broken that hoodoo is only good for England. However, Rooney’s commitment and enthusiasm can sometimes be a negative. On his introduction at half-time, Rooney was taking involved in crunching tackles, full throttle attacks, and most worryingly, getting himself so worked up he was booked for dissent. If his temperament was tested in such a low-key game, are there still doubts over his discipline going into the World Cup? We hope not.
The Goalkeeper race…Did this game reveal anything about who Fabio Capello would like to start with in goal? Joe Hart begun the match, and was untested. He was though, constantly berated by Capello for either wasting possession, or wasting time. Possibly slightly harsh. Robert Green replaced Hart in the second half and again, was untested. It seems there are concerns about David James’ fitness, and either Capello wanted more from Hart who he had planned to start with, and was therefore disappointed, or he knows exactly what to expect from Green, as he does with James. Still, we have no idea!
Defence…Was never thoroughly tested, but the starting back four of Glen Johnson, John Terry, Ledley King and Ashley Cole is likely to start against the USA. They were largely untested, and although there are some worries over King’s fitness, there was nothing to concern Capello, and it was a good run out for King. Michael Dawson and Stephen Warnock were fine enough in the England defence, though Warnock was perhaps fortunate to not give away a penalty. Matthew Upson and Jamie Carragher completed the back four, and Carragher looked authoritative.
Joe Cole…was the only England player to play the whole game. With Joe Cole’s limited 90-minute game time with Chelsea this season, was this Capello getting Cole up to full match fitness? It seems to look like Capello may be looking to start him on the left of midfield against the USA, with Gerrard and Lampard in the centre, and then Aaron Lennon looking likely to take the position on right side of midfield.
Rooney’s forward partner…Emile Heskey’s bright performance in the low-key warm up match against the Platinum Stars showed just what the Aston Villa front man can bring to international football. He demonstrated just how much he can contribute to the side and how he brings out the best in Rooney. There are calls for Peter Crouch to play; he gets the goals. What about Jermain Defoe? The classic ‘poacher’. He got on the score sheet in the friendly against the Platinum Stars, but had a quiet game aside from that.
Just five days away now until England kick off their campaign against the USA, still lots of work to do, but England can take a lot from this game, certainly justifying the match and showing it was a valuable exercise.
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