Last night, England put aside the problems that have been washed up by the British media of recent weeks, with a decent second half performance, giving Fabio Capello more encouragement that his side can go all the way in South Africa this summer.
Despite this, the first half display against African Nations Cup holders Egypt was very flat and lacklustre. It will have concerned the boss how many wayward passes were happening and the amount of time that the Egyptians were being allowed on the ball. It will also be notified of Matthew Upson’s stumble and trip which led to Egypt’s opening goal from the Borussia Dortmund striker, Mohamed Zidan. Although Zidan’s finish was cool and impressive, he shouldn’t have been allowed the chance to shoot in the first place. The cover for Rio Ferdinand at the back is very worrying.
For John Terry, last night was a step in the right direction. He has received his criticisms and boo-boys and rightly so, and his mistakes at Chelsea of late have been repetitive and very costly. He was booed by many on the team line-up, but those who continued during the national anthems and the game, were largely drowned out by cheers from the majority. His performance wasn’t error-free, but it had far more conviction than the rest of the back four and he seemed to be the only one able to organize the mess around the team in the first 45 minutes.
England’s 500th win in their history was sealed by an impressive 2nd half display. Substitutes Peter Crouch and Shaun-Wright Phillips were very impressive, surely having done enough now for their place on the plane to South Africa. Tottenham striker Crouch, who has recently lost his place in the North London side, Roman Pavyluchenko helped himself to two more international goals. In 38 appearances, the ex-Liverpool hitman now has an impressive 20 goals to his name – a staggering statistic. Now, Emile Heskey cannot be considered as first choice alongside Wayne Rooney. Wright-Phillips, considered by many as 4th choice on the right-side of midfield, behind Aaron Lennon, David Beckham and Theo Walcott did his chances no harm at all, by setting up a goal and scoring one for himself. James Milner once again gave a solid and committed performance when he came off the bench. The Aston Villa playmaker is the most in-form English midfielder in the Premiership and his consistency has to put him in line for a place in Capello’s final cut.
So, who will miss out on the World Cup? Both Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole face a race against time to be fit, whilst Joe Cole needs first team action desperately at Chelsea, otherwise he could be shock exclusion. Once again, Walcott’s performance last night was dismal. After a promising start, he faded badly and must have blown his chance now of playing in South Africa. If I was Theo, I’d think about booking a summer holiday to the Bahamas, at least he will get a decent tan!
Last night’s 3-1 result was satisfactory and there were more positives than negatives. After the trauma and scandal that has dogged English football in recent weeks, it was nice to see some much-needed unity last night. South Africa is inching closer and Fabio Capello can lookback on last night at a job well done.
See below for my 23-man prediction squad for the World Cup in 2010:
Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines, Aaron Lennon, David Beckham, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Gareth Barry, James Milner, Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor
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