Well, it could have been worse. The nation waited expectantly and after 4 minutes it all seemed to fit into place.
Emile Heskey, derided even my non-footballing housemate Mark, set up Gerrard to put England seemingly on their way. However, unable to nail their superiority down in terms of goals, Rob Green failed to put his body behind a shot from Clint Dempsey and it trickled into the back of the net.
Not wanted to dwell on that, here are my ratings (out of 10) for the England side against USA:
Green (GK): Quiet game, didn’t have much to do. Complete howler that will haunt him for the rest of his career. James surely to start against Algeria on Friday. 3
Johnson (RB): Solid game from the right back. Useful in attack and steady in defence. One of England’s best players. 7
King (CB): Injury problems appeared again and substituted at half time. Other than that, fairly sturdy. 5
Terry (CB): Solid performance, nothing really of any note. 6
Cole (LB): Quiet game for Cole, who stayed back to deal with Donovan. Looked useful when venturing forward. 6
Lennon (RM): Undoubted pace, but end product still questionable. Lively. 6
Gerrard (CM): Excellent first half, well taken goal. Subdued in second half. Unfortunate to get a yellow card. 7
Lampard (CM): Quiet game from the Chelsea midfielder. Worked well with Gerrard, stayed back when needed to and tested Howard. 6
Milner (LM): Obviously still ill, one of Capello’s stranger decisions. Hauled off after half an hour, hopefully he’ll play again when fully fit. 5
Rooney (ST): Very quiet from the striker, looked like he was under instructions to stay cool. Came to life in the last 15 minutes. Worked for the cause though. 6.
Heskey (ST): Fine assist for the goal, worked with endeavour throughout. Still can’t score, but an excellent target man. Very useful in the group games. 7
Subs:
Wright Phillips for Milner: Strange selection over Cole, but stopped the USA right back overlapping when his pace caused him to be booked. Spurned a good chance. 6
Carragher for King: Sorely lacking in pace, but made some good tackles. Booked. 5
Crouch for Heskey: Came on too late to make an impact. His height will be useful against weaker opposition. 5
Emile Heskey, derided even my non-footballing housemate Mark, set up Gerrard to put England seemingly on their way. However, unable to nail their superiority down in terms of goals, Rob Green failed to put his body behind a shot from Clint Dempsey and it trickled into the back of the net.
Not wanted to dwell on that, here are my ratings (out of 10) for the England side against USA:
Green (GK): Quiet game, didn’t have much to do. Complete howler that will haunt him for the rest of his career. James surely to start against Algeria on Friday. 3
Johnson (RB): Solid game from the right back. Useful in attack and steady in defence. One of England’s best players. 7
King (CB): Injury problems appeared again and substituted at half time. Other than that, fairly sturdy. 5
Terry (CB): Solid performance, nothing really of any note. 6
Cole (LB): Quiet game for Cole, who stayed back to deal with Donovan. Looked useful when venturing forward. 6
Lennon (RM): Undoubted pace, but end product still questionable. Lively. 6
Gerrard (CM): Excellent first half, well taken goal. Subdued in second half. Unfortunate to get a yellow card. 7
Lampard (CM): Quiet game from the Chelsea midfielder. Worked well with Gerrard, stayed back when needed to and tested Howard. 6
Milner (LM): Obviously still ill, one of Capello’s stranger decisions. Hauled off after half an hour, hopefully he’ll play again when fully fit. 5
Rooney (ST): Very quiet from the striker, looked like he was under instructions to stay cool. Came to life in the last 15 minutes. Worked for the cause though. 6.
Heskey (ST): Fine assist for the goal, worked with endeavour throughout. Still can’t score, but an excellent target man. Very useful in the group games. 7
Subs:
Wright Phillips for Milner: Strange selection over Cole, but stopped the USA right back overlapping when his pace caused him to be booked. Spurned a good chance. 6
Carragher for King: Sorely lacking in pace, but made some good tackles. Booked. 5
Crouch for Heskey: Came on too late to make an impact. His height will be useful against weaker opposition. 5
