Category Archives: Centre for Match Analysis

England were reduced to 10 men after only quarter-of-an-hour: a punt from the Ukraine defence was misjudged by Rio Ferdinand which allowed Milevskiy a clear run at goal. The Ukranian forward was brought down by Robert Green in the box … Continue reading →

A 9-2 aggregate scoreline over their main group rivals indicates that England’s early qualification for South Africa is fully deserved! The most notable aspect of this fixture was the poor showing from Croatia – England have experienced tougher tests in … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

England took another crucial step towards World Cup qualification, but suffered a few scares early in the game. In the first minute Glen Johnson dithered on the ball allowing Kukeyev to break down the left wing, his tricky cross almost … Continue reading →

A vital win against one of their stronger group rivals gives England a foot on South African soil! This was, however, perhaps the stalest qualifying performance since the opener against Andorra. The first-half showed enough flashes of team cohesion and … Continue reading →

England’s limitations were exposed by this match-up against European Champions Spain. The England side bore strong similarity to that which had beaten Germany impressively back in November (Jagielka and Ashley Cole came in for Upson and Bridge at the back, … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

England started commandingly and Gerrard’s flexible positioning reaped early reward: Wayne Rooney brought the ball down 30 yards from goal under pressure from the Belarus defence; Gerrard cut inside to unleash a powerful measured shot into the corner of the … Continue reading →