England – Kazakhstan: 5-1
After their convincing win against Croatia one month ago, England's encounter against Kazakhstan looked like a mere formality. Although, the home team dominated the first half, they couldn't get close enough to really test goalkeeper Alexander Mokin. Most of their attacking play revolved around using Theo Walcott's speed, but the young winger's crosses rarely found their way through. Furthermore, the visitors used an efficient offside trap that often caught Heskey out of the play.
England finally came alive in the second half when Mokin misplayed his exit on a corner kick, leaving the net wide open for Ferdinand's header at the 51st minute. Then, it was simply 'fire away' for the English squad who scored at almost every ten minutes (own-goal at the 63rd, Rooney at the 75th and 85th, and Defoe at the 89th). They had a bit of a scare at the 67th minute when Ashley Cole, perhaps suffering from a mental blackout at that moment, sent the ball straight to the visitors' striker who didn't miss his chance after being unlucky for most of the game. The score was 2-1 at that point, and the fans mercilessly booed Cole until the final minutes of the game. Though the goal didn't really have an impact on the bottom line, it's exactly the kind of thing England should avoid if they really want to dominate. Surprisingly, Beckham played better than Walcott on the right side when he came in. Still, Walcott is doing a pretty good job and I think Capello found the right way to use both players in an efficient manner.
Spain – Estonia: 3-0
Once again, the opposition was no match for La Roja who had another easy night on their hands. Two quick goals in the first half took care of squashing any hopes the Estonian might've had. The third goal scored by Puyol was simply icing on the cake.
After their convincing win against Croatia one month ago, England's encounter against Kazakhstan looked like a mere formality. Although, the home team dominated the first half, they couldn't get close enough to really test goalkeeper Alexander Mokin. Most of their attacking play revolved around using Theo Walcott's speed, but the young winger's crosses rarely found their way through. Furthermore, the visitors used an efficient offside trap that often caught Heskey out of the play.
England finally came alive in the second half when Mokin misplayed his exit on a corner kick, leaving the net wide open for Ferdinand's header at the 51st minute. Then, it was simply 'fire away' for the English squad who scored at almost every ten minutes (own-goal at the 63rd, Rooney at the 75th and 85th, and Defoe at the 89th). They had a bit of a scare at the 67th minute when Ashley Cole, perhaps suffering from a mental blackout at that moment, sent the ball straight to the visitors' striker who didn't miss his chance after being unlucky for most of the game. The score was 2-1 at that point, and the fans mercilessly booed Cole until the final minutes of the game. Though the goal didn't really have an impact on the bottom line, it's exactly the kind of thing England should avoid if they really want to dominate. Surprisingly, Beckham played better than Walcott on the right side when he came in. Still, Walcott is doing a pretty good job and I think Capello found the right way to use both players in an efficient manner.
Spain – Estonia: 3-0
Once again, the opposition was no match for La Roja who had another easy night on their hands. Two quick goals in the first half took care of squashing any hopes the Estonian might've had. The third goal scored by Puyol was simply icing on the cake.
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