Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
England were knocked out of Euro 2012 in all too familiar circumstances, losing 4-2 on penalties against Italy following a goalless draw in Kiev.
Riccardo Montolivo missed Italy's second penalty but then Ashley Young and Ashley Cole failed to score before Alessandro Diamanti stroked home the winning spot-kick.
It was England's sixth exit in penalty shoot-outs at European Championships and World Cups in the last 22 years.
Roy Hodgson's side had rode their luck to stay on level terms after 120 minutes as Italy were far the better side with 35 attempts on goal, to England's nine, but failed to break the deadlock thanks to their own profligacy and some dogged English defending.
However their greater nerve from 12 yards means it will be the Azzurri who will face Germany in Thursday's second semi-final at the same ground and Hodgson's side go home.
There were chances aplenty in an open first-half.
The tone was set as early as the fourth minute when the ball was pulled back from the right to Daniele De Rossi who hit across his effort from 30 yards and was so unlucky to see the ball hit the woodwork with Joe Hart beaten.
England's best chance of the opening period came almost immediately when James Milner's square pass was poked towards goal by Glen Johnson from seven yards but Gianluigi Buffon clawed the effort away.
Johnson then produced a superb cross but Wayne Rooney could not direct his diving header on target from eight yards, under pressure from covering right-back Ignazio Abate.
That was after 15 minutes but from then on it was Italy who dominated with Andrea Pirlo pulling the strings in midfield and Mario Balotelli spurned a hat-trick of first-half chances.
He beat the offside trap but dallied which allowed John Terry to get back to make a crucial block and he failed to get much power on a scissors kick after a defence splitting pass from Montolivo.
But his best chance came five minutes before the break when Pirlo's cross to the back post was headed across goal by Antonio Cassano and somehow the Manchester City forward stabbed over the top from four yards albeit under pressure from club-mate Joleon Lescott.
Danny Welbeck did spurn a chance to test Buffon from 18 yards after a good link-up with Rooney but Italy continued to be in the ascendancy and were totally dominant in the second.
De Rossi missed a sitter four minutes after the break after Hart punched a corner only as far as Montolivo whose header was volleyed wide from seven yards by the unmarked veteran.
England's goal continued to lead a charmed life as a 30-yard blast from De Rossi was parried by Hart straight into the path of Balotelli who was denied from close range by the legs of his Eastlands team-mate before Montolivo volleyed over under pressure from Johnson.
Theo Walcott and Andy Carroll were brought on after an hour as England struggled to maintain possession and they carved out a rare chance as the Arsenal winger's cross intended for the big Liverpool striker fell to Young whose shot was deflected behind for a corner.
Hart made a sharp shot from Italian sub Diamanti before Johnson made a superb block after Marchisio's superb pass found another sub Antonio Nocerino.
England did have a chance to steal it in injury-time but Rooney's bicycle kick was over the top.
They failed to create a single chance in extra-time as they spent most of the 30 minutes camped in their own half as Italy continued to pile on the pressure.
Hart was grateful to see Diamanti's mis-hit cross strike the outside of the post and the former West Ham man was off target from 10 yards after Federico Balzaretti fizzed a ball across the area.
Italy finally found the net after 115 minutes when Nocerino headed home from close range but he was correctly ruled offside.
Although Italy have won a World Cup final in a shoot-out they had also lost five of their other six encounters and would have feared the worst when, after Balotelli and Gerrard had scored the opening efforts, Montolivo dragged his effort well past the left post.
Rooney smashed his penalty into the left corner before Pirlo had the audacity to produce a 'Panenka' chip down the middle to level at 2-2.
The disappointing Young then smashed his effort against the crossbar before Nocerino calmly placed his shot into the left corner.
Cole's effort was then saved, low to his left by Buffon, and it was left to Upton Park reject Diamanti to condemn England to their eighth quarter-final defeat in nine attempts at major tournaments away from Wembley.
It was eight years to the day since England were knocked out by Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 and Three Lions fans can add Italy to Argentina, Germany (twice) and Portugal (twice) as nations who have held their nerve to beat their side in shoot-outs.
England profited from a goalkeeping howler and a goal-line controversy as they beat Ukraine 1-0 in Donetsk to top Euro 2012 Group D.
