After three more games of World Cup qualifiers, three more victories keep England well on track for South Africa 2010. On paper things are looking very healthy with Fabio Capello overseeing a record-breaking English campaign. Since the last batch of qualifiers, England were also humbled slightly in a friendly against European Champions, Spain.
Capello’s plan remains coherent and his favoured structure and first choice XI appear to remain unchanged from last autumn. The only exception with regard to player selection is at right-back: Glen Johnson has come into the reckoning as Wes Brown has been absent due to injury. Johnson has performed well since breaking into the team and was particularly impressive when gifted attacking opportunities against Andorra. Brown is perhaps more secure than Johnson defensively and with Theo Walcott the likely partner on the right, solidity may be prioritised at right-back ahead of attacking brio.
The recent successes have not really furthered England’s credentials as World Cup contenders. The home victory against Ukraine was slight. Kazakhstan rattled them in the first-half before control was attained, whilst the victory against Andorra was emphatic but fairly meaningless as an indicator of form.
England did look stodgy at times and struggled to attain much attacking impetus, particularly against Ukraine who were arguably their only viable contenders over the last three fixtures. In fact, the only occasions England have attained any genuine attacking fluency in competitive games under Capello, were against Belarus and 10-man Croatia. This isn’t to denigrate a fine qualifying record, but warns against an uncritical consideration of current competitive form which suggests that England are unbeatable! There certainly appears to be resilience and solidity to the current England side and Capello seems to be applying a logical and consistent vision, which contrasts with the chop-and-change desperation of previous managers.
The next three games are crucial and it is vital that England maintain winning ways so that they arrive in 2010 in good form and high spirits. This succession of fixtures may present the toughest test of the qualifiers so far with Croatia and Ukraine pushing for a place at next year’s World Cup. They will be fired up for their game against England, and Croatia in particular will be a threat as they look to avenge their 4-1 defeat in Zagreb. If England could complete this campaign undefeated, this would provide the secure psychological foundations necessary to underpin a successful tournament next year.