International preview: England v Hungary
Tonight’s friendly against Hungary was originally pencilled in by the FA to allow the England supporters to salute Fabio Capello’s brave lions after an heroic display at the 2010 World Cup finals.
How they must wish they were able to turn back the clock. Instead of a carnival-like atmosphere, the mood around Wembley this evening will be hostile – and that’s only if the England players manage to escape lightly.
It’s just six weeks since England were embarrassed by Germany in Bloemfontein, and the pressure on Capello to drop the team’s World Cup flops has been intense from the media and supporters alike. As a result, only 10 of the 23-man squad that travelled to South Africa are in the team for tonight’s match at Wembley, as the Italian boss hands an audition to the youngsters and fringe players before the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign gets underway.
Some have claimed that Capello hasn’t been ruthless enough with those who failed to perform this summer. With the furious Laurent Blanc opting to drop every one of the France squad after their humiliating group-stage exit, there will be more than a few England supporters at the national stadium tonight wondering why the former Real Madrid and Juventus coach hasn’t adopted a similar approach.
Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have the strength in depth that Blanc does. Whatever his reasons, this week’s preparations ahead of England’s first match since the disappointing World Cup have been chaotic to say the least for Capello.
The England manager announced his squad for tonight’s friendly on Saturday evening; but since then Paul Robinson and Wes Brown have quit the international game, while Ben Foster has pulled out injured, leaving Capello with just one of his original goalkeepers in his squad.
Before the World Cup debacle, if Watford goalkeeper Scott Loach and fourth-choice Blackburn Rovers keeper Frankie Fielding were told they would be second and third in line behind Joe Hart for England’s first match after the tournament, they would have been left as bemused as anyone. Yet, the current sorry state of affairs means that’s exactly what will happen this evening.
The likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and captain Stephen Gerrard will all be at Wembley this evening, and the England skipper is braced for the backlash from the fans, claiming that if he was in their position he’d boo the team, too.
Tonight’s match will be the first step towards healing their damaged relationship with the fans, who have reached new levels of disillusionment in recent weeks. There will be boos, there will be jeers and it won’t be an easy night for anyone who represented England in South Africa - but this is all part of their redemption.
Only a convincing victory over the Hungarians this evening will act as a peace offering. Capello may want to look at Jack Wilshere and co in action, but he’ll be aware that an early goal would be the best way to silence those who choose to voice their frustrations.
On any other occasion, the build-up to tonight’s match against Hungary would have been dominated by the 'Magical Magyars' famous 6-3 victory over England in 1953. Sadly, that’s been overshadowed by the fallout from the Three Lions World Cup campaign, but now’s the time the climb out of the gutter and begin a new era.
Capello and his players can issue a real statement of intent this evening – or rather, they need too. If they fail again then the backlash will gather even more momentum, and the FA could be forced to make changes before the next competitive international against Bulgaria at the start of next month, after all.
Prediction: England 2 Hungary 1
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