Wayne Rooney headed the only goal early in the second half after an error by Andriy Pyatov, but there was huge controversy when John Terry cleared a Marko Devic shot that had crossed the line.
None of the officials, including the additional assistant referee standing just metres from the ball, appeared to see the incident, and an incensed Ukraine side exited the tournament.
England may feel it is payback for the 2010 World Cup, when a Frank Lampard goal against Germany was ruled out, but this latest embarrassment will surely accelerate the introduction of goalline technology.
The result sets up a last-eight encounter against Group C runners-up Italy, while France will face defending champions Spain after losing 2-0 to Sweden.
However, there should be no ignoring a sub-standard England display. Roy Hodgson's men began the match full of optimism, buoyed by a 3-2 win against Sweden, and welcoming the apparently talismanic Rooney back to the fold.
Superb as Rooney may be for Manchester United, he has not made a positive major tournament contribution for England since 2004 - so expectations that he would transform England into free-flowing world-beaters always seemed a touch optimistic.
So it proved, as they produced a first half as stilted and insipid as anything they produced in their disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign.
Despite missing Andriy Shevchenko and Andriy Voronin from the starting XI, Ukraine dominated, showing England up with their movement and ball retention.
Early on, England's centre-backs went walkabout, allowing the excellent Andriy Yarmolenko space inside the box - but the Ukrainian dallied on the ball and his eventual shot was charged down.
Scott Parker then produced a block to deny Devic, who was first to an Artem Milevskiy lay-off.
Next it was John Terry's job to get in the way of a shot as he stopped a Yevhen Konoplyanka, and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk volleyed the follow-up over the bar.
Despite their seemingly chronic inability to locate a team-mate with a simple pass, England did have their moments, with Rooney guilty of a glaring miss.
Terry found Ashley Young on the left, whose inswinging cross found an unmarked Rooney at the back post, but somehow the striker glanced his header wide.
Back came Ukraine with Yarmolenko testing Joe Hart with a low shot that the goalkeeper did well to hold. And Yarmolenko threatened again with a mazy dribble inside the box that left three defenders in his wake, but led away from goal and he was eventually crowded out.
England cannot play like Spain, nor should they try, but their passing statistics were simply embarrassing. Xavi routinely averages 50 passes per half. In the first half, Danny Welbeck completed five, James Milner seven, Young nine and Glen Johnson 10.
Even when they did hold the ball, they showed no likelihood of going anywhere - a succession of square passes brought a few ironic 'Ole's from the crowd, but the absolute lack of movement off the ball meant Ukraine were perfectly safe.
The goal came early in the second half from a right-sided cross by Steven Gerrard. As the ball came through, a defender got a slight touch and Pyatov missed the ball completely, gifting Rooney the simplest header.
Just after the hour mark, Ukraine equalised. Or at least they thought they had. Artem Milevskiy teed up Devic, whose shot was half-saved by Hart.
Terry ran back to clear, but the ball had already crossed the line - however, referee Viktor Kassai waved play on and received help from his assistants.
Lucky as England were, they may point out that Milevskiy was offside in the build-up.
As news came through that France were losing to Sweden, the pressure eased - England could have conceded an equaliser and still topped the group.
However, there was still a hairy moment as Hart parried a swerving Konoplyanka shot and Joleon Lescott showed good awareness to hook the ball away.
It was deeply unpretty stuff, but somehow Hodgson's men continue to deliver. They may need more luck if they are to see off the Italians.
England need a draw against co-hosts Ukraine in their final Group D match to reach the Euro 2012 quarter-finals after Danny Welbeck scored a late winner in a 3-2 victory over Sweden at Kiev's Olympic Stadium.
In a match in which neither side's defence impressed, England were forced to recover from trailing in the second half after Olof Mellberg forced Glen Johnson to put past his own keeper and then scored himself to cancel out Andy Carroll's headed opening goal for England on 23 minutes.
Substitute Theo Walcott brought England level when he drove a shot straight down the middle of the goal on 64 minutes from outside of the area that somehow evaded Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson as he dived to his left. It was his first international goal since his hat-trick in a 4-1 win in Croatia almost four years ago.
