The sight of England coach Fabio Capello's clenching his fists after the final whistle has been blown summarised the World Cup qualifier between England and Ukraine. The Italian relieved it was all over. For me, the nerves! I had always knew Ukraine (after Croatia, bearing in mind what they did to England during the Euro 2008 qualifiers) would pose the most sternest test for England in their World Cup qualifying group so far, and I was being proven right after all.
I actually had heart attacks watching the match from time to time. I had to look away from the television at times. And during the four minutes of added-time, I was feeling jumpy. It did not helped when my father, who watched the match with me, kept saying how many seconds left to full-time. Him counting down towards the final minutes of full-time (like saying '80 seconds left', then '70 seconds left'...something like that). When the final whistle has been blown, I was relieved. Apart from noticing what the TV cameras captured what was Fabio Capello doing. Adapting how the BBC described it, Capello in a rare public display of emotion. For whatever rules the Italian had laid down since he took charge which are showing results, he did showed his other side.
The final result from the Wembley was England 2 - Ukraine 1. But in the matter how that scoreline came about, it was quite nervy from England's perspective. It was England captain John Terry's late winner which ensured England took another significant step towards next year's World Cup finals. Terry's 84th-minute goal ensured Fabio Capello's squad reached the half-way stage in their campaign to reach South Africa with five wins out of five in Group Six, and maintained their five-point lead over Croatia, 2-0 winners over Andorra earlier in the day. England just about deserved the three points but the outcome hung in the balance after Andriy Shevchenko came off the bench to cancel out Peter Crouch's first-half strike with just over quarter of an hour left. It was actually interesting to note that the three goals all came from set-pieces.
Other stuff worthwile noting (or at least what stood out for me) was Wayne Rooney's first goal attempt. He tried a bicycle kick but it just went over the Ukraine net. Whatever happened after the first goal which came in the 29th minute, I just hope Peter Crouch do not do his goal celebration again. His robotic dance which he used to popularise it a few years back when he first came onto the international scene (this was some time prior to the 2006 World Cup) still made me cringe and want to laugh at the same time. This time round, it is a bizarre shuffling routine based on a comedy sketch from a BBC charity television programme. Anyhow, when I saw Andriy Shevchenko's equaliser, I was being stunned for a moment. Adapting what the TV commentator was saying, the goal-scoring touch for his country is definitely still there. As far as I am concerned, he has not passed his prime - yet. Shevchenko might not be getting much game time since his return to AC Milan after a disasterous spell at Chelsea but, his goal-scoring rate for his country is a clear evidence in itself. He actually came on as a substitute and I knew he would had a say in the match when he came onto the pitch to replace Andriy Voronin.
There was also moment of alarm for the home supporters when Ukraine captain Anatoliy Tymoschchuk's long-range drive skidded off the Wembley turf with sufficient pace to catch David James unawares, the ball bouncing to safety off the goalkeeper's chest. Then there was also Wayne Rooney's brief moment of madness when his rash challenge on Oleksandr Aliyev just after the hour-mark might have been deemed dangerous. But then when England captain John Terry scored the eventual winner (he did it when Steven Gerrard knocked down a David Beckham free-kick, he was on hand to force the ball over the line), Rooney reacted by pretending to snip Terry's hair. It cracked me up. There is a reason for that though. The England captain revealed, "In the week I needed a little trim up. We're not allowed to leave the hotel or anything so I asked Wayne and he obliged. I'm pleased with it. I might go back next time. He was asking for 10 pounds and I still owe him it!"
