After a sluggish start, England completed a
routine 5-0 win over San Marino at Wembley. Adam Bate gives his verdict
on the performance as we also offer you the chance to rate the
players...
Phil Jagielka opened the scoring before a Wayne Rooney penalty gave England a two-goal lead at the break.
Second-half strikes from Danny Welbeck and Andros Townsend made it four before an own goal capped a comfortable victory.
Jack
Wilshere impressed in a deeper role, while substitutes Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Andros Townsend all made an impact.
Here's our assessment of England's efforts...
Joe Hart
Nights don’t come much easier than this and such was the novelty of
the ball being in his proximity, almost all of Hart’s touches were
cheered. There weren’t many of them. The England goalkeeper watched a
first-half shot fly wide of his near post and made one straightforward
save after the break. There were nine passes in all, eight completed,
and Hart will take surely the easiest clean sheet a goalkeeper could
wish for.
Calum Chambers
Handed his first England start at right-back, Chambers did offer some
width high up the field but looked a little uncomfortable there at
times – particularly when miscontrolling the ball embarrassingly in the
first half. There were other slips ups too – caught out in possession in
attack and conceding a free-kick in a dangerous position for what was
San Marino’s only shot on target. He will be thrilled to make his first
start but it is to be hoped there is far more to come from the
19-year-old.
Gary Cahill
One of the first names on the team sheet these days, Cahill was
untroubled at the back throughout the game. The centre-back tried to
force it early on and misplaced five passes before the break, but that
improved in the second half and he was never anything other than
composed in his defensive work. Cahill won possession of the ball 13
times – the most of any England player – and kept this organised under
what little pressure there was.
Phil Jagielka
Back in the starting line-up after an injury to Everton team-mate
John Stones, the experienced centre-back produced an assured performance
on a comfortable evening for England’s defenders. More importantly, he
scored the opening goal. It wasn’t as impressive as his Merseyside derby
heroics – the San Marino goalkeeper tripping to allow his header to
slowly loop into the net - but coupled with a 100 per cent pass
completion in the first 45 minutes, it was a good night’s work.
Kieran Gibbs
A rare chance at left-back with Leighton Baines rested and Luke Shaw
on Under-21 duty, Gibbs was asked to do much of the early attacking work
down the left as England went with the diamond formation. He was more
of a passenger after the break as England looked to get their width from
elsewhere, but did have a chance to score with his right foot only to
see the shot blocked. Even so, it was a solid display and he’ll be
hoping the next cap comes sooner rather than later – that’s now four in
four years.
Jack Wilshere
Relieved of the holding role for the first half and given a chance
instead on the left of midfield, Wilshere found the killer ball tricky
as San Marino defended in numbers. However, a switch to a deeper central
position after the interval proved profitable as he lofted a series of
expert balls behind the opposition defence. One pass saw Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain go close, while he also put Wayne Rooney through
twice – creating five chances in all. Better teams will test his
defensive aptitude for the role but this was a fine performance.
Jordan Henderson
Having scored his first goal in over six months last week, Henderson
might have fancied his chances against San Marino but little came off
for him in a difficult first half. Playing in his natural position in an
unnatural game, he lost the ball 19 times in 45 minutes with the
passing radar well off. Henderson never really came to terms with the
congestion ahead of him and his 73.2 per cent passing accuracy was the
worst of any England player with nobody else below 80 per cent.
James Milner
There were questions during the early stages about whether Milner was
needed as a holding midfielder but he certainly did a competent job –
mixing it up with a combination of passes. With 140 touches – nobody
else managed 100 – he was a constant presence. His nine chances created
was also a stand-out statistic as Milner took responsibility for most of
England’s set-pieces, even after switching to the left in the second
half. Only a booking marred his night.
Raheem Sterling
Playing amid the hustle and bustle of a congested first half,
Sterling was long gone by the time England started to enjoy some space
in the latter stages. Forced to play quite narrow, he did fire off a
couple of shots – with one of them winning the corner for England’s
breakthrough goal. Sterling was withdrawn at the interval, perhaps with
Sunday’s game in Estonia in mind, so he is still waiting for his first
international goal.
Wayne Rooney
England skipper is closing in on that England goal record. He now has
42 after netting a penalty but might be wondering whether it could –
and should – have been more after spurning two one-on-one opportunities.
Rooney tried to chip the first one and round the keeper with the
second, while there was also two wild volleys from unlikely positions as
he appeared to get desperate. There were 13 shots in all but it was an
attempted cross that actually found the net – via a deflection.
Danny Welbeck
Thriving at Arsenal, this was a chance for Welbeck to fill his boots
and bolster an already impressive international goalscoring record. In
the end, he had to settle for one – a neat finish at the near post after
getting ahead of his marker early in the second half. Perhaps this
wasn’t Welbeck’s sort of game with San Marino defending deep and little
chance to use his pace to get in behind. But he got his goal and will go
to Estonia with his confidence high.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (on 45)
After a dull first period, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s arrival added real
impetus to England’s work. Within minutes of coming on, he won the ball
high up the pitch and crossed for Welbeck to turn home and it was the
first of two assists for the Arsenal midfielder. A snap shot shortly
afterwards was typical of his ambition, while he also went close with a
header that was pushed just wide of the post. There should even have
been a third assist had Adam Lallana not been wrongly adjudged offside
when turning in a long-range effort.
Adam Lallana (on 45)
Playing at the tip of the diamond in a flexible formation, Lallana
provided his usual mix of twists and turns as he played with typical
swagger. He should have been rewarded with his first England goal when
belatedly and wrongly ruled offside but there was plenty of other
moments to enjoy in his performance as the Liverpool midfielder really
seem to thrive in those tight spaces on the edge of the San Marino box.
Andros Townsend (on 66)
England’s final substitute was given a decent amount of time to
impress and certainly seized his chance. If Lallana is all cute touches
and flicks, Townsend has more blunt weapons at his disposal but they are
no less effective as his familiar habit of taking pot-shots from
distance reaped rewards. Cutting in from the right it was a trademark
effort, beating the goalkeeper at the near post for his second England
goal.
Source SkySports
0 comments:
Post a Comment