Welbeck won it for England on 78 minutes with both sides pushing for the three points when he backheeled Walcott's cross into the net with the opposing defenders again caught marking fresh air.
England were marginally the better side on an evening of some mediocrity with Sweden heading home from the finals after their 2-1 loss to Ukraine in the opening match with followed by this defeat. They will not be a great miss to the tournament.
England conclude their Group D campaign against Ukraine in Donetsk on Tuesday with the co-hosts needing three points to deprive England of progress after their 2-0 loss to France earlier in the day.
France and England top the section on four points with the French warm favourites to progress as group winners if they can come up with a win over the already doomed Swedes.
Roy Hodgson's side will need to improve considerably to remain a threat in this tournament, mainly in defence and in their toiling efforts at ball retention, but will be boosted by the return of the suspended Wayne Rooney to face Ukraine.
Welbeck's winning goal gave them a first success over Sweden in competitive matches after two losses and five draws against the Scandinavian country on similar occasions.
Hodgson's decision to bring back Liverpool forward Carroll to replace the Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain seemed to be vindicated when Carroll rose to power a header into the net from 12 yards out after Steven Gerrard had provided a similar delivery that enabled Joleon Lescott to score with a header in the 1-1 draw against France.
England were leading 1-0 and comfortable with Isaksson diving to swat away a Scott Parker shot and Welbeck heading wide from James Milner's cross before Carroll finally unearthed the opening goal with his first start and first goal at a major finals.
With Sweden appearing impotent from open play, Ashley Young drove a shot into the side of the net as England disappeared up the tunnel looking relatively content.
There was a significant mood swing at the outset of the second half when the unmarked and bearded Mellberg prodded the ball over the line to bring Sweden level with England's defence in a ghastly state.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart palmed the ball into the midriff of Johnson, who failed to scramble the ball clear as it dropped over the line.
Suddenly England were being tested as Johnson was forced to make a fine tackle on Rasmus Elm before Sweden moved 2-1 clear as Mellberg rose unmarked to beat Hart with a header from Sebastian Larsson's free-kick.
It was awful defending with John Terry and Lescott nowhere to be seen.
Johnson's pace was again called upon when he raced back to prevent the moody Zlatan Ibrahimovic from getting a free shot at goal as Sweden pushed for a 3-1 lead.
England looked groggy, but dragged themselves back to 2-2 when Walcott's hopeful drive evaded Isaksson seconds after the goalkeeper superbly pawed away John Terry's header inside the Sweden box.
With one goal likely to settle matters either way, Ibrahimovic forced Hart to plunge to his right to divert a ferocious shot on 77 minutes.
It was left to Welbeck to drive the dagger into the hopes of over 20,000 Sweden fans in the 70,000 crowd when he brilliantly converted from Walcott's cross to seal the win.
England could have added to their total in added time, but Isaksson came up with another eye-catching save to halt Gerrard's volley with Walcott playing provider on the break. But England's work had been done for the night.
England opened their Euro 2012 campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 Group D draw against France at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk.
Manchester City team-mates Joleon Lescott and Samir Nasri traded first-half goals, and though his team were outplayed for long periods, England boss Roy Hodgson will be happy to take a point against the group favourites.
Sporting a 4-4-1-1 formation with nine men behind the ball for much of the game, England were limited in attack, but defended well despite surrendering their lead nine minutes after Lescott's 30th-minute header.
The technically-superior French struggled to turn their possession into clear goalscoring opportunities, and must find more cutting edge if they are to be considered serious contenders for the tournament.
Amazingly, France have still not won a European Championship match in which neither Michel Platini nor Zinedine Zidane was playing.
Hodgson opted for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left side of midfield - yet the decision to select a player with just six Premier League starts to his name was both popular and logical.
Oxlade-Chamberlain provides a bold directness Stewart Downing singularly lacks, and showed his intent to run at France with some early forays.
However, the game started slowly at a less-than-full Donbass Arena populated largely by Russian fans.
Amid a limp atmosphere, both teams showed excessive caution until Ashley Young carved out a golden chance for James Milner on the quarter-hour mark.
