England Scrape Home

A 1-0 victory against a competent Paraguay side, courtesy of an own goal, gave England the three points they wanted, but anyone who describes this as a good team performance is either very stupid or utterly delusional.

The truth is that England failed lamentably to capitalise on a terrific start. David Beckham’s wicked free kick after just 3 minutes was deflected into his own net by Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra and when, moments later goalkeeper Justo Villar limped off, Eriksson’s men looked set for a comfortable victory.

But the rout did not materialise and even in a first half which England dominated territorially, Paraguay did enough to suggest that they might prove dangerous. After the interval, the South Americans had more of the game as Sven’s men wilted in the heat and in the face of two of his most incomprehensible substitutions, so that by the end of the game they were relieved to have clung on to their slender lead.

That success owed most to the inspirational leadership and quality of Beckham, the tireless industry of Peter Crouch, the flair of Joe Cole and, in the first half at least, the monumental efforts of Steven Gerrard, whose fitness had been in doubt before the game. Beyond those four, it is difficult to find anyone who enhanced his reputation. Robinson, who had little to do overall against a side that occasionally threatened but actually produced only two shots on target, was alarmingly hesitant at times. In front of him, Gary Neville was subdued and his distribution, by his high standards, strangely inaccurate; Terry and Ferdinand marred generally solid displays by moments of indecision; and Ashley Cole still looks a little short of his sparkling best. Least effective in midfield was plodding Frank Lampard, doyen of the sideways pass, who had four scoring chances and hit most of them straight at the keeper, while up front Michael Owen, like Arsenal’s Ashley Cole, still lacks the sharpness which in the past has struck fear into opponents as strong as Argentina.

As for the manager, he continues to disappoint on a massive scale. His response to an increasingly insipid second half display was to remove Owen and Cole in favour of Stewart Downing and Owen Hargreaves, two players whose very presence in the squad, much less on the pitch, is a far greater mystery than the inclusion of young Theo Walcott, who at least offers potential in the international arena. Downing’s contribution has been received generously by the press – though it is almost impossible to tell why. He made a couple of runs with the ball and was tackled. He also had a shot off target and defensively his failure to pressurise a Paraguayan player led to a cross which was unconvincingly patted away by Robinson. As for Hargreaves, in his eight or so minutes on the pitch he succeeded only in reinforcing the widely held view that he is not an international player.

And then there was the heat. Apparently, this is what caused England to fade in the second half – an England team which has had an unprecedented amount of preparation time and which, the manager assures us, is far fitter than in previous World Cup competitions. Now that really is scary – especially in view of the current weather forecasts for Europe.