England vs Belgium- The Final Chance To Impress
Posted by adammay132 on May 28, 2012Edit This
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England take on Belgium on Saturday 2nd June 2012, and it will see Roy Hodgson’s home debut as England manager. Hodgson was appointed as England manager on 1st May 2012. I think Hodgson will play his strongest side for this final warm up game, and bring on any players he feels he still needs to see., which could be a few! I thought that England looked quite lackluster in their game on Saturday in Norway, which they won 1-0 via an early Ashley Young goal. I thought Rob Green had a decent game when he was called into action, and he helped contribute to England’s clean sheet by tipping a few shots round the post. Phil Jones I was unsure about really, he seemed to play with too much fear throughout the game and looked out of his comfort zone for the majority of the match, although the one time he did burst forward, he won a corner for his efforts, it was so much better to see that sort of football, and if every player did that now and again we would look more of a force by showing a bit of incentive, and not being too defensive minded all the time. Phil Jagielka had a very decent game, and at times, looked like he could be a contender for a regular England place. He dealt with many crosses from Norway, and made some good tackles and clearances. I rate Joleon Lescott very highly, and he showed some class on Saturday night, and in my opinion is one of the best center backs we have got. Baines had a quiet night, and he was not bursting down the wings making crosses like he normally does, and I don’t think he is quite good enough to replace Ashley Cole just yet. In midfield, we played Parker, who showed his class yet again, sometimes though, I wish he was more attacking minded as well, but then again you do need a tough tackler in the center of the park to break up play now and again and control the pace of the game. Along side him was the captain Steven Gerrard, who I feel England have wasted for the past 10 years. He will definitely be an influential player in this years European Championships in Poland and Ukraine this summer. Our starting wide men were James Milner of Manchester City and Liverpool winger Stuart Downing. Milner has only played 1 minute of football for the Sky Blues’ in 7 weeks, so why he is in the squad over Sturridge or Johnson I am unsure really and as of Downing, does anyone have a decent explanation as to why he is in the squad? Zero league goals and assists speaks for itself really. Up front we played Andy Carroll of Liverpool, and I have to say, he impressed me, and Hodgson should play him against Belgium this Saturday, and possibly try him with Defoe, as I can see that partnership flourishing, and its something that needs to be tested out. Roy Hodgson experimented with playing Manchester United winger Ashley Young just behind Carroll, and it gave Young a bit of freedom, and he bagged himself a goal too. The subs that came on didn’t really have much effect other than Adam Johnson, Walcott was non existant and Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn’t really find a way into the game, but he could be a key part of Englands plans in the future, but it could be too soon for him yet. Barry came on as a substitute, but had to be replaced as he suffered a groin injury, which today resulted in him withdrawing from the England Squad. It was a pleasing performance however, and Hodgson couldn’t have wanted anything else that to win his first game of charge. England previously hadn’t beaten Norway since 1980.
Roy Hodgson needs to field his strongest team possible, and he now needs to see how the Chelsea foursome of Ashley Cole, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Frank Lampard fit in after being given extra time off after their efforts in the Champions League Final, which saw them crowned King of Europe,the only English team to lift the prestigious trophy. Belgium will prove a tough opposition for England, with Maroune Fellaini, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Lukaku and hot rated wonderkid Eden Hazard. It will be a tough game for the Euro hopefuls, and they need to be at their full strength to hold of this attacking Belgium Side. Goal line technology will also be making its debut at Wembley, where officials will be testing the new state of the art technology which will eliminate bad, goal decisions.
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