Young played a perfectly-weighted through ball for the sprinting Milner, who took the ball past Hugo Lloris but could not find the empty net from the left side of the box. A poor miss.
France bucked up after that, dominating possession and keeping the ball far better than their opponents, with Nasri and Yohan Cabaye particularly influential.
However, it was England who took the lead when Lescott met a peach of a free-kick from Steven Gerrard with a powerful header that game Lloris no chance - the goalkeeper possibly at fault for not claiming the ball at the edge of the six-yard box.
Back came Laurent Blanc's men, and five minutes later Alou Diarra stung the hands of Joe Hart with a powerful header of his own, before nodding side seconds later.
England were not off the hook for long, and on 39 minutes Nasri levelled, drilling a low shot into the near side of Hart's goal from just outside the box.
The midfielder celebrated his goal by aiming a 'shh' gesture at the English bench - a possible reaction to comments from Gary Neville describing Nasri as "a cancer" at Arsenal, shortly before his move to City.
England backed off, with the tepid noise around the ground mirroring the poor fare on the pitch.
The biggest danger to England was arguably Milner, who gave the ball away several times in the second period, but France came no closer than when Karim Benzema struck a long shot at Hart, and Cabaye had a powerful strike deflected wide.
Scott Parker came off late on, clearly exhausted and lacking full match fitness after recovering from an Achilles injury.
Benzema tested Hart with another effort from distance in the last minute, but there was no way through.
Hodgson's England might be the most limited squad ever to reach a major tournament, but their fight and organisation may yet take them into the knockout stages.
Theo Walcott says Gervinho will be a “breath of fresh air” after the summer signing bagged his first two goals for the Club at the weekend.
The Ivorian striker had already opened his Arsenal account with a delicate lob by the time Walcott’s inch-perfect cross allowed him to tuck home his second after just 15 minutes against Cologne on Saturday.
Aside from his brace, the new addition looked a constant threat in Germany and Walcott is excited by what his new team-mate brings to the squad.
“Gervinho will be a breath of fresh air I think,” he said. “He looks a great talent.
“You can tell he can bring goals, he has got plenty of pace about him and he is very comfortable on the ball. I am looking forward to playing with him.
“You don’t want to put too much pressure on him but I am sure he can deal with that.”
England narrowly avoided embarrassment against the unfancied Netherlands in their opening World Cup game in Nagpur with a six-wicket win.
A bowling and fielding performance which descended into farce coupled with a superb century from Ryan ten Doeschate left England chasing a difficult target of 293 runs to secure victory.
Opening pair Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen put on a century partnership as they set about the total, and though wickets fell at inopportune times, England eked out a victory in the penultimate over.
The batsmen were given a task far bigger than they would have expected on a lifeless pitch after the Dutch had won the toss and elected to bowl.
A confident opening from Dutch duo Alexei Kervezee and Wesley Barresi got the Dutch off to a bright start, with Barresi crashing six boundaries in a 25-ball 29.
When the duo fell - Kervezee to a looped catch to wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Barresi to a sharp stumping as England introduced the spin of Graeme Swann - Tom Cooper and Ten Doeschate set about forming an excellent partnership.
Cooper anchored as England took pace off the ball, with none of their pacemen proving particularly effective.
Ten Doeschate, meanwhile, settled into excellent rhythm, bringing up his half-century after a getting a life when an extraordinary mix-up between Pietersen and James Anderson saw neither fielder try to catch an eminently reachable shot off Swann's bowling.
Cooper fell just short of his fifty, but Ten Doeschate persevered and plundered runs as the quicks bowled too short.
Inventive cameos from Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren gave the Netherlands innings renewed momentum as Ten Doeschate blazed his way to an impressive ton.
England's fielding meanwhile, fell apart, with the worst display for some months including simple chances dropped by the likes of Swann, and a farcical no-ball denying Stuart Broad the wicket of Borren as it transpired that England did not have three fielders in the infield, as the laws of the game required.
A total of 292 for the loss of six wickets was by some way the Netherlands' best display against an established cricketing nation at the 50-over World Cup, and made for a tricky chase.
