Sunday's Soccer Showdown: The 3rd Edition

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 06.03.2007

Friday night saw the first full England international played at the new Wembley stadium. With the spotlight on David Beckham making his return to the England set up, how would the Three Lions get on against Brazil? Full analysis, inside!

Hello loyal readers and welcome back to Sunday's Soccer Showdown, your weekly dose of football fun detailing all the goings on over the last seven days in the world of soccer. You'll recall the debut edition two weeks ago where I stated that I would be running down each Premiership club's chances of any sort of success in the upcoming 2007/08 season, but having started that little project this week, I realised I would not be able to write enough for each team to make up a whole column's worth. With that in mind, what I shall be doing is dedicating a whole column to examine every team, but I'll do it a little closer to the start of the season when some transfers have been made and I'll have more to go on. What that means is today, you get to read 411's first say on the England v Brazil friendly match that took place Friday right here, right now. So let's get to it!

International Friendly – Wembley Stadium – England 1 – 1 Brazil

Talk surrounding this match was huge, not only because it was the first full international being played at the new Wembley, but during the week England boss Steve McClaren had announced former captain David Beckham' return to the national squad. David "Golden Balls" Beckham was dropped after last year's disappointing World Cup campaign as McClaren believed that there were better right-sided midfield players waiting for their opportunity. Aaron Lennon played several games for England in that position and failed to set the world on fire. Chelsea star Shaun Wright-Phillips also had a run of games there but failed to make an impression. And thus the decision was made to bring Becks back; a decision that was generally met positively by fans and the media alike. Also returning to the England set-up was star-striker Michael Owen who had missed nearly a full years worth of football after an injury sustained in the early stages of a World Cup group game against Sweden last June. Owen had played 90 minutes for England ‘B' in a game against Albania but this was his first time back in the first squad since the injury. In other team news, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was left out because he could not feature in Wednesday's qualifier anyway (due to suspension) while Nicky Shorey of Reading made his full England debut at left back.

Starting Line-Ups

England:
GK – Robinson
RB – Carragher
CB – King
CB – Terry (c)
LB – Shorey
RM – Beckham
CM – Lampard
CM – Gerrard
LM – J. Cole
ST – Smith
ST – Own

Brazil:
GK – Helton
RB – Daniel
CB – Naldo
CB – Juan
LB – Gilberto
RAM – Kaka
CM – Mineiro
CM – Silva
LAM – Ronaldinho
ST – Robinho
ST – Vagner Love

This contest being a friendly match and Euro 2008 qualifiers right around the corner for England, it was difficult to see this game being overly competitive and it wasn't as both teams didn't take too many risk in attempting to win the match. But for England this was a much bigger fixture than it was for Brazil. This was the first full international match played at the new Wembley Stadium. Not only that, but it was against arguably the best team in the world. If that wasn't even, recent England performances have received tremendous amounts of criticism from just about everybody. A win for the Three Lions would be huge historically and give them a much needed confidence heading into this Wednesday's qualifier against Estonia.

From the first whistle, both teams looked determined in the tackle and indeed, there were more than a few risky tackles flying in that in a competitive environment would have warranted yellow cards but German official Markus Merk was reluctant to book anybody. But the play was disjointed and neither team seemed to be able to string a significant move together and even Brazil lacked the flare we've come to expect from them in the early stages of the game.

After 14 minutes David Beckham lets people know exactly why he was recalled to the England set up. He plays a tantalizing ball through the air and into the penalty box which Michael Owen just barely fails to connect with and the ball ends up in the thankful arms of Brazilian ‘keeper Helton. Moments earlier, Beckham hit one of his trademark cross-field passes from the half way line to Joe Cole on the opposite wing in an advanced position. Speaking of Joe Cole, he looked to be England's biggest threat in the first half of the match. While the majority of his tricks resulted in very little, he made some dangerous runs coming inside from the left wing. Some support from Lamps wouldn't have a gone amiss. The Chelsea star was nowhere to be seen in the first half.

The first major opportunity of the game came for Brazil when (I think) Ronaldinho played a great ball across the 18-yard box and Arsenal man Gilberto Silva lofted a fantastic header over England ‘keeper Paul Robinson. The ball nestled in the far bottom corner of the goal but Silva was deemed to be in an offside position by the referee's assistant. Replays proved that Silva was not offside, although several other Brazilians were. Life's a bitch.

Steven Gerrard played in front of England's back four tonight and made some crucial tackles to stop some of Brazil's fancy free-flowing football. He was England's best player in the first half and although this was a friendly, he would not let the likes of Kaka and Ronaldinho run rings around the England back four. To be fair, our defence looked comfortable for the most part, happy to allow the Brazilians to have the ball at their feet but never allowing them the opportunity to get in a goal scoring opposition. One example of where this did come back to bite them in the ass is a shot from Kaka. After some lightning quick feet to switch the ball onto his left foot, he squeezed a shot through the two central defenders from the edge of the penalty area but thankfully he scuffed his shot and Robinson collected comfortably.

