England 2 Switzerland 1

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Wednesday February 6, 2008; International Friendly

England v Switzerland

England: D.James, W.Brown, R.Ferdinand, M.Upson, A.Cole (W.Bridge 74), D.Bentley, J.Jenas (S.Wright-Phillips 57), G.Barry (O.Hargreaves 74), S.Gerrard, J.Cole (P.Crouch 57), W.Rooney (A.Young 87).

Match Report: England took the field for Fabio Capello's first game in charge with just one out and out striker, Wayne Rooney, in front of a five man midfield that certainly contained attacking potential on paper. Capello either wasn't aware of the theory that England teams can only play 4-4-2 or he was taking the earliest possible opportunity of displaying his managerial prowess.

By half time it looked as though the press might be searching for a suitable vegetable to superimpose on the Italians' shoulders, by full time they might have been inclined to wax lyrical about a bright new dawn for English football.

Not surprisingly neither of these reactions would have been correct. It was encouraging to see England actually improve after a half time team talk and give a performance that suggested that their manager might actually have the ability to change things for the better but nothing will really be known about the new mans' capacity to really improve our national team until the serious business of World Cup qualifiers gets under way.

The first half was mainly best forgotten even though England actually went in at the break ahead.

The early stages were scrappy and disjointed with England completely unable to form any pattern of play or exert any meaningful pressure on what looked like moderate opposition.

In fact it was the Swiss who threatened first though this was mainly due to sloppy defensive play by England than anything inspired of their own.

Wes Brown was the chief culprit in the early stages with a series of wayward passes but people like Ashley Cole and Gareth Barry were not far behind.

Brown made two unforced errors in the space of a few seconds which gifted Switzerland the first real shooting chance of the game but this was dealt with by the returning David James without fuss.

England's first attacking opportunity came when a clever flick by David Bentley bought a free kick and the same player whipped a decent ball into the near post for Wayne Rooney who got too much onto his header and saw it flash comfortably wide of goal.

Rooney then had a better chance when fed by a superb pass from Joe Cole but the keeper was out quickly to block as he attempted to lift his shot into the net.

England's attacks were sporadic but continued to gravitate around the willing running of Rooney. Ashley Cole was given a crossing opportunity by a quickly taken throw in and Rooney was again making a move to the near post but his extravagent back heeled flick found only the side netting with the keeper in position to make the save if required in any case.

Wes Brown was possibly not the most regular offender when it came to squandering possession for England but he was the man doing so in the most dangerous areas. Barnetta was offered a sight of goal by a particularly woeful clearance from the Orange Man but his effort was wide of the near post from just outside the area.

With the game refusing to settle into any kind of rhythm both sides had half chances from set pieces in quick succession.

England won a corner after Steven Gerrard and Barry combined neatly to release Ashley Cole whose dangerous centre was smuggled behind for a corner with some difficulty at the far post by the Swiss defence. Bentley's first corner then led to another from which he pinged the ball onto Rio Ferdinand's head but the defenders' header was always clearing the bar.

Then Joe Cole dived in rashly at the other end to concede a free kick wide on the right and Yakin's inswinging ball was flicked on by two of his colleagues before flashing beyond the far post.

Gareth Barry, uncomfortable in a purely holding role, then took over Brown's mantle of saboteur. Firstly he offered a shooting opportunity with a poor pass just outside his own area and was fortunate to see the shot fly straight at David James and then he conceded a free kick on the edge of the area but Barnetta's drive was too high.

England finally carved out a good position through genuinely good play when Bentley played two give and go's cutting in from the right before slipping a cute ball into Jermaine Jenas who had Joe Cole supporting in front of a gaping goal but delayed his pass and then saw the keeper diving to intercept his square pass.

The England supporters were beginning to tire of this laboured display but cries of "One David Beckham" seemed misplaced. Bentley had looked as lively as anyone and if he is still being singled out because of his decision not to play for the Under 21's last summer then that is taking things too far.

Then there were clear signs of disenchantment, possibly outright booing, as England retreated from an attacking position on the right hand side.

Crucially, however, they had kept possession of the ball for one of the first times in the half and, having worked their way across the pitch, a sudden injection of pace saw a chance fashioned on the edge of the box and it took a good save to keep out Joey Cole's low drive.

This seemed to stir England somewhat and Bentley was not far wide with an instinctive shot from miles out which took the keeper completely by surprise. Then Jenas stole possession high up the pitch and supplied Joe Cole for another effort on goal which forced a decent save.

England's next attack gave them the lead. Bentley did well to retain possession after a none too inviting pass from Brown and then found Gerrard to his left. The England captain speared a fine ball out to Joey Cole down the left hand side of the box and he sat his defender on his backside before scurrying to the dead ball line and squaring for Jenas to slot home.

Overall it had been a lacklustre first half performance but five minutes of decent pressure had been enough to give England the lead.