Pietersen and Strauss made a bright reply, but Pietersen, who was tackling the role of opener in one-day internationals for the first time, found himself bogged down all of a sudden against the medium-pace attack and eventually pushed a simple catch to Borren off the bowling of left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar.
Jonathan Trott batted patiently with Strauss, and again with Ian Bell as the captain fell to a pull for an 83-ball 88.
But Trott and then Bell succumbed in the last 10 overs to Ten Doeschate - who backed up his innings with two wickets for 47 runs with the ball - to set up a tense finale.
Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara started slowly, but their class told as the game entered its final stages, and Bopara punished Bernard Loots in the penultimate over with 16 runs from four balls to take England to victory.
There was relief all-round to have avoided another upset at the hands of the side who defeated them at Lord's in the 2009 World Twenty20 at Lord's, but plenty to address after a performance which leaves them ill-prepared for facing tournament favourites India on Sunday.
Bolton Wanderers and England legend Nat Lofthouse has died at the age of 85.
Lofthouse passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday night.
Lofthouse spent his entire playing career at Bolton where he amassed more than 500 appearances in the league, scoring 255 goals between 1946 and 1960. He also found the net 30 times in domestic cup competition.
At international level, Lofthouse represented England on 33 occasions, scoring 30 goals.
"On behalf of everyone at Bolton Wanderers Football Club, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to Nat's family, who are very much in our thoughts at this time," Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside said.
"Nat undoubtedly is a Bolton Wanderers legend. He was a one-club man and our football club meant as much to him as he did to us.
"We will miss him but we will celebrate his life, his legacy and great times that he brought to Bolton Wanderers."
After hanging up his boots, he continued his association with the club by occupying a variety of different positions including chief coach, chief scout, caretaker manager and club president, in which he remained up until his death.
When the transfer window opens, it’s no major surprise to see the name of Cesc Fabregas inexorably linked with a move to his childhood club Barcelona.
Hardly a day goes by during the summer recess and the January window, when stories reign supreme that the Arsenal skipper is reported to be heading home.
It’s something we have come to expect; and yet it’s never happened. Neither is it likely to this time around, given the Gunners’ talisman’s latest response to the inevitable comments.
Fabregas, to his eternal credit, continues to handle the speculation with good grace, humility and with ultimate respect to his Arsenal paymasters.
Fabregas insists he has no intention of leaving the Emirates until he has brought silverware to the club which has made him the player he is.
"Why would I want to leave? It is fantastic here," said Fabregas, who has endured a five-year wait for silverware with the Gunners. "It would be a dream to lift trophies for Arsenal. It has always been my wish.
"Afterwards you can always be attracted by something else, like a new objective, or new challenges because, for me, life is all about challenges.
"But my real challenge as captain of Arsenal is to bring this football club success. This is the biggest dream I can have. I want to end these five years without a trophy and, hopefully, I can do it this season."
Move aside the Glenn McGraths and Muttiah Muralitharans, the only bowler who has tested Sachin Tendulkar to an extent that the Indian batting icon "didn't know what to do" while facing him was stunningly the late Hansie Cronje!
The ex-South African captain, who died in a plane crash after being banned for match-fixing, was the one man Tendulkar found hard to deal with and bowling technique had nothing to do with it.
"Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone. When we played South Africa he always got me out more than Allan Donald or Shaun Pollock. It wasn't that I couldn't pick him - it's just that the ball seemed to go straight to a fielder," Tendulkar told 'The Guardian'.
Cronje, primarily a middle-order batsman, was efficient with his medium pace fetching 43 wickets in 68 Tests and 114 ODI wickets in 188 matches before his spectacular fall from grace owing to the 2000 match-fixing scandal in which he was the prime accused. He died in a plane crash in 2002.
Tendulkar said facing Cronje was always a tricky proposition for him.
"I was going great guns in Durban one year and played some big shots against Donald and Pollock. Hansie came on and I flicked his first ball straight to leg-slip. I never knew what to do with him," he said.
Tendulkar once again named McGrath as the best fast bowler he ever faced and despite dominating Shane Warne, the Indian icon considered the Aussie to be the best spinner he came across.
"I did OK against him (McGrath). But, among the spinners, Warne at his best was still something special," he said.
