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Match Report: England v Spain

Theo Walcott and Frazier Campbell came off of the bench to inspire an England win against pre-tournament favourites Spain in Gothenburg on Tuesday night.

Campbell scored the first goal after Mario Suarez mis-hit a pass setting the Manchester United player through, he turned the last defender inside out before coolly slotting low past the impressive Sergio Asenjo in the Spanish goal.

Walcott’s blistering pace helped to set up the second goal. The Arsenal winger picked it up on the left and outpaced Javi Garcia towards the byline, his cut-back was driven home by Milner to put the game beyond the Spaniards.

England coach Stuart Pearce said: “I said a week ago before we left the shores of England that Theo will be treated like any other player of the squad of 23. What I do ask form the players is if they are left away from it for any reason that they give a reaction when they step over the line, and I think you saw exactly what Theo is about as a player and as a man today.”

It was a tight opening and Spain were controlling the game from midfield. Atletico Madrid playmaker, Raul Garcia was confidently spraying the ball around and Jose Miguel Jurado looked lively.

They could have taken the lead early on when Nedum Onuoha’s back-pass was wayward and Hart had to scramble to kick it off the line.

While Spain continued to try to create openings, England slowly but surely asserted their influence on the game dominating in certain areas with their pace and power. 

Muamba in the holding midfield berth and Onuoha and Richards at the back helped to contain the relatively ineffectual Bojan and Adrian Lopez.

England soon had a chance to take the lead. Milner was quick to dispossess Javi Garcia in the 32^nd minute after a poor pass out of goal from Asenjo, The Aston Villa man ran into the box but as he turned, he was tripped by the Spanish number four.

Milner stepped-up but his low shot was saved by Asenjo, the Real Vallodolid ‘keeper, justifying the hype surrounding him.

Spain also had a couple of chances to take the lead. Javi Martinez outpaced Gibbs on the right and Hart came out into no-man’s land on the edge of the box. The Spaniard easily rounded him but his cross, come shot, was cleared in the goalmouth by Martin Crainie.

Agbonlahor picked up a calf injury and was replaced by Campbell towards the end of the first half.

England started the second half much the brighter of the two sides. Cattermole, Muamba and Milner had gained control of midfield and Campbell was making good runs upfront.

Theo Walcott was soon brought into the action, adding penetration on the left, meanwhile Spain had taken off Bojan, usually their most potent threat, after an quiet game.

The thousand or so England fans could start to dream of the semi-finals in the 67^th minute.  Milner pressured Mario Suarez, whose through ball sent Campbell through.

There was a lot of work still to be done, but Campbell showed composure to make space and score - no wonder Hull are so keen to sign him.

Now England were in complete control.  Every Spanish attack was thwarted by Richards and Onuoha, who seemed to block everything put in front of them.

Soon it was two-nil. Theo Walcott picked the ball up on the left and pushed it five yards in front of him, it was a straight race between him and Javi Garcia, and the England man was always going to win it. As he reached the byline he looked up and cut the ball back for Milner who smashed the ball into the net.

With seventeen minutes of the game remaining England could start to look ahead to the last four.

England dominated the rest of the match while Spain were limited to half chances, the only incident of note being James Milner’s yellow card which rules him out of the game against Germany. With England through, this may have been tactical.

Richards complimented the performance of Muamba in midfield. Richards, the man of the match, said: “Fabrice Muamba was my man of the match, he gave 110 per cent they found it hard to break us down and he was key to that and broke down anything that came in his way. And credit to Theo Walcott when he came on I think he changed the game and he set up the goal and we are happy to take three points.”

Pearce agreed: “That’s as good a performance in a holding midfield role as you’ll ever see and probably without him we’d have lost.”

Pearce who made his debut as Under-21 manager against Spain two years ago believes that the spirit within the squad has been key to their progression, he said: “The dynamic within the group at the moment is as good as I’ve known it and there’s a spirit in there and that spirit is enhanced by the fact that the likes of James Milner and Theo Walcott having been with the seniors coming here and being treated like everybody else.”

Pearce insists that he will not let the players take the foot off the gas in their next game against Germany despite having already qualified, but he can already start planning for a trip to either Gothenburg or Helsingborg in the last four.

Meanwhile, the other match in Group B between Germany and Finland finished 2-0 to the Germans, lifting them to second, two points behind England and three ahead of Spain. Two second half goals in three minutes from Benedikt Howedes and Ashkan Dejagah saw the dogged Finnish team off after a tight first period.

 

 Photo Credit: Rob TM

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Match Report: Sweden v Belarus

A hat-trick from Marcus Berg gave the hosts a perfect start to the tournament after a comfortable 5-1 win against Belarus.

Sweden had to come from behind though as Dinamo Minsk midfielder Sergei Kislyak put the Eastern Europeans in the lead in the 33rd minute with a sumptuous long-range strike.

