Where Did England Go Wrong Against France?

by Jeremy Monkhouse

Where did England go wrong on Wednesday against France? I am, of course, talking about the football match (or â• • soccer gameâ• • for you Americans) that took place last week at Wembley stadium in London.

Although the score was 2-1 to France, in truth it could have been far more than that. England were shown up for what they are â• • a team lacking in basic footballing technique (when compared to the other major footballing countries, anyway) and ideas. France started off by passing the ball around in a fluid and easy-on-the-eye fashion, whereas England played the ball around between their defenders before hoofing the ball up to an isolated Andy Carroll up front.

So what went wrong? Fabio Capello (the England manager) was trying out a few new youth players, so you might be forgiven for using this as an excuse for a bad performance, but in truth it was not the youth that were the problem â• • it was the older, more experienced players that yet again did not perform.

Gareth Barry will be the victim of much of the abuse after this game, and rightly so. He simply offered nothing at all in midfield. For a player that canâ• • t pass or tackle and doesnâ• • t run, it seems as if his England future might be in question.

Secondly, although Jordan Henderson (one of the young players introduced in the friendly) does look a fantastic prospect (his Sunderland form will tell you that), he was fairly poor against France. Some leeway must obviously be given, since he is only 20 and this was his first ever England cap. Henderson looked understandably nervous in front of the 80,000 strong crowd, but calmed down as the game went on.

Despite all of this, we must remember that this was just a friendly, and that we shouldnâ• • t get carried away like many people have been.

About the Author

Jeremy has been writing articles for nearly 4 years. Come visit his latest website about buying a kids fabric shower curtains which also helps people find the best primitive country shower curtains on the market.â• •