The 37-year-old batsman, who has spent over 20 years in international cricket, is often compared to Sir Don Bradman and Tendulkar recalled some special moments he spent with the late Australian legend.
"We went to see him on his 90th birthday. It was very special. We were talking about averages and I said, 'Sir Don, if you were playing today, what would you have averaged?' And he said, '70 - probably.' I asked, 'Why 70 and not your actual average of 99?' Bradman said, 'Come on, an average of 70 is not bad for a 90-year-old man.'
"This is what I tell my son. Whether you're an 11-year-old boy or Don Bradman we should never forget it's just a game we can all enjoy."
His passion for the sport is well-documented and Tendulkar said even after spending over two decades in the international arena, he tries to re-invent himself.
"I'm really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?, Tendulkar pointed out.
The diminutive batsman said going past the 14,000 runs mark earlier this year was one of the big moments of his career but he never lets the thoughts of achieving milestones overshadow what is actually required of him in a match situation.
"It was a big moment...But I was most aware of the match situation," said the right-hander who had arrived at the wicket with India 38 for two in reply to Australia's first innings of 478.
"And then it flashed on the big screen that I needed eight runs to reach 14,000. Every run I scored was cheered. But when I needed two I hit a boundary. I was happy but I thought, 'right, now we can get back to focusing on cricket', because everyone had become too worried about those eight runs. It had taken away my focus."
"Yes. Obviously, going past Brian Lara was something special. But I'm even happier now and hopefully it continues."
Talking about the changing face of the game, Tendulkar said Australia are in decline after retirements of their heavyweights.
"To not have (Matthew) Hayden, (Justin) Langer, ( Adam) Gilchrist, (Glenn) McGrath, (Shane) Warne - it's a big loss. They still have some world-class players but their batting revolves around (Ricky) Ponting. When you want to create a vacuum in their batting you need to get Ponting," he said.
Tendulkar feels given Australia's loss of aura, England are serious contenders to lift the Ashes this time.
"I think England have a better chance. I favour them slightly. I would say (Eoin) Morgan could be the key performer in the Ashes. Morgan and (Graeme) Swann," he said.
"He (Morgan) is a very solid player who can control the pace of his innings. He can become a really good Test batsman even though he has only played a few Tests so far. After Morgan you've got the experience of (Andrew) Strauss, (Paul) Collingwood and Pietersen. They're a really well-balanced side and this is a great opportunity for England," he added.
India is one of the co-hosts of next year's World Cup and Tendulkar said the pressure would be of an altogether different level.
"It's going to be massive. Everyone in India is looking forward to a mega tournament and although people haven't started talking yet about 1983 (the last time India won the World Cup) it will happen soon. But, given our recent form, people have a right to be excited and have extremely high hopes," he said.
The big talking point from Saturday was Jack Wilshere's red card.
He mistimed his tackle and he got what he deserved. But it was his first tackle in the game and you have to acknowledge that he didn't spend the whole game kicking people. He played football and was one of the best players on the football pitch.
Unfortunately he committed a bad challenge but I think it was borne of frustration, he mistimed his tackle. We do not complain about his red card but you cannot say he had a dirty game.
Aside from the sending off Jack showed that he is a complete player. He played defensively well, offensively well, and I believe that overall he had a very good game, a very influential game. He was very reliable defensively and very creative going forward.
Overall it was imperative to get the three points against Birmingham. I believe we played quite nervously - you could see our fluency was affected by the fact that we had not won for two games. We played a little bit with the handbrake in the final third, especially when we were 2-1 up, and it was never comfortable.
When we went 1-0 down it was backs to the wall considering the state of the Premier League table. We had absolutely to win so it was even more difficult to concede first, but I cannot fault anybody too much on the goal we conceded because it was a wonderful header like we used to see in England 30 or 40 years ago. There's not a lot you can do about that.
Marouane Chamakh scored the winner and since the beginning of the season, if you look at how many times he has been decisive at 0-0 or 1-1, you will be surprised. He is very influential in the team.
It was good to have Nicklas Bendtner back from injury but he doesn't look completely ready yet. He needs a few more weeks. He has not played regular football for a long time and you do not come back straight away like that into top-level competition.
