A win is a win. I can gladly take that at the moment with three points in the bag. Even if the performance is far from desired, or if reviews of the match are anything to go by. Of course it will be a bonus if the team play in style at the same time but then it's all about getting some confidence knowing that all the three points is there.
In all respect, at least England didn't lose in theirs (now that would have been a scary thought, given the opponent is Andorra). Scotland did, when they were away at Macedonia for their World Cup qualifiers. The two home nations are next to each other on the FIFA rankings (England - 15, Scotland - 16) which was released days before the qualifiers began in earnest. I had originally planned to watch the Andorra-England qualifier (this one was on the Football Channel and being shown 'live') but then I only went to bed like an hour or so before kick-off. Being the superstitious person I am when it comes to football (you wouldn't really want to know what I will do if I do watch a match involving my team, especially if the match is much at stake for the team I am supporting), I took the risk and decided to sleep through it.
When I woke up this morning, my first thought on what was the scoreline to the Andorra-England match. This is coach Fabio Capello's competitive debut after five international friendlies and the opponents are those his side know well from the last time they met in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. When news sank in from me through the Teletext that they won 2-0 and got the three points, my father was nearby and he told me what he felt. He did watched it (but didn't really concentrate after the two goals came about, in the second-half) and for him, the person who impressed him is also the same person who scored the two goals - substitute Joe Cole.
I almost grinned. Joe Cole is one of my favourites on the England squad. Even if it means at club level, he doesn't play for my club but Chelsea instead. Yeah...he is my favourite Chelsea player. Hello, I am fair and square. I have players I like, even if it means they don't play for my club. It's the same thing with international football. Anyhow, the match which actually took place in Barcelona (no, not at the Nou Camp but at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium). The Chelsea winger saved England blushes, again (like he did against the Czech Republic, equalising at almost the last-minute). A very ordinary result. At least the deadlock was broken in around the 48th minute (the last time these two met, it took up till almost an hour before the deadlock was broken and by then, chorus of disapproval had already being rung out from the stands). More work definitely needed to be done before the Croatia match at Zagreb in midweek.
After all...it will be up against the side which beat them twice, home and away during the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Whatever the reason for David Beckham being left out from the starting XI against Andorra (he came on as a substitute in the 80th minute), at least debutant Theo Walcott did showed signs of promise (in the first-half). Joleon Lescott replaced injured centre-back Rio Ferdinand. While Joe Cole has found himself in the headlines again for 'saving' England, there are worries that the Chelsea winger may not be selected for the Croatia encounter and when being raised about the winger, Capello is not being drawn into whether Cole will be selected for the next match.
When being questioned why the Italian (Fabio Capello, I mean) was agitated during the second-half, Joe Cole replied that he was only following Capello's instructions. He explained that the coach told him 'just go out there and try and make something happen'. Capello had told the media beforehand on what had happened with Wayne Rooney and Cole played near Emile Heskey with both then started to come back into midfield when they were already 2-0. The Italian was asking them to go forward again because Heskey was all on his own. With the performance not something the fans who travelled to Barcelona would had expected, Capello defended England's modest performance. The coach also took time out to praise Cole's efforts.
Why the performance was seen as less than desired? Coach Fabio Capello said that it was hard for any team to score against a side with 11 men back in their own penalty area. Andorra playing, defensive.
Seeing for myself how Croatia did at Euro 2008 and especially they even managed to beat my other team Germany at the group stages, there is every reason to be afraid of coach Slaven Bilic's side. And England will be facing them next in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. The side which famously dumped England out of the Euro 2008 tournaments. Fabio Capello has warned that England have no intention of playing for a draw. With Croatia at the moment leading the standings with the 3-0 win over Kazakstan, the match on Wednesday will have so much at stake. For both sides.
Match thought of the day: Like what I remembered what my father used to say, even if it's 10-0, it's still three points. I have my father's words in mind when I was typing what is in the first two sentences in the first paragraph.
