England thrash Slovenia
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 9:31PM That was more like it.
Slow build up, a tad nervous in the opening exchanges, but once we got going we had the right measure of tempo and conviction to get the job done. Rooney is still struggling to rediscover his game-face, but otherwise we defended well, moved through the middle with intent and our play in and around the box should have resulted in more than just that wonderfully taken Defoe goal, and winner. Wonderful movement in the box, perfect cross by Milner. The latter was decent, player instructions on key, allowing for a far more structured understanding between himself and Glen Johnson down the right.
Gerrard, purposeful and involved. Defoe, patient and sharp with the ball at his feet and unlucky not to have snatched a second. There was one or two mis-placed passes, but compared to the previous two group games, England have managed to claim some much need redemption. Terry and Upson (masterful tackle at the death) at times defending like warriors. Handanovic in-between the sticks for them, worthy of a mention too.
Lampard improved but nowhere near his Chelsea form. Milner, peach of a cross. Did he lack direction at times? Lose the ball too easily? One or two people perhaps being a tad too harsh there. Did think Barry lacked something. Was left disappointed with his overall impact. Much like Lampard, I guess their work on the field is undervalued when compared to the likes of Gerrard. Or perhaps they are just plain ordinary at the moment.
As mentioned, defence worked hard - Johnson a little dodgy at the start. Ashley Cole, top drawer. There were heart-in-mouth moments, but we survived.
Nice to see Joe Cole chucked on. Probably needs more time than a late cameo to be truly instrumental, but his substitution aided us in retaining possession towards the end with his corner flag antics. Looked a little rusty with his passing. Can't see Capello changing the midfield too much in the next game.
One questionable area is up front. And Wayne Rooney's disappointing form. Taken off, injured, but once more off-key. Regardless of his lack of spark, still wouldn't want him to be unavailable for the next match. You hope, he'll awaken soon. Had he not scuffed his shot, it might have happened today. To be fair, he wasn't awful but he was far from great. And compared to his Utd form, nowhere near the player we need for the crusade.
So, a win, confidence, belief. Mood of a nation shifts into the sunshine leaving the dark cloud behind. Was only Slovenia, right? But at least we beat them and our demons. Even Capello was excited (appy) at the final whistle, congratulating the players, all smiles. Team unity on public display for all to see. Well done. Still have to improve.
Also nice to hear actual singing over the textbook vuvuzelas. And thank you to the BBC for showing an England game that ends with an England win. ITV = cursed.
Do we need to improve further? Yes. Stick more chances away for starters. Knock-out football appears to have kick-started our World Cup. Late goal by the USA in their game against Algeria means we now play the winners of Group D. Germany.
And if we win, possibly the Argies. Happy days.
As for Sunday, we do not need any Carlsberg team talks or front page tabloids citing Churchill to inspire.
It's Germany. Just avoid the penalties.
Reader Comments (55)
Thought Ghana should have done them TBH. If they play open football like that, I'd fancy Gerrard having a field day!
You must be taking the mickey, England thrash Slovenia? 1-0 is trashed eh? Playing a shockingly bad team, going for the corner with 5 mins left, Barry was shocking, as was Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard! Wake up, if they play like that against the Germans the score line will be embarassing! Vast improvement needed, how fickle can you be? It was another poor performance against a very bad side, who's star player plays for West Brom! The only positive is that they cant play worse than they have in the group stages!
We played well, people need to stop pretending we are capable of going out there and playing like Brazil 1970. We contained them and we won. Thought Lampard did well, Gerrard also. Not impressed with with the Germans personally.
The title is taking the piss, do you really need to be told that?
What is disparaging form...?
Has he been talking about people!
Sorry but England have been found out at this competion ,they are not as good as they think they are.To think this team get payed millions a week buy their clubs ,sorry but the clubs are being ripped of going on the way the players are playing .They all look slow and are being outplayed by countries that used to fear them.Where is the one touch passing game that other teams are playing so well.Watched the German V Ghana game and on that i feel either of these teams could beat England.For me England are the biggest disappointment of this World Cup.They came with high hopes and have failed so far to deliver.At this rate of going they will become the new Italy ,oh well maybe they will win the cup after all then.
