Proud England Fail to Encapsulate Spanish Groove Armada

(Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

England’s 6-0 thrashing of Andorra were viewed in many quarters as a sweep, a one-sided victory of the inevitable. Sure, the score line suggests that and it could have been more.

However, behind the morale-boosting result that no doubt has led this nation nutty into believing the World Cup is within their grasps, England has not learned anything from this game. Granted, this was not a friendly; this was a World Cup qualifier with three valuable points at stake that would edge England nearer to the plane to South Africa with qualification virtually sealed.

But let’s face it, this was a game against seriously inferior opposition, a team with only a single professional player on board; the No. 6 defender who plays in the second division Italian Serie B. This was a match that Capello could afford to sample and play around a bit, basically "do a Sven."

However, I am not campaigning for Capello to bring back the dice-throwing days of Sven bombarding substitutes on to the pitch.  Far from it. I am deeply impressed with how Fabio marshaled this flagging side into a serious, organized, solid team. My worries lie with the fact England played impatient football.

We all know about the fussy Wembley crowd who can get on the team, berating until Ashley Cole drops a clanger and the home support slate with glee. So the need for England to "deliver" a performance becomes greater than normally; the burden is deeper.

Understandably, the vibe reaches to the players channelling England to play with incredible hunger, zooming about all over the pitch. As a result, the team is exposed into losing its shape and discipline. This has happened numerous times before. It is how the England national team performs; that is the inbred British Bulldog character.

Though we are talking about Andorra, where the whole team (apart from "striker" Fernando Silva) set camp in their own half, their game plan was simple. Andorra was performing Damage Limitation and fair play; they have to use the best of their resources and they don’t have any.

Now comes to the focal point of my argument: why doesn’t England use this game wisely? Behind the confident, joyous faces (which had a hint of smugness) at the final whistle as they trodden down the tunnel, what has England actually learned?

Nothing.

Just a reminder that Beckham can still play at the highest level (though does playing against Andorra count?) with his spraying passes almost never amiss. That Theo Walcott is still inconsistent. That Lampard can play. Blah blah we already know all this.

England needs to learn to pass intricately.

They could’ve used this no-doubt training match as a platform to hone drilled routines they, presumably, did at training. Perhaps they did. If the team were practicing Johnson crosses into the box then they didn't transfer training methods on to the pitch.

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