As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, England had 12 players injured or rendered unavailable for a variety of reasons. Give or take a few players this was basically a second string side. So losing 1-0 to a slightly understrength Brazil isn’t too bad. Many players gave encouraging performances. That being said, Brazil fully deserved the win, and we were outplayed through the whole match.

I was the most worried about our back four, especially since they would be facing someone so fear inspiring at Kaka. With Ferdinand, Terry and Johnson out, it was thorough improvised made up of Brown, Upson, Lescott, and Bridge. You can see why I was worried? But through most of the game, with the obvious exception of the one goal (Nilmar just zipped straight through Bridge and Upson), they were pretty effective at shutting Brazil down. Brazil were pretty effective at launching attacks, however Foster wasn’t forced to save that much thanks to his defense.

Which brings us to Foster. I am not his biggest fan, I think he always looks extremely panicked in games, which is definitely not desirable in a keeper. And while that crazy look crept into his eyes several times, for the most part he kept his head. Of course, as I said earlier, he wasn’t really tested that much but hopefully this game will serve as a confidence booster (the goal conceded really wasn’t his fault).

Our attack was pretty much nonexistent. When we did get past the halfway line (which was not very much) we lacked width, we lacked inspiration. Rooney, Bent, and eventually Defoe (when Bent made room for him) were rendered mostly useless. Whenever Rooney actually got the ball it was because he dropped incredibly far back, a place where not even he could score. The midfield had trouble getting the ball forward and bursting up the wing. Young James Milner looked really good on defense, chasing balls down left and right, but needs to work on his long balls and passing in general.

Of course this is just a friendly, but it could have some ramifications. There is a chance that we would have to field this side in the World Cup, it’s unlikely but not impossible. And really, considering they were playing a quite good side they did alright. Hopefully the players came away with a clear picture of what they did well and what they need to work on between now and June. I’m sure Mr. Capello has a very clear picture of what he wants them to work on.

Our illustrious captain Wayne Rooney said:

“It was a difficult game for us. We created some chances but Brazil were the better team and deserved to win, that’s disappointing. Brazil move the ball so well, they make you chase every yard, and that’s hard over 90 minutes, but we’re better than we showed tonight. We’re looking to improve with every game and thankfully this is only a friendly, so we’ll try to move on.”

I know, I’m surprised at the relative eloquence as well. I agree with everything he said. That game is done, England will move on. We don’t play again til March, so there’s a lot of time for tweaking to be done.

Bit of a weird game. We looked decent going forward, but made two absolutely woeful errors in defence. First Rio Ferdinand gave the ball away, and then stood back to see what would happen. A Dirk Kuyt goal was what happened.

Next it was Gareth Barry’s turn to pass the ball directly to an Oranje shirt while under zero pressure. Robert Green saved from Arjen Robben but Rafel van der Vaart scored the rebound. 2-0.

But then Jermain Defoe came on at half-time, and four minutes later had the ball in the back of the net. Just under 30 minutes later he did it again. So thank you thank you for Jermain Defoe. Unless you’re Michael Owen of course, in which case the little Spurs striker is making you look redundant.

Robert Green; Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole; David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young; Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

I likes the looks of that, and fingers crossed Ashley Young puts in a decent performance.

And if I was a betting man, my money would be on a 1-1 draw.

Feel free to leave any comments about the game below, and we’ll get video/recap up later today.

Probably the most notable thing about the match however was the cursed striker position. Not long after scoring, Heskey limped off replaced by Carlton Cole who was soon carried off, replaced by a not 100% Peter Crouch, who predictably left the proceedings early. Certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be Carrick who came on for Crouch. Rooney looked like he was limping a bit towards the end, but his last minute goal may put minds to rest a little.

So some thoughts on the match:

Firstly – Rooney was our best man. His link up play with Gerrard was very good first half (I always think Lampard links up better with Roo, but was not the case today, with Gerrard and Rooney interweaving to cause havok for the Slovak defence).

That other age old debate, I thought both Lampard and Gerrard were fine. Gerrard only played the first 45, but I sort of don’t understand this thing about them not being able to play together. It seems that unless both have mind blowing performances, the nation won’t be satisfied.

The New kit – Well its very white. I think it would look better with blue shorts myself, with white there’s a look of Wimbledon (Tennis, not the now non-existant club) circa 50 years ago. Its pretty plain, which is fine as its a throwback, but for all the talk about tailoring, the only players who look alright in it are Lampard (who oddly looks like a 50s player in it) and Beckham who it seems can wear anything. It does keep the star, but oddly in white, so you can’t really see it. Only problem I’d have with it, is I’d begrudge paying £40 for something so plain.

Back on the pitch and Beckham came on at HT and broke Bobby Moore’s outfield player caprecord at last, which means we shouldn’t hear much about it for a bit. I’m happy its someone like Becks who has the record, as it a) shows just what pure determination can do and b) I can’t think of a player who has worn the Three Lions in the last few years who that kind of thing would mean more to.

