England 3 Egypt 1
Egypt set up under a 3-5-2 formation and this presented England with some difficulties in the first-half. The visitors retained the ball well and made the most of their numerical advantage in midfield. England could have taken the lead within five minutes, but Frank Lampard’s shot was struck tamely at the keeper. After the game had settled England were chasing the ball for periods. Egypt accordingly took the lead on 23 minutes: Matthew Upson slipped allowing Zidan clear sight of goal from the edge of the 18-yard box and the Egyptian striker fired past Robert Green.
England asserted themselves more after they had conceded the goal. Egypt’s 3-5-2 allowed Gerrard to move infield without England losing significant presence on the flanks, and this helped them to exert some control. They had chances before the end of the half: Lampard could have done better again from close range, whilst Defoe did well to create a chance after shaking his marker, but his shot was saved by Essam Al-Hadari.
The second-half differed significantly as England seized hold of the game. They equalized early in the half when Peter Crouch, on for Jermain Defoe, slotted home Gareth Barry’s cross. England continued to dominate after they equalized and eventually took the lead when another substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips scored from the edge of the penalty area. The goalscorers combined for the third, when Wright-Phillips crossed for Crouch to knock home from close range (although he appeared to be in an offside position).
The first-half showed that some of the frailties remain: England were given the run around at times and the defence is still porous. However, the second period provided reassurances that England have carried their confidence from the qualifiers into 2010. After the initial shakiness, they took control of the game and put together some incisive moves.
8 Gareth Barry: Put in a convincing and rounded central-midfield display.
7 Steven Gerrard: Influential playmaking role behind the forwards.
7 Peter Crouch: Made his presence felt and enhanced his exemplary international scoring record.
7 Wayne Rooney: Initiated some good moves in the first-half and remained involved throughout.6 Leighton Baines: Given a good test on his flank by wing-back Al-Muhammadi, and he acquitted himself well.
6 Robert Green: No chance with goal and otherwise not much to do, but when he was involved he looked confident enough.
6 Jermain Defoe: Demonstrated his value when creating a goalscoring chance for himself, but a target man may have been more effective.
6 Michael Carrick: Steadied central midfield and tidy in possession.
6 Shaun Wright-Phillips: Looked sprightly after his introduction: scored and an assist.
6 Matthew Upson: Slip contributed to the goal, but less troubled after England gained foothold.
6 Wes Brown: Hardly foot-perfect but secure enough.
6 James Milner: Looked instantly at home, and his parried shot led to the second goal.5 John Terry: Less than totally convincing in the first-half, and his lack of pace was momentarily exposed in the second.
5 Lampard: Not as imposing as he was over the qualification campaign and failed to convert two decent chances.4 Walcott: After one early flurry, nothing went right for him.
5 Responses to “England 3 Egypt 1”
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I would concur with Dr. Ted. However I am dismayed that you appear to be underestimating the role that Beckham played in proceedings. I thought he was instrumental from the bench and would have rated his performance as at least a 7.
I thought the game showed that we are severely over-rated. I don’t think we will get past the first knock-out stage. The arrogance of England believing we have a good team because we have famous Premiership players was highlighted by Paul Robinson’s comments before the game that Egypt “are no mugs”. Faint praise indeed for a team that have won the ANC for the last 3 times and are undefeated in the last 19 consecutive ANC matches.
Take away the second goal for dodgy keeping and the third for offside and 1-1 would have been a fairer result. England appeared very ordinary in the first half. Capello has his work cut out to turn these England players into an England team.
An average rating of 6.8.
What does that say about the state of English football?
I share in all of your disappointment, but let’s not read too much into this friendly – and to quote a cliché – you can only beat what is front of you. We have to understand that England are not World beaters – they are just an average football team and have been for 40 years. Therefore I am setting my hopes fairly low for the World Cup to try and avoid possible disappointment.