As a test, this friendly in Berlin against a second-string Germany may not stand up to excessive scrutiny; but I don’t believe I’m resorting to hyperbole when I state that this was one of England’s most complete and satisfying displays from the last decade.
England displays are usually marked by stilted uncertainty, but this performance was both measured and incisive. There was a genuine balance and symmetry to the team with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Stewart Downing offering natural width. Downing has previously looked as though he lacks a certain cutting edge; but he was perhaps man of the match in this game and looked like a confident, seasoned international. In addition Jermain Defoe and Gabriel Agbonhlahor provided pace up front, while Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick dominated central midfield. Perhaps it is a coincidence that England put in one of their most convincing recent performances when several big name players were absent. But perhaps not!
England deserved to win this game by more than a single goal. They were in control for significant swathes of the match, and it was only sporadically that Germany found room to attack (it took an elaborately contrived John Terry/Scott Carson clanger for Germany to find the net). It could actually be argued that this performance was more impressive than the 5-1 win back in 2001. Whilst it is difficult to knock such an emphatic win (in a competitive qualifying fixture) the 2001 game could actually have gone either way. If Deisler had put away a sitter in the first-half to make it 2-1 to Germany the complexion of the game would have been very different. The score was also inflated by two breakaway England goals late in the game. In this latest fixture, however, England dominated almost throughout and never took recourse to defending deep; so the fact that it almost finished 1-1 demonstrates the extent to which football can be a fickle mistress. England’s goals may have come from set-pieces but they could have had a couple of others, with substitute Darren Bent slipping in front of an open goal and Shaun Wright-Phillips hitting a post from long-range.
It may be stretching credibility, but this performance could shift the balance of power somewhat from big name individuals to collective endeavour. Frank Lampard has seemingly adapted his game well under Capello and he put in a polished performance against Belarus in the most recent qualifier. It would therefore be a surprise if he didn’t win his place back in central midfield, despite the sound combined showing here from Barry and Carrick. However, Gerrard has always seemed like a square peg when playing for England and although he scored a canny thunderbolt against Belarus, his presence on the left in the first-half had unbalanced the side. This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction: Gerrard has consistently underperformed for England for about seven years now; accommodations are made because of his club form, but his ability is apparently constrained on the international stage.