England were essentially presented with practice at attacking a packed defence for 90 minutes. The initial qualifier against the same opposition in this campaign showed that games against so-called ‘minnows’ can still be tricky affairs. An early goal is crucial for easing the nerves and fortunately that’s what England managed here with Wayne Rooney heading home Glen Johnson’s cross after 3 mins. England scored another couple before half-time: Frank Lampard fired home Theo Walcott’s cross; and Rooney scored again following another Johnson cross.
The game followed a similar overall pattern in the second period, but it took England a while to further extend their lead. Jermain Defoe, on for Rooney, scored the fourth of the evening with a good header from yet another Johnson cross. Defoe also scored the fifth, pouncing on the loose ball after Alvarez had spilt Beckham’s free-kick, while Peter Crouch made it 6-0 from close range after Defoe had made a good offensive run.
England seem to have discovered the winning habit in these qualifiers. In the past they have managed to look sterile even against very weak opposition, but here the game was finished off in reasonable style. Glen Johnson was man-of-the-match with three assists: he provided much of England’s attacking edge from right-back. Beckham also did well from the base of midfield, keeping things moving with his passing.
Somewhat paradoxically, in this type of fixture it is perhaps defensive personnel that have the greatest capacity to shine - at least those deeper-lying players who have some capacity to influence attacks. A packed Andorran defence allowed Johnson (shorn of genuine defensive duties) the room to run into attacking space, whilst Beckham had the time to pick his passes without being placed under substantial pressure. Crouch had perhaps the most thankless task leading the line in attack, ensconced within a crammed Andorran central defence. Although he had little opportunity to excel on an individual level, his presence underpinned the structure which enabled those behind him to formulate attacking manoeuvres.
8 Glen Johnson: His contribution was crucial to breaking down Andorra in the first half.
7 David Beckham: Given bags of space but he was heavily involved throughout and his distribution was good.
7 Wayne Rooney: Two well-taken goals.
7 Jermain Defoe: Two goals, and a nice run which led to Crouch’s goal.6 Frank Lampard: Operating in a more crowded area than Beckham, he was effective enough and took his goal well.
6 Ashley Cole: A decent shift without having the influence of his counterpart on the right.
6 Steven Gerrard: Some sharp moments and exerted more influence when he moved infield
6 Theo Walcott: Showed good pace on the right without ever really getting on top of his markers.
6 John Terry: The little he had to do he did well enough.
6 Joleon Lescott: ditto5 Peter Crouch: Given the task of keeping the packed Andorran defence occupied, he had little opportunity to shine.
5 Ashley Young: Didn’t do much wrong in the second-half, but neither did he really advance his international credentials.