The remainder of the second half was a tale of two free kicks. With ten minutes to go before the break, Gerard makes a surging run forward but is brought down on the edge of the penalty box. Step forward, David Beckham! Wembley watched with immense anticipation as Beckham smashed the ball towards Helton's top-right corner. The ball went harmlessly past the post. Ronaldinho took a later free kick when CSKA Moscow forward Vagner Love was brought down. Again, Wembley anticipated, again, the free kick disappointed as Robinson didn't even have to make a save.

Overall, the first half was pretty stellar for both teams but extremely boring to watch. Neither side wanted to take any risks going forward and were happy to just hold possession, something which Brazil did better than England. But despite the possession, Brazil didn't look interested in capitalizing and preferred to play trickery which got them nowhere in fairness. Neither manager decided to change things around at half time. Steve McClaren had said pre-match that he wanted these players to play together for as long as possible before making any changes. Perhaps a prelude to Wednesday's team selection?

The first real chance of the game comes four minutes into the second half as Ronaldinho takes a crack with the outside of his left foot from just inside the penalty area. The shot takes a deflection of Ledley King and Paul Robinson does extremely well to adjust his body position, mid-dive, to claw the ball over the crossbar from a corner. The resulting corner ball is headed wide by Brazil's 6"5 defender Naldo. Minutes later, Michael Owen has a chance for his 37th England goal as he heads a cross from (who else) David Beckham about a foot over the crossbar. Even in the first 10 minutes of the first half, it's obvious that both teams are going to push forward more in an attempt to score a goal.

England received some much need vigour in the shape of Kieron Dyer and Stewart Downing, who replace Alan Smith and Joe Cole. Middlesbrough's Downing who scored twice in an England ‘B' game last week, hits a screamer from 30 yards but the shot sails just over the bar. Dyer looked to add more pace and width to the game as he quickly showed he wasn't afraid to run either wing or down the middle. For most of the time he was on the pitch he played off the frontman as a second striker.

The deadlock was broken in a magical moment for England. After over an hour of little pressure, David Beckham's free kick is placed perfectly on the head of John Terry arriving at the back post on 68 minutes. Goalkeeper Helton had no chance as Beckham's ball was angled in away from him and thus leaving him helpless. The decision to recall David Beckham is justified right here. Minutes later, goal scorer and captain John Terry is substituted for Wes Brown. Terry had a slight hamstring strain but should be OK for Wednesday. In a comical moment, Brown fluffs at his first touch of the ball, an intended back pass to Robinson which leaves substitute Alfonso Alves free to take a shot at Robinson which is thankfully hit wide.

There were some tense moments for England as the clock slowly wound down. The aforementioned blunder from Brown was the first of many scares in the last 15 minutes. Alves again should have scored from a corner that was headed on by Naldo but the prolific goal scorer headed over Robinson's crossbar. Substitute Diego works a great angle and opens up his body to allow himself to get a shot off from close range but Robinson knew what he was up to and was equal to the effort. With just minutes to go, Robinson punches a Ronaldinho free kick into a crowd of Brazilian players and the ball rebounds back towards the England goal but thankfully it goes wide.

And just when it looked like England would secure an historic first win at the new Wembley, Diego surges into the penalty area unmarked to head home a cross from the left. Steven Gerrard was reluctant to close down the crosser and Ledley King was nowhere to be seen as Diego was unopposed in his header. England's defence had been great all night and a last minute loss of concentration cost them the game. Though there were shots on target from Brazil, England rarely threatened also and a draw was probably the fair result.

England can come away from this game with a whole lot of positives. First and foremost, David Beckham did what he was brought back to do; play great balls, put in fantastic crosses and free kicks and make things happen for England. Before the World Cup and during it's group stages, just about every England goal was coming from a set piece or cross delivered from David Beckham. It may not be the fanciest way to win a game of football but it seems to be the only way England know how at the moment. Michael Owen looked sharp on his comeback also, and McClaren should be hoping he will be 100% at his best on Wednesday because when he plays well, the team plays well. He provides a great option and can score goals. When Kieron Dyer and Stewart Downing came on at the hour mark, they really did liven things up for England. Joe Cole did OK, but his end product was piss poor for the most part and I would recommend starting out with Downing on the left. Gerrard did great in his holding role but it prevented him from getting forward. And finally, if England's back four can contend with Brazil's attacking players, they should have no problem with Estonia. Nicky Shorey in particular was very good at left back.

However, I will say this. DROP FRANK F'N LAMPARD. He is shit. Honestly, he was non-existent on Friday and doesn't deserve to wear the England shirt. Michael Carrick or Owen Hargreaves would be a million times better and they would allow Gerard to roam forward more often, something that bagged us two goals against Andorra a few months back.

Here is the team I would select to play Estonia on Wednesday night.

GK: Paul Robinson
RB: Jamie Carragher
CB: John Terry (c)
CB: Rio Ferdinand
LB: Nicky Shorey
RM: David Beckham
CM: Michael Carrick
CM: Steven Gerrard
LM: Stewart Downing
ST: Michael Owen
ST: Peter Crouch

That's it for this week my friends. Next week, analysis of England's crunch game against Estonia and some transfer talk. Speaking of which, I'll leave you with something to laugh about. Roy Keane is preparing a £2 million pound bid for ex-Manchester United team mate Paul Scholes.