Wales vs. England: Ranking the England Players in Euro 2012 Qualifier
England move top of group G in their quest for Euro 2012 qualification after a slick, professional 2-0 win over Wales in front of a crowd of 69,000 at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
In the end, it proved to be a case of "job done" more than anything else for Fabio Capello's men, who were dominant from the start.
Wales failed to live up to their billing as a resurgent force under new boss Gary Speed, with the Welsh looking limp, lacklustre, and, in footballing terms, lifeless.
Their new philosophy of playing the ball along the ground became one-dimensional and failed to produce any results, let alone a shot on target, while England's new formation gave the Three Lions a bit more efficiency about their game.
However, as good as England were, the manner in which they won was solely down to how poor Wales performed, especially in the first half.
Here's a breakdown of the English players' performance, ranked. The substitutes don't feature as they didn't receive enough time to make a decent impact, even if Stewart Downing was literally a matter of centimetres away from scoring a third for the Three Lions.
11. Joe Hart (Rating: 6)
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The Manchester City keeper had a quiet game, rarely being troubled by the Wales attack.
Thanks to strong central defence and midfield, as well as a competent set of players in front of him, Joe Hart's only significant action came in the way of catching and punching out corner kicks, which he did adequately well.
His distribution was also pretty standard. It was nothing inspiring to start attacks and sometimes he made inaccurate passes, but overall he showed decent distribution and all-round solid goalkeeping.
10. Michael Dawson (Rating: 6)
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The Tottenham Hotspur centre-back, like Joe Hart, had a quiet game, seeing somewhat less action than his centre-back partner John Terry.
Michael Dawson was good when called upon, with a decent tackling success rate and managed to hold the defensive line when required.
However, he didn't really inspire any attacks from the back, nor did he really lead the defence like he does for Tottenham. He was also caught slightly out of position on occasion, and got a bit lucky at one point.
That aside, he had a solid if quiet match, and showed enough to be considered for the same role next time out against Ghana at Wembley.
9. Frank Lampard (Rating: 6)
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The Chelsea playmaker expertly slotted home the penalty which gave England the lead inside seven minutes, but that's all he really did.
For the rest of the game, in which he played the whole 90 minutes, Frank Lampard failed to really put his stamp on proceedings, only really becoming involved in a bit of central link-up play and, at times, was pushed out wide to see some of the ball.
What Lampard did do was decent enough, but against tougher sides when a playmaker is really needed to drive the side, it doesn't seem if Frank looks capable of being that man.
The midfielder looked more like a spectator than a player at certain moments throughout the encounter.
8. Wayne Rooney (Rating: 6.5)
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Happy to play anywhere as long as he's in the team (according to teammate Ryan Giggs), the Manchester United striker found it difficult to produce his magic against Wales.
Shipped out onto the left wing by Fabio Capello, Wayne Rooney seemed slightly uncomfortable at times when trying to express himself on the pitch.
Seeking to cut inside and create link-up play through the middle instead of inter-linking more frequently with left-back Ashley Cole, it was clear Rooney is a player who thrives on playing a central role, not the flanks.
Being the talismanic talent he is, the United forward did cause Wales some problems, and a helping hand in the first goal, but overall it wasn't the 25-year-old's day after earning his 70th cap.
7. Glen Johnson (Rating: 7)
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A nervy start aside, the Liverpool right-back had a solid game throughout, finding license to get forward and become almost a right-winger at times for England.
Glen Johnson set up the second goal for the visitors with his super-accurate and expertly-timed long ball to Ashley Young, and created some problems for Wales on the few occasions he did get into meaningful forward positions.
In defence, he was also surprisingly reliable, and would've been ranked higher had it not been for his inexcusably poor communication at times with the right-sided centre-back Michael Dawson.
6. Scott Parker (Rating: 7)
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Earning his fifth cap for England, the talismanic West Ham captain did not disappoint following his inclusion in Fabio Capello's starting lineup.