Their lead did not last long though as Rasmus Elm equalised within a minute, but it was Berg who had the final say.

The FC Groningen striker, who has netted 35 times for his club in the past two seasons,  put the Swedes out of sight with two neat finishes and a scrappy third.

Sweden looked solid at the start but they went behind in the 33rd minute when Kislyak hit a fierce shot into the top right hand corner of the net to take a surprise lead.

Sweden were soon level though when Rasmus Elm's shot deflected into the net by  and they looked to press on from there.

Sweden's front two, Ola Toivonen and Berg, were causing problems upfront. Toivonen couldn't get his name on the scoresheet, but his strike partner did. 

Berg's first came after some neat footwork made space in the area, and he coolly placed the ball past the Belorussian goalkeeper Pavel Chesnovski. The defending was questionable but it was a good finish.

His second was another calm finish with the outside of his right-boot driven low past the goalkeeper. 

Elm sent Berg through on goal and his attempted lob was touched by the goalkeeper as he collided with his defender, but it looped towards the goal and bounced over the line to make it 4-1.

The striker could have had a fourth late on as his header was saved by Chevnovski after some good play down the right.

Sweden did have a fifth soon afterwards as Gustav Svensson picked the ball up 25 yards out and hit a rasping shot into the top corner.

Game over, and this result will give the hosts confidence ahead of their game with on Friday against group favourites, Italy.

Photo Credit: Antoon

Match Report: Spain v Germany

Germany and Spain held each other to a goalless draw despite a lively encounter.

Spain, the favourites for the tournament according to some,  looked the most likely to score out of the two sides. A header by Marc Torrejon in the first half, which rebounded off of the bar, being the closest either side came to scoring.

Germany took the game to Spain in the opening minutes, midfielder Mesut Ozil, playing off the front, was starting to cause the Spanish defence problems with his trickery and pace.

Bojan Krkic (pictured) was also looking lively for the Spanish at the other end.

It was Spain who had the first chance however when Chico, the Spanish defender found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper in a crowded area. His shot was saved as Manuel Neuer in the German goal spread himself to block the shot.

Marc Torrejon came even closer soon afterwards when his thumping header came crashing off of the bar.

Germany were also creating chances of their own and Ozil made space inside the area after going past two players, but his shot was saved by Sergio Asenjo. Marko Marin's shot soon afterwards clipped the edge of the post.

The Germans continued to create chances in the second half and Ozil had a couple of efforts saved by Sergio Asenjo in the Spanish goal.

It was an entertaining contest and the 0-0 scoreline didn't do justice to the game. Both teams would be disappointed with only pocking up a point but they will both be confident of progression to the semi-finals.

Photo Credit: Corsarz

Match Report: England v Finland

A powerful header by Micah Richards gave the young lions a 2-1 win against a strong and determined Finland side despite being reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Micah Richards leapt above the Finnish defence to meet a corner by James Milner sending the ball into the bottom corner in the 52nd minute.

England had taken the lead on 15 minutes when Lee Cattermole capitalised on defensive hesitation and paced the ball past Finland goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola,  but Finland equalised from the penalty spot  when Michael Mancienne (pictured) brought down Berat Sadik in the area. The Chelsea defender was sent off for the challenge.

It was a tentative start by England and Finland looked comfortable in possession. It was England however who drew first blood. Gabriel Agbonlahor dispossessed Joni Aho at right-back. He played the ball across the box, while the defence hesitated, and Cattermole nipped in to hit a low shot past the goalkeeper.

Finland responded well though with Sadik in particular causing problems in the England defence. He chased onto a long ball and Joe Hart in the England goal and his defender, Mancienne,  seemed to leave the ball to each other. Mancienne however managed to get the ball away.

Mancienne was not so lucky just before half-time when Sadik got the better him inside the area, and  the Chelsea man brought the Finn down for a penalty.

The Turkish referee sent Mancienne off for his efforts. Former Southampton man, Tim Sparv, stepped up to send Hart the wrong way and raced into the vocal Finnish crowd.

It looked like an uphill struggle for England, they were second best in the game and now down to ten men. Martin Crainie stepped in for Mancienne at centre-back and Milner moved back to occupy the right-back position.

Theo Walcott, who had had a fairly ineffectual game was replaced at half-time by Frazier Campbell raising a few eyebrows.

But the substitution seemed to galvanize England and they took the lead when, in the 53rd minute, Richards towering header nestled in the bottom corner of the net from Milner's corner.

Goalscorer Richards was then taken off with an injury after landing awkwardly adding to England's defensive woes.

With only ten men, England were coping well and the Finns were limited to a couple of long shots until substitute Pukki wriggled clear in the box. The Sevilla striker shot from a narrow angle and Hart parried the ball, it was then hurriedly cleared by the defence.

The young lions held out however, and go into their next game against Spain top of the group knowing a victory would be enough to take them through.

Photo Credit: John_Dobbo

 

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