Half Time: England 1 Switzerland 0

Despite the scoreline it is unlikely that anybody was overly thrilled with the first half performance and England immediately looked more progressive as the second half began.

Bentley and Joe Cole confirmed the promise they had intermittently displayed before the break with a quality combination which ended with the Blackburn man sending in a cracking centre for Rooney at the far post but he spoiled the chance by trying to take a touch when a first time shot would have been a better option.

England pressed again and although the move was scrappy rather than precise Bentley was again able to locate Rooney whose chip towards the far post dropped just over the bar.

Rooney really had the bit between his teeth now and was unlucky to see a vicious volley deflect narrowly wide after he had accepted a good header down with a lovely touch on his chest.

The corner saw further pressure on the Switzerland goal as Matthew Upson headed down into the box and after Rio Ferdinand's drive was blocked Jenas sent in a rasping left footer which the keeper did well to turn away at full stretch.

Joey Cole spoiled his impressive display when, after a defensive slip had given him a free run on goal, his first touch allowed his opponent to recover and block.

With England performing much better since the interval it was a little disappointing to see Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright-Phillips coming on for Jenas and Joey Cole but this could not be held responsible for Switzerland immediately grabbing a surprise equaliser.

Some slick passing through midfield ended with an incisive pass down the side of Ferdinand who had no time to react before Eren Derdiyok came on his blind side to whip an instant shot beyond James.

This was the sort of goal where it was hard to apportion real blame yet it still somehow seemed a soft goal to have conceded. It is certain that nobody had got anywhere near Derdiyok at any stage of the move, however.

If Capello was wondering whether he might be the worst England manager since Alf Ramsey at making substitutions he was quickly rescued by the men he had introduced.

Crouch got up to head a punt down the middle to Rooney who flicked a superb first time ball out to Gerrard, storming forward in his best Liverpool manner, and his low ball across the face of goal gave Wright-Phillips the simplest of scoring chances.

Yakin continued to show the odd quality touch for the Swiss and another of his wicked free kicks produced a superb headed clearance at the near post by Barry. Unfortunately for the Aston Villa man the referee pointed for a goal kick which meant that his one really telling contribution had officially never happened.

Rooney produced a sweet turn under pressure before drilling a shot a yard wide from just outside the area and then Bentley clipped the pass of the game through to Crouch who did not connect properly with his volley and the keeper had an easy save.

England's defence remained uncertain, however, and twice in quick succession the Swiss were encouraged to shoot as the home defenders retreated towards their own goalmouth rather than move in to challenge, Wes Brown again being the most notable offender.

Rooney's penchant for coming back to help his defence then betrayed itself once again as a dubious virtue. Firstly he was harshly penalised by a free kick after tracking a run but then was lucky to concede only a corner as he ran into his man precariously close to the edge of the box.

At the other end Rooney was offering a real threat, however, and linked well with Gerrard before Wright-Phillips sent a good ball into Crouch. He could have shot himself but ended up laying the ball back to Gerrard who was just too high with his left footed effort from the edge of the box.

Wright-Phillips then showed the good and not so good sides to his game with an electric turn that opened up the Swiss defence only to send a hurried, ambitious shot well wide of the target with options open to him inside the area.

With the game deep into injury time Switzerland forced a corner which David James came for and got nowhere near but nobody was on hand to take advantage and England held on to mark Capello's first game in charge with a win.

Everybody will want to draw conclusions from this game about the new manager, the formation, the players and everything else but, in truth, there is little you can ever learn from playing friendlies.

The acid test will only come when the competitive games start again and, unfortunately for England, this will not take place until the autumn.

This game should provide the new man with plenty of food for thought, however, and he has plenty of room for optimism while now being keenly aware of several areas of concern.

There is plenty of hard work to be done by everyone in the England camp but we can at least feel a degree of confidence that we have someone in charge who will be able to identify what the problem areas are and begin to work on improving them.

Full Time: England 2 Switzerland 1

England: D.James 5, W.Brown 3, R.Ferdinand 4, M.Upson 4, A.Cole 4 (W.Bridge 4), D.Bentley 7, J.Jenas 5 (S.Wright-Phillips 5), G.Barry 3 (O.Hargreaves 3), S.Gerrard 6, J.Cole 8 (P.Crouch 4), W.Rooney 7.

Star Player: Joey Cole

Joey Cole is surely England's most consistent player these days. He's always been on the fringe of being one of our supposed stars and maybe that's why he gets his head down and turns in a decent performance more often than not.
Is intelligent in his movement playing from the left side, is dangerous taking players on and hurts the opposition with his passing.
Having been denied a goal by Jenas's desire to have an extra touch before passing showed the Tottenham man exactly how it should be done in setting up his goal.
Watch and learn Jermaine then go away and put it into practise and come back a better player.