Mar 28 2009
England Show Off New Shirt With a 4-0 Win Over Slovakia at Wembley
The England team today showed off the new classic style shirt as Slovakia was defeated 4-0 at Wembley. Heskey got the team off to a flyer in the 7th minute with his first international goal in six years, and there were then three more goals scored late on in the second half as England continued to press.
Wayne Rooney grabbed two, Frank Lampard the other, and three strikers were injured in the process. Heskey was the first to leave the field twelve minutes after scoring, and he was replaced by Carlton Cole. Cole was unable to finish the half though, and spent just 19 minutes on the pitch before being replaced by Peter Crouch. Crouch made it to half-time, and lasted a fair percentage of the second half also; in the 74th minute he too had to come off though, and Michael Carrick was his replacement.
The win was brilliant and Wayne Rooney was the best player on the pitch; it was very worrying that so many strikers were injured though, and Rooney was the only forward that finished the match fit. Darren Bent has now received a call-up as a result of England’s mass injury problems, and he may now start in the game against the Ukraine on Wednesday.
David Beckham broke England’s outfield caps record in playing the second-half, and even provided an assist for Wayne Rooney in his 109th appearance for England. Beckham wants to play in the 2010 World Cup, and if he continues to perform as he has been, then I see no reason why he shouldn’t do so. David Beckham has always been an excellent player, and whilst he isn’t getting any younger; he’s still a quality performer, and his set-pieces are still a joy to behold.
Although just a friendly game; this was still a brilliant win for England, and will no doubt fill the team with a lot of confidence going into the game against the Ukraine next week. I doubt England will win again so comfortably on Wednesday, it was nice to see the team do so well tonight though, and Fabio Capello will no doubt have been incredibly impressed with the performance.
Gerard and Rooney formed a fantastic partnership this evening, and if they can combine again so strongly against the Ukraine then that really will be absolutely brilliant to see. England’s next task is to maintain a 100% win record in Group Six, and I’m currently feeling quite confident that the team will do so.