England will up their game further. It's against Germany, we'll turn up for it, no doubting that at all. Nice article, sums it up. I'm unsure about how good Milner was, BBC seemed to rate his performance but I found it meh. Along with Barry. Defoe looked in great nick but Rooney was just awful. Got no one else to draft in sadly.
Football has moved on. Some of our fans and the press have to move on to. How can some of you slag off England when they win having slagged them off when they were drawing?
I'm appy to. Are you appy?
Er, that should be 'disappointing'. Spellzcheckz strikes again.
So much negativity.
Can I point out the obvious? England never play well at big tournaments, they struggle mostly. Did so in 1990, started slowly in Euro 96. I think people need to put it all into perspective and stop thinking we can ever win the WC and just be content with what we have.
Nobody else to draft in???????????
There's a 6ft 7in streak on the bench who would think different...
Crouch v ze Germans?
I like that.
JD and Crouchie up front. Spurs to win the World Cup.
We need to be better than this but no complaints. Nobody for me has stood out in this WC, even the sides playing decent confident football are not looking vastly superior.
'England thrash Slovenia' - It certainly feels that way after two desperate draws.
That was a better performance by England but with 20 mins to go, I would have thought Capello would have put on Lennon to expose the booked left back of Slovenia and stuck Milner on the left, brought Gerard in the middle and replaced Lampard.
Rooney needs to be used as a sub to perhaps give him some incentive and starting with Crouch and Defoe upfront against Ze Germans.
Johnson is a liability at right back, I would stick Carragher there for the next game!
If WEST HAM won the 66 world cup, TOTTENHAM kept England in the World cup this time!!!!
YIDDO
Don't kid yourself. England were useless
I wouldn't go that far. We did enough. Might not be the same type of enough to get us past the Germans, but they played better. Shades of '90.
fear factor now gone, big improvement today, shoulda been 3 or 4 nil, will be stronger against germany. also, no proper goals conceeded yet
No wonder England struggle what with some of the fans expectations. Spooky, diplomatic article from you.
Shame you didn't do a write up of the game "in character" spooks. Considering the reaction of some England fans.
some weird england fans on here vomiting negativity at every turn
Jesus. Why so many glum responses? I can't wIt to see us play a team who will actually try to beat us. The Germans will take the the game to us and free up a whole world of space. The game on Sunday will be worlds apart from what we have seen so far, and yes, I am confident in what we have. There have been all kinds of blogs and posts stating that nobody fears England anymore, but why do you suppose that we have conceeded one desperate goal so far? Because they fear us. We are not being attacked and therefore have to force our way through single minded defences. I'm only glad we weren't drawn with Greece. I'm fed up with tactical negativity and welcome the idea of winning mentality football. We are now in the knockout stages and facing the old foe. It will be very different to the last three games and I for one am very excited!
Someone in the comments section the other day said England once upon a time would win the game in the tunnel, the opposition bricking it because we were England. Can we put this to bed now? East European sides are no push overs, in fact there is a distinct lack of pushover nowadays once we get down to the business end of championships and world cups. But the respect is still there, seen by the way teams set out to play us. I agree, against Germany we'll improve more so and Germany will come at us which will suit us just fine. Looking forward to it.
way i see it is that capello is too conservative.
rooney just ain't interested & should be left out of the next game to start with (so overrated)
milner did a couple of decent crosses but time on time couldn't or wouldn't take on the defender to get to the byline.
lennon should most certainly have come on for the last 20 mins as his pace would have caused real problems to a rapidly tireing defence.
sorry but england have no creativity & even lack the basic skill of ball control.
my prediction for the next game (& i hope i'm wrong) germany 3 england 1
roll on euro 2012!!!
Funny how we all see different things when it comes to football.
Milner couldn't dribble past anyone if his life depended on it.He was kept in for defensive job I guess, England was happy with the scoreline . I miss Brook the gooner fag
Spooky you gone soft or summit? Baby has turned you to gash. Knock your head against the wall man!
