England vs. Sweden: 10 Observations Made Live on Fabio Capello's Men

Mission accomplished. England’s 1-0 win over Sweden yesterday ensured the national side concluded a transitional period on an encouraging note.

A team laden with young talent generally impressed, and the morale-boosting victory meant England remained unbeaten in a calendar year for the first time since 1994. In achieving this accolade, they registered the national side's 2,000th goal in history, and also ousted a previously obdurate foe who had not tasted defeat against England since 1968. 

Following on from Sam Tighe, I was lucky enough to receive a press pass, and watch this game from the Wembley press box reporting for Bleacher Report.

Here are 10 observations made from yesterday's game.

1. Pre-Match Concerns

Once England's official team news filtered out, there were more than a few puzzled brows on the faces of those already at Wembley. Danny Welbeck’s late withdrawal had prompted many to assume Adam Johnson or Daniel Sturridge would be given a chance to impress.

However, rather conservatively, especially against the opposition's ageing defensive core, Capello once again turned to Phil Jones to shore up midfield. After watching such a resilient effort against Spain, many were hoping for a more adventurous display against a team most assumed England would beat. 

On paper it was a particularly defensive outfit, with Jack Rodwell, Gareth Barry and Phil Jones hardly the most offensive central trio. And with such pre-match emphasis placed on England’s next goal scorer being their 2,000th, it initially seemed Capello was not inclined to play along.

Remarkably, the top scorer in England’s starting lineup was John Terry.

2. John Terry's Mixed Ovation

With so much focus aimed at John Terry’s controversial inclusion against Sweden, many waited to hear Wembley’s reception for England's much-maligned captain. Certainly prior to kickoff, as many predicted, any time his name was announced or appeared on screen, there was a larger proportion of jeers to anything else.

As the match progressed, the booing slowly petered out as fans thankfully became more concerned with the plight of their team. Undoubtedly, Terry will be relieved to be back on the pitch and grateful his name will not be so prominent in today’s headlines.

He gave a tidy display, never stretched by a side who struggled to create chances.

3. Tactically Capello Triumphs

As much as it appeared overly cautious to bolster the midfield, on the whole, Capello’s tactics were sound. For the second match in a row, the Italian implemented a strategy that gave England greater chances of winning, despite his initial approach appearing inflexible.

Facing an unambitious Swedish side, content to frustrate England from the start, the sides played out a tedious opening 10 minutes where the ball was often reluctantly played back to the goalkeepers. Capello quickly countered this by pinning his wide players to the touchline, and ordering the nearest full-back even further up the line.

This enabled England to always have an outlet as well as being able to advance much quicker into Swedish territory. It also gave the wider players the most important roles on the pitch, and all four responded, being arguably the game’s standout quartet. Unlike against Spain, England created numerous chances, although the clinical finishing needed against the elite nations was certainly absent.

Given Capello's game plan, it was inevitable that the winner would stem from the wider areas. As sturdy as England looked in midfield there was a lack of creativity from the central three, which was also why Capello focused so much on the wider players for attacking threat. 

Good work between Leighton Baines and Stewart Downing presented the Liverpool man with space to cross, and Gareth Barry headed in off Daniel Majstorovic. 

4. Wasteful England

Capello’s orders allowed England to expose Sweden and, but for some wasteful finishing, the game would have been sewn up long before the final whistle. Bobby Zamora was particularly rash in front of goal and spurned a number of openings. 

He will be ruing the fact he was unable to register a first international goal last night, given a couple of pristine opportunities. On one occasion in front of goal, he hashed so wildly at a routine one-two with Theo Walcott, the Arsenal man had to head the errant pass back.

Jack Rodwell and Phil Jones were also guilty of missing decent openings as England never truly made their supremacy count on the score sheet. The fact that the game was never secured would generally garner greater concern, however in the circumstances it can be overlooked as a minor sour note with so few international scorers on display. 

5. Own-Goal Gaffe

At first, England’s goal, their 2,000th in history, was awarded to Gareth Barry. However, on closer inspection, and to the dismay of all those behind the excitement of this milestone, it appears as if the goal was Daniel Majstorovic’s doing, and will surely go down as an own goal.

Certainly an anticlimax for some, the topic even generated questions to Capello in the post-match press conference. For the record, the manager was certain it was Barry’s goal, although at the time it is doubtful he had seen it again. Despite murmurs that the FA would defiantly award the goal to Barry, it was simply not his.

I had mentioned there was concern prior to kickoff about how England were going to find the net with John Terry being the side’s top scorer, but clearly own goals were overlooked by all those concerned. With 43 official strikes, own goals is now up to fourth in the history of England’s scorers, a valuable squad addition!

6. Walker Stakes a Claim

As mentioned, England’s standout performers were those deployed on a flank. Both Kyle Walker and Theo Walcott gelled together on the right, and together are possibly one of the fastest duos in international football.

