Football Report: Euro Qualifying 2010- England thrash Switzerland 3-1
England continued their good form in European qualifiers by beating Switzerland in their second match. England emerged victorious by a margin of 3-1, against a weak Swiss side.
English won their first match against Bulgaria by 4-0, but Capello still felt the pressure of the critics. Therefore, in order to relieve some pressure, it was necessary for him to win his match against Swiss, who are considered to be a stronger side than Bulgaria. Things are quite clear for Capello right now, who have answered all his critics by emerging victorious in their match.
The major decision taken by Capello was to play Wayne Rooney against Switzerland. Rooney faced some domestic problems due to which it was feared that he would not be able to concentrate in the match. However, Rooney earned his place after his great performance in the match against Bulgaria. Rooney came up with three assists to Jermaine Defoe, helping him in scoring a hat-trick. Capello did not find it hard to give Rooney another start against Swiss, but this time he wanted his striker to score a goal as well.
Rooney did fulfil the promises as he scored in the opening ten minutes of the matches. The other two goals were scored by substitutes Adam Johnson and Darren Bent. Johnson came on for the injured Theo Walcott in 13th minutes, when the Arsenal forward got into a collision that is suspected to have resulted in a broken ankle for the player. Arsene Wenger would be very angry with this incident, especially because the player was doing very well for his team in English Premier League.
Darent Bent came as a substitute for Jermaine Defoe, the hat-trick hero against Bulgaria. In the match against Swiss, Defoe lacked his quality finishing touch, as he missed quite a few chances. However, he did come close to scoring but his effort was cleared by Swiss goalkeeper, Diego Benaglio. Nevertheless, it was an average performance by Defoe, but he was compensated by other English players.
Despite his great performances with Manchester City, Joe Hart, the English goalkeeper, looked a bit shaky at the back. He was unable to catch some of the crosses, due to which Swiss were able to put a little pressure on English. However, Steven Gerrard, the English captain, was doing a great job covering for his defenders, in the absence of many first team players in English defence. Apart from this, Swiss did not pose any real threat to English defence, as a run by Alexander Frei was the best chance the Swiss got in the whole match.
When things were looking a bit shaky for English at the back, they were given a life line as Stephan Lichtsteiner was booked twice and sent off in 65th minute. After the sent off, English started to look good again, but they received a set-back when a thirty yard powerful shot by Xherdan Shaqiri gave a little hope to Swiss. However, Swiss found it very hard to stage a come-back with only ten players on the pitch. English, on the other hand, were happy to hold off their lead, which would have been enough for Capello’s men.
However, a late strike by Darren Bent ensured a victory by a clear margin for English team. The final score-line was 3-1, which was a great result for Capello’s men, who seemed to put their World Cup worries behind.
With this victory, English remain on top of their group with a comfortable margin. This victory was much required for Capello, who was coming under constant pressure. However, it is yet to be seen whether his image would improve in eyes of his critics. In addition, the English captain Steven Gerrard was very much happy after this victory. He said that his team clearly outplayed a weak Swiss side, and they remained ahead of their opponents throughout the match.
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