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Wednesday September 10, 2008; World Cup Qualifier Croatia 1 England 4 Croatia: Pletikosa, Simunic, Robert Kovac, Corluka, Pranjic, Rakitic, Petric (Knezevic 56), Nico Kovac (Pokrivac 62), Srna, Modric, Olic (Mandzukic 73). England: D.James, W.Brown, J.Terry (M.Upson 88), R.Ferdinand, A.Cole, T.Walcott (D.Beckham 84), F.Lampard, G.Barry, J.Cole (J.Jenas 55), W.Rooney, E.Heskey. After years of waiting England finally put in a top performance in a game that mattered as they went to Croatia and smashed that nations' unbeaten home record in competitive internationals. In doing this in Fabio Capello's first real test as England manager the team have once again raised expectation levels within the country and it has to be hoped that this sort of performance will become the norm rather than the exception. There has to be optimism that this could be the case. There was nothing remarkable about this performance other than the fact that it was so unexpected. In general the display was simply an excellent team effort with each department of the team looking after its' own responsibilities and then blending into a powerful, coherent unit as confidence visibly spread throughout the ranks. With England suddenly playing as a team it came as no coincidence that players like Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard turned in their best international performances in ages. Get the balance right within the team and give them the confidence to go out and play and we can still turn out a formidable England team. The trick now is to maintain the level of performance shown here consistently. Let's hope Capello is the man who can achieve this feat. From the outset this looked an unusually well organised, efficient and confident England. Despite Croatia's daunting home record and the memory of the two defeats in the last qualifying campaign England started in noticeably positive mood. The early thrusts of the home side were resisted strongly by the England defence and then the visitors enjoyed a ten minute spell where they dominated possession and had Croatia pressed back in their own half. This impressive sequence produced one promising opening when Lampard knocked a fine ball over the home defence for Theo Walcott but the Arsenal youngster tried to pull the ball back across goal when a shot looked the better option. Croatia finally roused themselves and their first spell of real pressure saw England dropping dusturbingly deep in their efforts to keep the home side at bay, a tendancy which has cost us dear consistently over the past decade. Ashley Cole was enduring a difficult start to the game against Srna but valiant defending ensured that most efforts at David James were blocked at source. James also contributed a couple of hairy moments by dropping crosses into his box although he would have expected far more protection from a referee who was to prove himself somewhat erratic all night. In the recent past England might not have been able to ease the pressure and crumbled but on this occasion things were different. Rio Ferdinand and John Terry deserve most plaudits for this as they showed the confidence to put their foot on the ball in tight situations and play their way out of trouble. This composure quickly spread throughout the team and suddenly we were controlling possession again and playing much higher up the pitch. This is the way good teams react to difficult situations and England were certainly looking a good team as the first half reached its' midway point. Emile Heskey claimed a penalty, somewhat hopefully, when Walcott's centre went behind him but England did make the vital breakthrough shortly afterwards when Walcott lashed home a low drive after an attempted clearance by one Croatian defender cannoned into another and rebounded into his path. Once again the part played in this goal by Rio Ferdinand should not be overlooked as he started the attack by seizing on a loose ball around the half way line to come surging forward and create the confusion in the Croatia defence, another sign of England's confidence and purpose. Taking the lead presented England with another test. Under the last couple of managers taking the lead had been the signal to fall back on all out defence with disastrous consequences. The initial signs were good, however, as we attacked again instantly to present Walcott with a similar chance to the one he had just taken but this time the Croatian keeper managed to touch his drive behind for a corner. It was also encouraging to see Wayne Rooney really getting to grips with the game at this stage and he was becoming a focal point as England began moving the ball around quickly and dangerously. The threat of Walcott's pace was also obvious and Simunic went into the referees' book for cynically taking the young flyer out with a nasty bodycheck. Croatia desperately tried to respond before half time but their efforts on goal were becoming increasingly hopeful and were still