Is England suddenly a world class football team?
There is something weird about English football - the national team is usually described in the extremes where no middle ground exists. Either the English football team is spectacular or they are just a bunch of overrated, highly paid footballers who are not worthy enough to don the national jerseys.
After going through a brilliant World Cup qualification stage under the tutelage of their Italian manager Fabio Capello, England landed in South Africa as the favourites to lift the World Cup. But once the mega event unfolded, England was quickly found out to be technically inferior, slow in speed and too reliant on the direct route of football. Furthermore, they were physically jaded and just did not have the ability to pass the ball around. The World Cup hangover persisted, at least until England finally beat Spain and Switzerland in the Euro Cup qualifiers.
England was supremely impressive against the Swiss team, beating them 3-1 in their second Group G game in Basel. Without a doubt, it was no mean feat scoring three goals against the home team. Most of the pre-match rumours were regarding talismanic striker Wayne Rooney and his ability to score goals for England. There were suggestions that he mentally unfit to play at the highest level. Yet as Capello had promised, Rooney came out with a lot of fire in his tummy as he turned up a confident, incisive performance which led to the Three Lions winning their second match in just under a week. After Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick against Bulgaria on Friday, the scoring was more equitably divided as England romped to a 3-1 win in Basle.
If anyone was concerned that Rooney’s off-the-field problems might affect him on the pitch, this game put those doubts to rest. Rooney ended his international goal drought when he finished off a move in the 10th minute to give England a deserved early lead. Yet England would not have it all their way as they did against Bulgaria. Capello’s early plans were hit when in the build up play to the first goal, Arsenal winger Theo Walcott was injured and had to leave the field of play after what looked to be a nasty injury. But according to Capello, the injury should not take long to heal. But it will be a set up for his club manager Arsene Wenger and himself as he had played himself into terrific form in the early parts of the English Premier League.
The enforced substitution brought on Adam Johnson. England showed that when confronted by adversity they can hold their own as they managed to play attractive football. The English team was wary of Switzerland’s counter-attacking ability but were duly in control for major parts of the match.
They soon doubled their money when Johnson scored in the 69th minute to give them some breathing space. Yet the Swiss were constantly threatening and their pressure paid off after Xherdan Shaqiri smashed a spectacular goal. England, unlike previous times, held their nerve and held on to win after Darren Bent scored a late finisher. The English were helped by Stephan Lichtsteiner’s sending off in the 65th minute which assured that the Swiss defence was tired in the latter parts of the match.
So England now has two wins from two games and Capello can suddenly feel much better about his job security. Does this victory mean anything in terms of how good the English team is? England has always been a decent side and has played brilliantly against teams with limited resources. They were tested in this game against Switzerland and Fabio Capello will be pleased by his team’s response. However, he will know that despite the win, the real test is yet to come.
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