Poor England Progress
Best chance of winning the World Cup in 40 years? Give me a break! England were poor throughout today’s match and finally got out of jail courtesy of Peter Crouch’s 82nd minute goal. Steven Gerrard’s vicious drive in injury time only added to the sense of injustice.
The fact that Eriksson was forced to introduce an unfit Wayne Rooney in this game, sums up just how desperate England were - without him they are lost. They struggled to break down an organised but ultimately limited team. Bean pole striker Peter Crouch played as if he believed he was Maradona. Sadly for him, he has neither the touch nor the technique of Diegito. In the first half, Beckham’s cross picked him out unmarked in the 6 yard box. Rather than take his time to control the ball, Crouch attempted an acrobatic flying volley and put the ball 20 metres wide. Then, at the beginning of the second half, receiving the ball with his back to goal, he attempted to flick the ball up in the air and execute an overhead kick. The ball flew 15 metres above the goal. When he finally did score, through a header, it was mainly because he was about 40 cm taller than his marker.
So what of the other England players? Michael Owen must again be disappointed to be substituted. His confidence is clearly not improving. The normally clinical Lampard was also poor, missing several good chances. The only real pluses for England were the performances of substitute Aaron Lennon who made a substantial impact in taking on other players and Beckham’s precise delivery from set pieces.
T&T can take plenty of credit from their first appearance in a World Cup. They have run two of Europe’s football nations very close and owe a lot to the clever coaching of Beenhakker.
June 20th, 2006 at 9:12
It would be great for a miraculous qualification from Trinidad, although its very unlikely. I’ve been a big fan of their play, as it isn’t purely defensive like the Greek’s style. Yorke stands out of course, but my favorite player has definetly been Carlos Edwards, who especially in the first game, defended perfectly but brought versatility in attack. Very bitter about this match as I was only a few minutes away from winning 56$ on a 5 $ bet (for betting they would tie. hehe.