Injection of youth, pace and variety gives England hope

Lucky break: England score the only goal last night as Gareth Barry's header is deflected into the net by Daniel Majstorovic
11 April 2012

There was little to recommend England as a credible international force at the end of last year yet 2011 concludes with clear signs Fabio Capello is on the right track in facilitating the requisite regeneration.

It remains a work in progress. Only the most partisan fan would count England as leading contenders at Euro 2012 but there is a feeling the progress has been made both in personnel and style that barely seemed possible a year ago.

England began their qualification campaign with impressive wins against Switzerland and Bulgaria before a draw at home to Montenegro preceded a friendly defeat to France in which they were utterly outclassed.

The gap has not suddenly been bridged but an injection of youth, pace and tactical variety offers at the very least hope if Capello can continue to steer England on an upward curve.

Wins against Spain and Sweden were not achieved with an entertaining brand of football but England are experimenting while bereft of several players considered mainstays.

Within those parameters, victory over the reigning world and European champions followed up by success against Sweden for the first time in 43 years that should have been secured by a wider margin than a solitary unanswered goal must be viewed as an encouraging coda to qualification.

England last went a calendar year unbeaten in 1994 - also the last year in which they failed to participate in the World Cup - and it proves nothing conclusive but represents an important stepping stone in rebuilding confidence and faith.

Last night's encounter was dull for long periods and England struggled to entertain but there is time for that.

Victory against Spain was achieved with a brand of containment football England could employ again when faced with superior opposition and the hope was that Sweden would be defeated with an expansive approach.

England certainly attempted to play on the front foot but despite Stewart Downing's impressive display on the left flank working in tandem with a lively Theo Walcott on the right and Jack Rodwell on full debut in the centre, they managed just one shot on target all evening.

And that wasn't even the effort which resulted in England's goal, as Gareth Barry's header was deflected past goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson by unfortunate defender Daniel Majstorovic.

Downing probed, Bobby Zamora worked hard while Phil Jones and Rodwell missed good chances but a second goal failed to materialise.

Spain didn't produce their best and Sweden were also subdued at Wembley - captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic had another evening which rendered talk of his place among the world's finest forwards baffling - but they struggled to cope with England's wingers.

Walcott, in conjunction with north London rival Kyle Walker, achieved great incision while Downing had arguably his most effective game for England on the opposite flank.

With Ashley Young, England's most improved player in the last year, also to come back in while Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson and James Milner will also state their cases, Capello appears to have a plethora of options out wide, many boasting blistering pace.

In fact, the same could be said, cautiously, of other areas. Jones did well in midfield and his versatility is an important characteristic, while Walker's performance at right-back propelled him into the mix for selection to travel to Poland and Ukraine.

"It is important to beat Sweden after 43 years but for me it was really important to see Jones, Walker and Rodwell play against one team with good organisation on the pitch," said Capello.

"The answer that I received from the performance was important, I thought these three players played really well.

"During these games I was looking for something new and I found it. These three players we have spoken about are very good technically, physically and they are all fast."

Zamora found the side-netting from close range early on before Downing produced a cross that Barry headed home via Majstorovic's deflection.

Joe Hart found himself underneath a Sebastian Larsson corner but produced a fine stop to avoid embarrassment while at the other end Jones burst through only to poke the ball wide before Rodwell clipped the post with a header. After the break, Zamora went close from Downing's cross while Walker's only significant blemish was to allow substitute Christian Wilhelmsson space at the back post to fire wastefully over in stoppage time.

"I think the competition to play in the Euros will be strong for all the players," said Capello. "One thing I didn't like was that there were too many passes to the keeper. When opponents press, sometimes defenders need to choose a different pass. We need to improve in this movement."

Improvement is clearly still required but Capello's options appear plentiful, especially given the absence of Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere and Steven Gerrard from these matches. The problem of replacing Rooney is yet to be solved and England's past teaches us to greet two victories in three days with the utmost caution but at least the variety of players in contention for the final 23-man squad seems wide enough to avoid any last-minute calls to ageing or internationally retired players.

That must constitute progress, especially given the transitional period England find themselves in after the failure of the 'Golden Generation'.

"We have had good results," said Capello. "We are unbeaten in 2011 but it is just a statistic. What is important is what will happen at the Euros, not these statistics."

Quite right. However, 2012 does not hove into view with quite the sense of foreboding it once did.

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