England = Unbeaten.
Suck on that.
Look lads if its just the winning then fine lets not complain but compared to other teams like Brazil and Portugal you are poor,piss poor.Are you all trying to say this was a good performance because it did not look like that to me.Rooney is not fit ,we can all see that.Lampard and Gerrard are not worth the money people say they are worth going by what they have done in this World Cup.Remember before it started a lot of people were saying (yet again) England can win it and look how easy a draw they have all the way to the semis .Now its we made it out of the group stages great.I think England without a fit Rooney have been found out and the players have.These are the same players getting millions every year.To play for your country in any sport is the highest honour but to the greedy footballers its just a chance to put themselves in the window to get a better pay deal.Again i ask what has happened to the crisp passing or the Gazza who can beat a couple of players and make something happen its just not there.As for Sunday well good luck because if the Germans are on their game then it could be trouble for use.
And what if the English are on their game?
If the English are on their game it will be a first and fecking worth watching but just can't see it.
Let's cross our fingers.
what a dickhead stupid headline thrash pah what a twat. get this meathead off the poster
I may well be in the minority but I cannot find any reason to join the euphoria of supporters and press over England’s 1-0 victory over Slovenia. I thought they were only marginally better than in the previous games.
Certainly Milner was a success on the wing, providing industry and some great crosses. I thought Gerrard had his best game for a while, and Defoe showed the potential to be very dangerous if he gets the service. Terry was solid as was James. Upson defended well but his distribution was poor on several occasions.
On the negative side Johnson is a worry at right back and was lucky not to get a second yellow and an early exit. His supposed strength is attack but did little that was effective in that respect. Maybe Carragher can fill that role, or even Milner leaving the wing open for Lennon or SWP. Ashley Cole seems to have lost the urge to attack which made him one of the best left backs in the world. And I am not sure why Lampard or Barry is there. Joe Cole would be a better option for a midfield role.
Two things are really apparent. First Rooney is not 100% fit. He has carried an injury for the latter part of the season playing for the prawn-eaters and has not had the time to rest and fully recover. I just hope that if Rooney is really not 100% that Capello bites the bullet and goes with Crouch and Defoe, who are used to playing with each other. The second is the tactics. If Defoe is to be used then it is no good punting the ball hopefully up field. He needs a provider of sharp through balls on the floor. At least 4 times the ball whistled over him from hopeful punts to no avail. If that is to be the tactic than play Heskey---god forbid!. Beckenbauer’s comments about England’s style, or lack thereof, were pretty spot on. I would rather see them really going for it with class and skill and losing to a better team than more performances like the last three.
Smacking a bit of dejavu, England's fortunes this time round are identical to Italia 90 (scores - 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)... better to start of slow and peak on way thru - provided we get past Germany, eagerly anticipating the Hand of God (Act 2) match!!
Oh my God!!! Title on the article is obviously taking the p*** - why the hell are so many people reading it literally?? Let's face it, compared to the USA and Algeria matches, yesterday afternoon was a huge (and I mean HUGE) improvement; all of them played with heart, with passion and with pride in wearing the shirt. I don't like John Terry, but when he threw himself, head first, in front of the Slovenian striker (shades of Butcher) he proved his committment to this side.
Knockout games in the WC are different; you have to win; you have to go out to win; the Yanks, the Algerians (and to some extent the Slovenians yesterday) were playing Group Football - it was up to England to break them down; we did yesterday, off the shin of Defoe. Yee Haa!! We're through, we have the Germans next, Argentina possibly in the QF, then Spain in the SF possibly.
On our day, we can do this; but all of 'em, every last man of 'em (including Rooney, who had very soon better get his shooting boots on as he looks a shadow of the striker we all know he is) need to turn up; I think they will.
I am a bit sad for Slovenia but good for England , they played reasonably well. Germany next ... They are a very strange team for the moment.