On the left, Baines and Downing showed similar chemistry. The more advanced Walcott and Downing occasionally switched sides, but particularly in the first half, with Capello so keen to augment England’s width, both remained on their more natural sides, therefore widening the pitch. 

Theo Walcott is almost guaranteed a spot in Capello’s final squad this time, and few would plump for any other left-back to Baines being included as Ashley Cole’s understudy. For Stewart Downing and Kyle Walker, the path to Euro 2012 is less certain.

With Phil Jones likely to go to the Euros as a utility man—capable in central defence, midfield and of course, right-back—Kyle Walker may be jostling with Glen Johnson, Chris Smalling and Micah Richards for one place. Like many, I would certainly agree that Richards should be given another chance on the international stage, but after yesterday’s showing, Walker has temporarily barged his way to the front of this queue.

Given the official Man of the Match award, Walker was assured in defence, lightning-quick assisting Walcott in attack (as you have to be) and continually brought the crowd into the game with some rampaging bursts. Hopefully Capello will not resort to the amount Glen Johnson has previously played for England as being a factor, because on form, Walker is currently ahead.

Time will tell over the next few months just how much Richards can stake a claim at Manchester City, and how much Smalling plays at right-back for Manchester United. Were the squad picked tomorrow, for many, Walker would be in.

7. Downing Delivers

Similarly, on the opposing flank, Downing was integral to much of England’s best forays forward. As much as Walker excelled, many would have given Downing the Man of the Match tribute. In the opening half he created more chances than he had in his previous five outings for England put together.

It was his cross that created the opening goal and his link-up play with Leighton Baines was one of the biggest pluses of the night. For so many of his 32 caps Downing has been on the periphery of things, unable to cement his place in the next squad. Tonight, his performance undoubtedly warranted that.

With competition fierce on the flanks, his impressive showing came at just the right time. As the squad disperse back to their clubs, a steady few months at Liverpool and Downing will be right in the frame as selection talk heats up next year. 

8. Sweden Were Poor

With so much positive talk on England who, with weakened teams have disposed the world’s top and 14th-best team in the space of four days, it is easy to forget that Sweden were poor last night.

Sweden’s mercurial talisman, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, saved one of his most dour performances for the hearty 48,876 who attended Wembley on a chilly November night. Hauled off at halftime by Erik Hamren, the Swedish manager at least showed more ambition in the second half, throwing on more recognised offensive players and slotting Seb Larsson back as an attacking right-back.

Despite this, his side were never able to penetrate England and neither Joe Hart or Scott Carson were ever asked to extend themselves. When asked post-match about his side’s inability to break Capello's troops down, Hamren appeared uneasy, stating how better sides than Sweden had found it hard to break England down.

Had they really?

9. Phil Jones Should Not Be Playing in Midfield

For me, Phil Jones is not an international midfielder. Fine, play him there to assess whether he can be used as Scott Parker’s understudy, but surely at the moment he is far more likely to succeed at centre-back or right-back?

As the match started, he was presented with the ball far too much, seemingly asked to be the one to spray the passes about. On too many occasions he appeared to lose his bearings and give up possession cheaply.

His eye-catching run in on goal brightened a testing first half for the youngster appearing in his third position for England in three games. In none of these matches has he played in his specialised position.

This is not meant to be any attack on Jones. Personally I feel he should go to the Euros; he is a top talent and I have often written so. I stated I thought Capello’s tactics on the whole were spot on, and this is where I feel they erred.

An outstanding young centre-back, it would surely have been far more beneficial for England to be able to decipher whether Jones yet has the credentials to fill in as an international centre-back, instead of a makeshift right-back, midfielder and defensive midfielder.

Being able to play at right-back was enough for Capello to install Jamie Carragher into the World Cup squad as one of two potential right-backs and a fifth option at centre-back, therefore this versatility in Jones should be enough to see him included. 

Traipsing around midfield where, after a poor display against Liverpool, he is unlikely to play much more at club level seems pointless at this fledgling stage of his international career.

10. Final Thoughts?

As Capello referred to several times during his post-match debrief, he has a big squad now and will soon have several dilemmas to solve. Although many made strong cases for their inclusion last night, namely Kyle Walker, Stewart Downing and Jack Rodwell, injuries and club form over the winter will play significant roles in future selection.

The squad do not meet up again for a considerable amount of time and many questions, for now, will remain unanswered.

Who has impressed you most after this week of international football?

Would you still call for Micah Richards at right-back despite Walker's excellent showing?

Many assume Parker, Jack Wilshere and Steven Gerrard to be England’s best central midfield trio. With two of those on the treatment table for a considerable length of time, and so many midfield options, is this still the case?

Has faith been restored in Capello after this strong November showing?

Let me know your views, and thanks for reading!

If you liked this article, follow me on Twitter:   @Matt_Cheetham for more chat.