being blocked, more often than not, at source. Half time arrived with England leading and looking extremely confident. Half Time: Croatia 0 England 1 The start of the second half was likely to be crucial. Would England continue in the positive vein they had shown before half time or would this now be a case of protecting what they had? Happily England came out looking to impose themselves on the game once again and were quickly calling the shots. Croatia were soon showing signs of raggedness as they struggled to cope with the unusual position of trailing on home soil. England had genuine cause for grievance that Simunic, who had been fouling Heskey with monotonous regularity, was allowed to stay on the field after a blatant foul on Rooney who was storming past him in a dangerous position and Lampard almost inflicted his own punishment with an awkward low free kick that Pletikosa parried and was grateful to his defence for scrambling away the loose ball. With 53 minutes played, however, the home side were reduced to ten men when Robert Kovac was shown a straight red for an elbow on Joey Cole who had to depart on a stretcher with blood pouring from a head wound. I seemed to be in a minority of one but I actually thought this was a very harsh decision. Kovac had got up early to put in a powerful headed clearance. It looked more a case of Cole jumping into the defender as he went for a ball he could not win and coming off worse after catching the defenders' arm flush in the face. Taking into account what Simunic had been getting away with the home side could hardly complain at being a man down, however. Once again you found yourself questioning the England team as Jermaine Jenas came on to replace Cole. Would this apparent advantage suddenly bring a note of caution to their play or would they really go on to seize the initiative? This question was quickly and emphatically answered as the visitors began to completely dominate possession but also looked to attack their reeling hosts at every opportunity. This attitude brought a swift reward. Rooney was instrumental as a swift burst of short passing just outside the Croatia penalty area involving Lampard and Heskey ended with the Manchester United forward slipping in Walcott, again lurking to the right of goal, for a truly assured finish into the far corner. Confidence was now brimming throughout the side and England continued to punish Croatia with their crisp and incisive passing. It was indicative of how the match had gone that Ashley Cole, who had started nervously, was now driving Srna back consistently down the England left and when he nicked possession away from his opponent deep inside the Croatia half England were suddenly pouring forward again. Jenas took up the attack and was able to stroll to the byeline before cutting back a perfect ball into Rooney who produced a calm, side footed finish from ten yards for a well deserved goal. England were oozing quality at this stage and Lampard, whose performance also merited a goal, was cruelly denied when he put a sweet finish to a sublime move only to find the referee penalising Heskey extremely harshly for a supposed infringement way off the ball. The referee again showed his erratic nature minutes later when he allowed Srna to carry on after the Croat won possession from John Terry with a foot raised to head height and with the England defence for once exposed Srna was able to play Mandzukic in for a simple finish past David James. On this wonderful night for English football this undeserved setback was not allowed to fester and four minutes later the three goal cushion had been restored as Rooney produced a magical touch to kill a long ball out of defence before playing an instant ball through for Walcott to race clear and complete his hat trick with a nerveless finish. This completed a wonderful night for Walcott, who was then replaced to a standing ovation from the travelling support, and England in general. There would be no fifth goal to replicate the drubbing handed out to Germany early on in Sven Goran Eriksson's tenure as England manager but that might not be a bad omen. Hopefully this victory and performance will not remain the highlight of Fabio Capello's stint as England manager. While not getting carried away and realising that results are seldom likely to be as emphatic as this it has to be hoped that the quality of this performance can be replicated on a regular basis. There is no question that the England side is better than the results it has produced of late. If Capello can keep them organised and confident then surely the England team will at least continue to look like a team while he is in charge. Here's hoping. Full Time: Croatia 1 England 4 England: D.James 6, W.Brown 7, J.Terry 8, R.Ferdinand 8, A.Cole 7, T.Walcott 9, F.Lampard 8, G.Barry 7, J.Cole 7(J.Jenas 8), W.Rooney 9, E.Heskey 7. Star Player: Theo Walcott For once this was a difficult decision for the right reasons.
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