Germany used to be an old and disciplined team without frivolity or trickery ... Now they are a young exiting team with plenty of extra technical bagage ... And England is the old and disciplined team without the creative spark
If offensive and attractive football wants to win well then the Germans should pass , i feel a bit dirty for having said that. I hope England proves me wrong ...
Well said Lincoln. And we play Brazil in the final.
The Euphoria is because England finally played well. At last. Anyone could see that this is infinitely better than the first 2 games. When England attacked, we had many players in the box waiting for it. In the first game, no one wanted the ball there - one or two players in the box max. Most players apart from Rooney were afraid to shoot - especially Gerrard. More chances, more creativity, energy. It was a massive step in the right direction. We didn't want to peak too early, so we are back on track. A better performance can be acheived if they stay focussed. If Rooney, Lampard start playing then England WILL get better. We are also relieved that we didn't do a France - turn up and show absolutely nothing. If England went out last night, I still wouldn't be so upset because at least they showed some spirit and attacking play this time. Performance was the key.
As Belgian said, Germany is a young and exciting team. They tend to do alot of what they call "doppelpass" and they've got pace and trickery in bundles. Our right flank is the one that's going to be pressurised more with Poldi sprinting toe to toe with "isn't he supposed to be a right back?" Johnson. They'll play rather effectively on the counter, exposing our slow centrebacks. However, what they don't have is a decent target man...well apart from Klose. Mario Gomes is kept on the bench, because he's frankly shite. I suppose Klose has now served his one match ban which is a worry becuase he's faster than Terry (that superman dive was funny) or Upson who did aalrigh yesterday.
Dangermen for me is that bloke from LazyTown/horrow films http://www.oleole.com/media/main/images/member_photos/group1/subgrp279/peterlorreozilorstin_384270.jpg and 'almost came to spurs' Poldi.
We've got a chance, but have to keep it tighter at the back.
Erm, as I said the danger men are Podolski and this bloke http://tiny.cc/gurt4
Thrashed? I would't call a nervy 1-0 win; where the opposing team had just as good chances to score, a thrashing. Portugal's second half display against N. Korea was a thrashing.
I don't understand why everyone exaggerates England performances; good or bad. Against USA, England played well. USA are now on par with England, if not for individual ability then definitely organisation and team play. England are still a squad of individuals. If you watch Ghana's passing and movement against Germany last night, then you'll see just how poor England.
Admittedly, England were very poor against Algeria. I don't need to say anymore regarding that game.
England contain an excellent group of individual players but not a good team of players. Until they galvanise themselves and improve on their passing and movement on the pitch, then please stop over hyping them and then then bringing them down because they've not lived up to those high expectations.
England are Spurs of the past 20years. (except last year) A bunch of good individuals but not a team.
england still far from playing good stuff. when they "thrash" an amateur team 1 nothing it says it all really. why is barry still on the pitch? he can't seem to pass the ball any more. germay played well against a strong looking ghana team and came away with the 3 points. it's going to be tough for england against germany, but lets hope they can up their game for that match.
COYS
For the last time - he is being sarcastic by saying 'thrashed'. I disagree with the 'far from playing good stuff' point - there was some stuff last night that was very good. England were on top, deserved to win and should have scored more. They are still not in top gear - it is whether they find that gear or not is the question.
Trembly , you forgot about their right winger Muller who is supported by Lahm (one of the best RB in the modern game)
But they are young and easily bullied and the defence isn't really world class neither
Belgian. I did miss out Muller and Lahm on the right, but I don't think they'll be 'as much' of a threat as our left side should be relatively disciplined and fairly sound defensively. It's more that Glenn Johnson openly invites people into the space behind him - he doesn;t seem to care who fills it - perhaps the winger that's supposed to be in front of him, perhaps the slow central defender who's having to cover for him, or the opposition. He relies far too much on his pace to get him out of trouble, rather than proper positioning to prevent the trouble from occuring in the first place.
As for the German defence, you're right as well. When I heard Citteh signed Boateng, how I laughed. Pacey and attacking but another who leaves space behind him when he's regularly out of position. There should be plenty of holes for cr'Ouch and Defoe to exploit.