Ben Foster also came on at half time, but he didn’t have a great deal to do to be honest. Mind you better to make first international steps like that rather than in a really important game in the rain. Ask Scott Carson. I still would rather see Green in games like this

So a confident performance from England. We possibly should have dominated more, but I think there was an element of saving themselves for Wednesday. Heskey opened the scoring early on thanks to a Steven Gerrard cross along the six yard box. James only had to make one big save in the first 45, thanks to an Upson mistake.

Speaking of defensive mistakes, Skrtel had a mare for Slovakia. I mean a really really bad game.

England’s second came from a beautifully weighted David Beckham ball which Rooney headed (yes, Rooney, headed! Thats how good a cross it was) in. He immediately went over to thank England’s most capped outfield player.

Lampard’s goal was brilliantly taken as well – England took a freekick quickly (forgetting who was playing Right Wing for a sec) Carrick teeing up Lampard on the edge of the box, who took a touch inside to place it across the goal.

Rooney capped off the game with a goal with the air of offside about it – Downing played him in, he jinked past the keeper and stuck it in the top of the net.

The big question then, is who is going to play up front for England against the Ukraine? Fabio has to call up someone, but not sure who (is Owen fit at the mo?). Maybe he’ll just opt for Rooney with Gerrard and dare I say it, Lampard behind him? Who knows.

Having said that, Spain didn’t play out of their skins either, Iniesta and Xavi passed the ball really well, Marcos Senna had a few ranged shots, and David Villa took his goal well, but they never looked like rolling England over.

Looking at the England side, Jagielka delt well with Torres, but his mistake led to Villa’s goal – an aimless careless pass to the midfield. Glen Johnson looked a little out of his depth at times. Beckham got Cap 108 a few nice crosses and a few good passes, including one that very nearly gave Carlton Cole a dream England debut.

I’m not entirely sure what Fabio Capello is going to take out of what was a largely uneventful game. The key difference between the sides seemed to be confidence. Spain looked like a side who new they were best in the world, and never really had to get out of playing second gear. England sometimes looked like they lost the confidence to really cut through the Spanish backline.

We started with two defensive minded midfielders, Carrick and Barry, which is sensible with the qaulity of the Spanish midfield, but we really did lack a Lampard or Gerrard in the first half, by the time Lampard came on at halfway, he could make little impact on the game.

Spain were also more notably technical than we are. They are a very technically gifted side, but they do lack width, and we failed to exploit that – Joe Cole, probably our most technically gifted footballer, was a big miss I feel. The Spanish passing did get quite sloppy at times, and Carrick in particular picked up alot of stray balls.

Also, we have to be thinking about starting afresh in goal. David James looked shakey, he dropped a clanger, and didn’t move for a couple of Senna’s ranged efforts. James has been having a good couple of years, but he does make stupid errors, and if we’re serious about 2010 (and tonight shows we still have some work to do) then we could do without them.

I also lost count of the times that we just played it back to the goalkeeper whenever we got under any pressure at all.

Overall, I think what we learned is not to get carried away. We do look better under Fabio than we did under McClaren, and we do have cause to feel good about England (look at our qualifying group), but we haven’t suddenly become World-beaters overnight. Spain are already there, all it took was a good run in a tournament and a bit of confidence. If Fabio can give us that, we’ll be well away.

If he could also see to finding us a David Villa, I wouldn’t complain.

Seems like every friendly game – and especially games at Wembley – have been squandered. Instead of giving some untried players a proper runout, it’s been Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Rooney, Owen. Same old, same old.

I’ve heard it suggested (mostly by Talksport callers, but still) that maybe the FA has put pressure on the England manager(s) to play the big names in order to sell some seats.

Sounds a little paranoid maybe, but it’s hard to dismiss.

The two games prior to last night (the May double-bill of friendlies versus USA at Wembley, then away to T&T) are even better examples. In both games I’d suggest that building an England team came a distant second to the FAs financial and political concerns.

All the big names were present for the Wembley game (which they didn’t need to play in, other than to sell seats and help England fans pay for New Wembley) and then released for the trip to Trinidad, making it more or less a pointless B game.

And the Trinidad game itself was a thinly veiled political gesture, the game being an excuse for a round of handshakes and a chance to win votes for the World Cup 2018 hosting big.

We can’t waste all our international friendly dates and then act surprised when the real thing (eg qualifying) goes tits up.

Football fans avert your eyes:

And there’s a very definite feeling in the air that Fabio Capello’s honeymoon as England manager is over. It started with appointing Terry as captain, got worse with the Ashley-Young-less squad and was possibly confirmed tonight with an abject and inept performance.

