England-Switzerland: New-Look Three Lions Pass First Test

A new dawn for England began with a win tonight under the tutelage of maestro Fabio Capello against Switzerland.

Goals from surprise inclusion Jermaine Jenas and second half substitute Shaun Wright Phillips ensured that the majority of the 86,000 plus crowd inside a subdued Wembley went home relatively happy.

The game started in slow fashion, with both teams opting for a 5 man midfield, space was at a premium, and though England monopolized possession they rarely threatened the Swiss goal. There was an understandable nervousness amongst the players in the early exchanges.

After all, this was England's first match since the benign capitulation against Croatia that ended Steve Mclaren's reign of horror. 

Spectre of Beckham 

The harsh Wembley crowd were not exactly helping the players. It took just 21 minutes for the first muted chant in favour of the absent David Beckham, after his direct replacement David Bentley sent in a poor cross beyond the far post. This was particularly harsh on Bentley, who along with Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney, had been industrious and lively on his full debut.

This England was playing to a different tune to previous incarnations. The passing was methodical and patient, and while the end result did not always delight, there was some joy to be taken from watching an England team actually try to keep possession and not just lump the ball forward at the first sign of opposition pressure.

As the crowd began to murmur with discontent at the slow build up, the home performance seemed to deteriorate as the first half progressed. Rooney had earlier missed a presentable opportunity after being put through by a slide rule Joe Cole pass, a smart save from Benaglio denying the Manchester United man.

From the early probing the Swiss began to grow in confidence, and for a ten minute period in the first half they looked the more likely scorers. They only really threatened from set pieces though, with Eggimann missing a decent headed chance from an excellent Yakin free-kick from the right.

Jenas Strikes The Right Note

As the game approached half time, England got a barely deserved breakthrough. Neat play in midfield found Steven Gerrard in space in the centre, and he delivered a fine volleyed pass wide to Joe Cole. Cole bamboozled the Swiss right back and surged to the byline before picking out Jenas for a tap in (40). Fabio Capello, who had cut a nervous and intriguing figure on the touchline, applauded warmly.

The goal woke the Wembley crowd from its slumber briefly to applaud the team off at half time, but it was clear that there was plenty of making up to do for the England players before the Euro 2008 Qualifying failure would be forgotten.

The second half began with the usual raft of substitutions that blights International friendly matches, but this time it was not the England team making multiple changes but the Swiss, who brought on 19 year old wunderkind Eren Derdiyok for his debut amongst others.

England began the half brightly and created a plethora of chances to grab a second goal. Jenas forced a good save from the overworked Benaglio, and Wayne Rooney sent an audacious chip just over the crossbar in the most notable efforts. On 57 minutes Capello made his first changes with Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright Phillips replacing the architects of England's goal, Jenas and Joe Cole.

Wright On Time

This change immediately backfired as the Swiss equalized out of the blue. A sharp pass from Tranquillo Barnetta was latched onto by the speedy Derdiyok, who flashed a left footed strike across David James and into the far corner (58). It was an excellent finish from the Basle man and showed why he is the hottest property in Swiss football at the moment.

The Swiss rally did not last long. Just 5 minutes later and a rare long ball from the back was first flicked on by Peter Crouch, and then helped on by Rooney to the onrushing Gerrard who, with a trademark surge, drove into the box and played a perfect ball across to Shaun Wright Phillips to score with virtually his first touch of the ball.

There was no doubting this time that England deserved their lead. Wayne Rooney was in imperious form, drifting all over the pitch and causing the cumbersome Swiss back line all sorts of problems. Rooney was ably supported by an improved Gerrard, and the hard working Bentley. One superb Beckham-esque cross from Bentley found Crouch unmarked in the box, his volley being well saved by the impressive Benaglio in the Swiss goal.

Final Analysis 

As the game wore on Wayne Bridge, Owen Hargreaves and Ashley Young all got a taste of the action, and England could have easily increased their lead. The second half performance has inspired the Wembley crowd enough for a period of 'ole' football in the closing stages.

While such antics were probably over-egging the display a little, there was enough promise on show for England to look to the future with cautious optimism.

Certainly for this writer the style of play was a welcome change, although the slightly moronic Wembley crowd, fed on a diet of kick and rush Premier League football, will take some convincing that patient possession football is the way to get the best out of this under performing current generation. Capello looked neither happy nor disappointed at the final whistle, perhaps a move away from the boom-bust nature of the previous incumbent of the England hotseat is just what this team needs.

Ratings: Marks Out Of 10

James - Little to do defensively, good distribution - 7

A. Cole - Poor first half, improved after break before being subbed - 6

Upson - Comfortable defending, some good passes, calm display - 7

Ferdinand - Caught napping for goal, otherwise untroubled - 6

Brown - Struggled at first, grew in confidence - 6

Barry - Typical performance in front of defence, rarely wasted a pass - 7

J. Cole - Always probing, great work for opening goal, key creative force - 8

Bentley - Worked hard, a couple of good crosses, set pieces a disappointment - 7 

Gerrard - Quiet first half but still played big part in goal, bright in the second - 8

Jenas - Made some good runs, could have scored more than one in surprise start - 8

Rooney - Unlucky not to score, back to his devilish best - 9

Subs

Crouch - Could have added to impressive strike rate - 7

Wright Phillips - Always a threat - 7

Bridge - Steady - 6

Hargreaves - Covered ground well - 7

Young - Too late to have an impact - 6