England won on the strength of two Gerrard goals which were quite sublime, especially the second one. Bobby Zamora was also distinctly unlucky not to get on the board. The national side had to come back after a dubious own goal awarded to Phil Jagielka.
Again Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry, and Frank Lampard were missing for most of the match. Once Lampard left the pace picked up. Rooney left to jeers. It’s quite stunning, isn’t it? Not too long ago, Rooney could do no wrong and now he has a bulls eye painted on his back. His scoring drought continues stretches back to September 2009.
Ashley Young was pacy and threatening down the left while Walcott had his moments in the first half. Walcott was not the only Arsenal man in the ranks as Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere also saw debuts. A long time since the Gunners had that much representation in the England squad.
Capello has to stop this inane pairing of Gerrard with Lampard. Of the two, Gerrard is the more natural goalscorer and can play in the slot.