It was all the usual England failures: the lack of a cutting edge in attack, no pace out wide, a higher than reasonable number of misplaced passes, lots of pointless punts at goal from far too far away. They knew it was Petr Cech in goal and not Paul Robinson, right?

And – worst of all – big name players who didn’t really need to be there while more exciting talent sat it out.

Wayne Rooney ran his heart out, but clearly isn’t fit enough or sharp enough. There was no need for him to play. And David Beckham, a couple of decent corners aside, was his usual frustrating self, pinging long balls to Czech defenders. There was definitely no need for him to travel 6,000 miles just to do that.

It’s not clear exactly when some fresh English talent is going to be given a go. This was the final friendly before World Cup qualification, and Gabby Agbonlahor was left in the under-21s while Ashley Young was ignored and David Bentley got about eight minutes tonight. And Theo Walcott? Promoted from the under-21s and left to rot on the bench. Genius Fabio, genius.

James, Brown, A Cole, Ferdinand, Terry (Captain), Beckham, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Defoe, Rooney.

Look familiar? Steve McClaren could easily have picked that team. So could Sven for that matter.

Only vague bit of newness is the Defoe-Rooney partnership. Could work, really could. Defoe pushing up on the last man and Rooney dropping deep and playing in the support role. Fingers crossed.

But whatever happens tonight, it seems that the same old frustrations of being an England fan are going to continue:

• Gerrard and Lampard tripping over each other
• someone (either Barry or Gerrard) being asked to “do a job” on the left side of midfield
• total lack of pace or ability to beat a man on either wing
• John Terry doing lots of shouting and pointing as captain
• the next David James mistake just waiting to happen and…
• … my number one grievance, young players never getting a chance to crack the starting eleven.

Going to try and enjoy tonight’s game as much as possible, but I fear the future.

Bad news: John Terry is going to be captain (click here for an explanation of why this is bad news).

Still at least it’ll cheer him up. Good management from Mr. C.

On with the preview…

First of all, know your enemy: A lot of England fans will underestimate the US, but that would be a mistake. I know the team better than most English folk (used to write the USA blog on this very site, now excellently manned by Carter).

Premier League watchers will know Clint Dempsey and everyone knows Freddy Adu’s name (if not what he’s all about: info=sweet left foot). There’s probably an increasing familiarity with Landon Donovan ever since he and Becks started their BFF act.

But they’re probably not so familiar with the likes of young Michael Bradley (like a more threatening Michael Carrick) and defensive midfield destroyers Ricardo Clark (who’s not afraid to kick Carlos Ruiz, hard) and Maurice Edu. The US MNT won’t be taking this lightly either. They’ve got a great schedule lined up with games against Spain, Argentina and a proper World Cup qualifier (yeah, against Barbados, but they still have to take it seriously) all to follow.

As for England, this is the day I hope we see some youth. Joe Hart should get a game, and maybe even Joe Lewis, the surprise call up from Peterborough (League Two! bizarre, but why not?)* But whoever’s in goal, it’s just another lamb to the slaughter. One mistake, ever, and England keepers are buggered for eternity. I’d mortgage your house to play outfield for England, but you couldn’t pay me enough money to play in goal for England. It’s a curse.

Outfield, there’s a chance for guys like Ashley Young and Theo Walcott to prove that some England players can run above 2 m.p.h. Here’s how I’d like to see us start:

—————Hart———–
———————————-
Johnson–Ferdinand–Terry–Cole
———————————–
Young–Barry–Gerrard–Cole
——————————–
—-Ashton—Rooney—–

Then hopefully we’ll see Walcott off the bench and on the wing, and Defoe off the bench for a run up front. Why Ashton to start? England are always better with a big man. Will that happen? Probably not.

I’ll be back on Thursday with a report on 1) the game and 2) just how much those burgers are really worth.

*how must poor Paul Robinson feel? dear oh dear

The bad news is that England under Capello looked just like England under Sven and McClaren. Totally lacking in creativity and pace. Even I know that you need one or the other. Joe Cole has plenty of tricks, but not enough to open up a solid defence like France on his own, while the attacking combo of Beckham, Gerrard, Cole and Rooney offered almost zero in the way of speed.

And the French goal was typical England. A defender (Terry) caught napping by a smart through ball to a pacy striker (Anelka) and an error from David James. I don’t want to pick on James. Anyone wearing an England keeper jersey looks error prone at this point (James, Robinson, Carson, whoever.) But he looked ridiculous crouched down waiting for the ball to roll into his arms, when it was obvious Anelka was going to get there first. The result was James tripping Anelka and Ribery slotting home the penalty.

Hopefully Capello learned that you can’t play 4-2-3-1 with a naturally deep lying striker like Rooney as your lone forward, or with widemen like Beckham and Cole who like to come inside. If he didn’t learn at least those two things then it could be another rough few months for England fans.