Displaying the usual enthusiasm, energy and overall work rate he has for the Hammers, Scott Parker fully vindicated Capello's decision to start with him in that type of formation.
Whilst he didn't influence the match attacking wise as much as he has done for West Ham, Parker was a reassuring presence in that holding midfield role, dropping back into defence when Wales ventured forward to make any tackles that were required whilst providing that all-important link between midfield and the back four.
A lot of attacks created in central midfield, whilst not driven by Parker, were started by the ex-Chelsea man.
5. Darren Bent (Rating: 7.5)
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The £24 million-rated Aston Villa striker scored the third goal of his English career to make his country's lead comfortable and ultimately a convincing one.
Showing some great movement throughout the match, his strike against Wales may have only been a tap-in, but it was the well-timed and thought-out run preceding it which made it a good goal.
Consistently causing the Wales defence problems with his forward runs, if there was any player who looked like scoring on that pitch at the Millenium Stadium, it was Darren Bent.
He would've been man-of-the-match had he been able to link up with Jack Wilshere better.
4. Ashley Cole (Rating: 7.5)
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Flying high up the wing and tracking back strong down it, the Chelsea left-back put in a routinely great display of full-back proficiency to help give England their much deserved 2-0 win.
Linking-up well with Scott Parker, Jack Wilshere and Wayne Rooney on occasion, Ashley Cole was able to put his stamp on proceedings going forward, and a crucial part of creating the first goal.
Defensively he also did his duties adequately enough, especially at one point where he cut out a Wales attack expertly.
He would've received a higher rating and ranking if he had more to do, as he was largely untested defensively, and wasn't constantly attacking, thanks to England's wise if not boring attempts to see the game out with as little necessary effort as possible.
3. Jack Wilshere (Rating: 8)
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Consistently lauded as a world-class talent by Fabio Capello, Arsene Wenger and seemingly every single person on the planet, the Arsenal midfielder seemed completely at ease on his competitive international debut.
A driving force in midfield having been given license to roam forward thanks to the holding midfield presence of Scott Parker, Jack Wilshere was the playmaker Frank Lampard should've been, with his crisp short passing, link-up play and surging forward runs destroying the very heart of the Wales midfield.
One of the most technically proficient players of both sides on the pitch, Wilshere was one of the main attacking influences for England as they used attack as the best form of defence.
Had his ability to get in scoring positions been better and his shooting not so woeful, the 19-year-old could've topped this list.
2. John Terry (Rating: 8.5)
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Despite all the pre-match controversy surrounding the captaincy issue, England manager Fabio Capello had his decision to re-instate John Terry as captain completely vindicated.
Young Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, named captain for Wales, spoke about how he would lead by example at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Instead, it was Chelsea defender Terry who lead by example for England in the vital Euro 2012 qualifier.
The 30-year-old captain, for both club and country, only made one very minor error throughout the whole game, despite being significantly more tested than his centre-back partner Michael Dawson.
He communicated brilliantly with all his teammates (even TV pictures will tell you that) on the pitch, motivated his men, and, most importantly, did lead by example perfectly.
John Terry proved yet again why he deserves to lead his nation's football team, and would've received a 10/10 had he been playing against better opposition!
1. Ashley Young (Rating: 9)
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The only player who assisted both goals, Aston Villa winger Ashley Young was hands-down the best player on the pitch in the Group G encounter in Cardiff.
Brilliant control of the ball, sublimely-accurate passing and crossing, fantastically-executed and almost always perfectly-timed forward runs, and a work rate and energy to match any other player, were the traits of Young's performance which deservedly won him man-of-the-match.
The main influence going forward, it was Young's passing, ability to hold the ball and set up teammates which saw England defend against Wales by attacking.
It may only have been against Wales, but the Villa winger's performance would've surely given him a starting berth against Ghana in England's next outing at Wembley whilst also adding a million or two onto his transfer market valuation.
