Wayne Rooney put aside allegations surrounding his private life to open the scoring in England’s 1-3 win against Switzerland in Basle. Adam Johnson was a stand-out player for the away side after coming on for the injured Theo Walcott and adding England’s second by taking the ball round keeper Diego Benaglio. Xherdan Shaqiri’s wonder goal only two minutes later did give Switzerland hope, but the pressure died down after Stefan Lichst...More
ENGLAND 4Defoe 2, 61,85, Johnson, A, 82
BULGARIA 0
Jermain Defoe’s superb hat-trick against Bulgaria helped Fabio Capello’s England on their way to qualifying for the 2012 European Championships following a summer of disappointment. The Tottenham striker struck inside five minutes to send the home side on their way to repairing some of the damage inflicted by Germany at the World Cup. Despite the nation’s loud cries for change on the ...More
With ‘new England’ launching their qualifying campaign at home, there was precious little new. Fabio Capello cited evolution as opposed to revolution as he aims to England forward and he remained undeterred by opting with the 4-4-2 formation that proved successful prior to the World Cup. James Milner was this time the left-sided tenant in midfield whilst Jermain Defoe rewarded the coach’s faith in him with a hat trick that portrayed...More
Each week, A Different League takes an emerging issue from the Premier League and gathers the viewpoint of three of our expert writers. This week:
With the England squad for the European Championship qualifiers announced yesterday, is Theo Walcott the answer to the team's recent problems?
Alex Bath: "If Theo Walcott is the answer then people have seriously misunderstood the questions the English national team face. There is no dou...More
Wednesday night was one of the most important nights in recent English football – no, beating Hungary will not be remembered as the night England proved they are still a major force in football but the revelation that David Beckham will no longer feature for England competitively (under Fabio Capello, that is) on the same night that Jack Wilshire and Kieran Gibbs made their débuts perfectly depicted that we are currently experiencin...More
Like many young children growing up in mid-nineties England, Euro 96 turned me on to football. Somehow, in the three weeks between England kicking off against Switzerland and Jurgen Klinsmann holding aloft the Henri Delaunay trophy, I transformed from uninterested 10-year-old to football fanatic. I was certainly devastated when the Three Lions were finally edged out by Germany in the semi-finals and since then have experienced similar h...More
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