World Cup Blog
Individual Errors To Blame For England
Mike Martin on the worrying England performance against Sweden. In all honesty, and with a bit of sober hindsight, there were some positives from England’s 2-2 draw with Sweden. They have a second round match against surely inferior opposition, Gerrard looks like the best player in the world and Joe Cole scored with the best [...]
Mike Martin on the worrying England performance against Sweden.
In all honesty, and with a bit of sober hindsight, there were some positives from England’s 2-2 draw with Sweden. They have a second round match against surely inferior opposition, Gerrard looks like the best player in the world and Joe Cole scored with the best strike of the tournament. Even Owen Hargreaves did a decent job as the (much needed) holding midfielder.
Wayne Rooney, even half fit, looked a class above everybody else on the pitch at times and goodness me, will Joe Cole give Ulises de la Cruz a headache on Sunday afternoon.
But what on earth were they doing in the last minute, conceding from such a poorly-aimed throw-in? Sol Campbell made a similar error in Macedonia in a Euro 2004 qualifier, using the wrong part of his body when attempting a clearance. Why he tried to kick the ball when it was at head height only he will know. Why can’t Ashley Cole clear a ball of the line? What have they been doing in training all week that made them suddenly so inept at defending set pieces?
England have an abundance of attacking talent. The problem is, quite a few of them are at home, or on some tropical island watching on television. A penny for the thoughts of Dean Ashton, Marlon Harewood and Jermain Defoe when Michael Owen was carried off. Bad decision making is the new English disease; Eriksson took too few strikers, (he clearly has little faith in the ever-absent Theo Walcott), but it is not just he who lacks wisdom at crucial moments.
Far too often, England failed to clear their lines at desperate moments. Where was the leadership at the back when Kim Källström was unchallenged on the edge of England’s box, his shot cleared off the line by the omnipresent Steven Gerrard, or when Larsson was only denied a headed goal by Robinson’s superb save? Why did England have to give away so many corners and throw-ins in dangerous positions?
When we watch England, (unless you’re Scottish), we’re so nervous that every slight imperfection is a huge flaw which MUST be instantly arrested by Sven-Göran Eriksson, so let’s dwell on a more optimistic thought. The match proved that England are capable of doing great things when the attacking midfielders are taken off the leash. Surely Owen Hargreaves’ tactical importance and graft, rather than any great technique, must play against Ecuador in the last sixteen. When Gerrard gets into the box, rather than roams around the centre circle, he is as dangerous as any centre forward in the tournament. And as for the Joe Cole goal, set the DVD recorder quickly.
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