It really made me laughed heartily. It always make me happy as an England supporter these days. But then it is a sign of the positive vibes currently surging through Fabio Capello's squad after an impressing run of five successive victories with the Italian has restored England's shattered morale since taking over in the aftermath of their failed attempt to qualify for Euro 2008. John Terry was especially pleased with the way they fought back after Andriy Shevchenko cancelled out Peter Crouch's opener. The man who is also the captain of his club Chelsea said, "We showed good desire. At 1-0 I think it was a little bit too easy for us. But at 1-1 the desire and fight was shown. We could have settled for a draw and walked away half-happy but we got the push from the fans and a kick up the backside from ourselves as well and went on to get the winning goal. So overall we're very pleased. It's disappointing to concede from a set play. We've done a lot of work on that over the last 10 days. But we scored two goals from our set-plays so it seemed to work there as well." As for Peter Crouch's bizarre goal celebration (to think it is ironic he was not in the initial starting line-up but it came about given of the striking situation in the England camp), "I'm blaming Rio (Ferdinand) entirely for that. He shouted at me to do it after I scored. It's a bit of a release. It's always enjoyable when you score a goal for England so it was just a bit of fun."
But then Peter Crouch is also aware that he has a lot to do on a personal level before he is a regular member of the team. The Portsmouth striker said, "When given the opportunity I have just got to take it and let everybody else worry about who is first choice and who is fifth choice. I always feel if I play I do well. I felt confident I could score a goal and I'm pleased I have done. If I play for England it is always a proud moment, especially at Wembley. All I can do when given minutes or a start is impress. I can't get in his (Capello's) head. Obviously I would pick me every week!"
The ability for England be able to fight back after Ukraine equalised was not only captain John Terry's observation. Steven Gerrard believes that the spirited fightback wouldn't have been possible before Fabio Capello took charge because the team weren't mentally strong enough. During the reign of Capello's predecessor Steve McClaren that would have been the signal for England's fragile morale to collapse according to Liverpool midfielder Gerrard, "That was the pleasing thing. I think 18 months ago when we got a goal against us this side might have gone into our shell and played the final 20 minutes with fear. But this was much more positive. It was a good reaction. We showed a lot of character and deserved the win in the end. The performance was OK but I think we can improve on that. We're all pleased with the three points. That's the main thing because it was a difficult game for us. There is still a lot more to come." And Frank Lampard echoed the same sentiment as well about the fightback.
When I was watching the match and noticing the scoreline was still 1-1, my mind kept reminding me - 'Remember Berlin!'. It was the same situation back in last November in the friendly match away in Germany after the equaliser came from the home side. Back then for a moment like I did when watching the England-Ukraine match, my heart sank for a moment when the equaliser came. And just like in last November, it was the captain John Terry who scored the winner. This time round with the match at the Wembley, the home crowd were still behind their team even when it was at 1-1. There was every sense of danger Ukraine may nick it after all and throw the qualification group wide open. It never happened. In fact when watching the match, my father was telling me that England may lose after all, at the rate how it went for Fabio Capello's side at that time. I replied with a 'Shh!' at once, remembering what used to happen eventually back in last November in Berlin against Germany.
For England coach Fabio Capello, the man who showed his rare public display of emotion when he clenched his fists in celebration on the touchline admitted he was just happy to hear the final whistle against Ukraine. Five wins out of five in their World Cup qualifying group but, the Italian admitted this had been his "most anxious" game since being in charge. He said, "That was my most anxious game, yes, and when the referee blew the whistle I was very happy. I said we need to 'win ugly' sometimes and we did. We lost easy passes, the final ball, too much. At this period of the season, though, the players are not so fresh and they can lose passes when you have to play quickly. They pressured us, too, and there was not much space to play. But I'm happy with the application and character all the players showed. They played like a group, and I like this. You can only succeed if you play like a team. That's so important."
Fabio Capello reserved special praise for his captain, claiming John Terry had shown the "strong character" that made him a natural leader after a difficult week in which his mother and mother-in-law had been arrested on suspicion of shop-lifting. He said, "It is one of the reasons why he is captain, he is a very important player and a very strong character." For the Italian, he did singled out captain John Terry for inspiring the 2-1 victory over Ukraine. Ukraine coach Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko said he was disappointed with the result and admitted his team were in a fight with Croatia for second place.
Kazakhstan is next. And that will be on 6 June. Flying all the way to Almaty then back to the Wembley to face Andorra four days later. That is the upcoming schedule for England in regards to the World Cup qualifiers. I know it is very tempting to start thinking of the tournament in South Africa but until England is mathematically secured of a place, I am not going to start celebrating yet.
