England can book a quarter final with either Italy or Spain
by winning their final Group game against Hosts Ukraine tonight and they should
be backed hard to do so, despite their price collapsing to 11/10 with Stan
James. With several internal problems
beforehand – the resignation of Fabio Capello and then ensuing drama over his replacement
being just one of those – expectation’s been at its lowest ebb but they’ve made
a more than fair start towards life in the tournament and they should be
confident of making at least the quarter finals tonight in style.
An opening game against France was one approached with some
trepidation but they took the lead and then defended well to keep Les Bleus at
bay in a second half which saw them dominate the game, ending up with 65% possession
– a good start considering how short Blanc’s men are for the trophy.
Their next game against Sweden was widely expected to be an
England win and it proved so, but the most notable thing about that victory was
the spirit and coolness they showed when going 2-1 down against Sweden, going
onto the front foot and getting straight back into the game through the substitution
of Theo Walcott, who provided a goal and an assist to turn the game around in
superb style. The defensive lapses which saw them go 2-1 down have to be a
worry for a side that had become so accustomed to winning 1-0 and close games
right out under Hodgson, but on another note it was good to see that the side
has got a genuine goal threat going forward. Steven Gerrard had a poor club
season but he’s been England’s biggest threat from out wide and already has two
assists to his name, while Danny Wellbeck’s pace and movement upfront has been
a ringing endorsement of his selection upfront. In many ways it’s shame that Andy
Caroll’, so badly criticised by many throughought the season but impressive
against Sweden, is likely to be ousted for the returning Wayne Rooney, as his
physical presence would have been more than likely to give Ukraine a whole heap
of trouble. Rooney’s the better player for many people but his tournament
record isn’t great and while he’s trouble to deal with on his day, the
relationship between the two established strikers had looked good. Rooney should be more than well-equipped
enough to deal with Ukraine’s centre backs and this seems to be an ideal
opportunity to get back into the scoring fold, while Ashley Young should also
feel invited to get forward and improve upon what he’s shown so far.
Ukraine looked to have a great chance with a fairytale victory
over Sweden but that’s since been shown up as a rather less impressive win than
many thought with the Swedish being exposed by England, and they were utterly
outclassed by France last time out, who should have scored more than the 2 they
got on board. England will be just as hard to play for them and the hosts could
be going out with a whimper tonight, with the 2-0 correct score appealing in
Andriy Shevchnko’s absence.
Advice
4 pts England (21/20 Paddy Power)
1 pt England 2-0 (9/1 Bet Victor)
No comments:
Post a Comment