Round One: Bulgaria

Part of SER’s coverage of England’s road to Poland-Ukraine 2012.

EURO 2012 QUALIFIERS

Round One: Bulgaria

I have found it increasingly easy to criticise Fabio Capello for his apparent need to baffle England fans and followers. Why Shaun Wright-Phillips is still in the squad when he cannot even hold down a place at big summer spenders, Manchester City, is still puzzling. The same goes for Joleon Lescott, who started the season at left back. Surely Kieran Gibbs is adequate cover for Ashley Cole (I rate him higher than Lescott anyway), and Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross must be in better form than the City defender.

But enough complaining. Capello seems to know his starting-11 and may even know his top 15 players, which for England fans. is reassuring. Judging from their display against Bulgaria on Friday night, the Three Lions appear to have put their World Cup misery completely behind them. Led by the Liverpool talisman, Steven Gerrard – who is looking more like England’s natural leader by the day – the England team and their new royal blue shorts strolled past Stanimir Stoilov’s Bulgaria team thanks to a Jermain Defoe hat-trick.

Hat-trick hero

As Steven Gerrard said after the match, England is rebuilding. Friday’s performance was a step in the right direction. The team was without aging trio, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, and Frank Lampard (all injured), none of whom appeared to be missed. Phil Jagielka and Michael Dawson looked solid at the back, despite being really tested. For such two players who lack in international experience, they dealt with what pressure the Bulgarian front line provided in a manner that would suggest otherwise. Ashley Cole, as usual, was excellent on the left, supported almost in perfection by the industrious James Milner, who looked constantly threatening and creative on the left side of midfield. The same could be said of Theo Walcott, whose direct running caused Bulgaria endless problems, despite his questionable final delivery. His replacement, the young Adam Johnson was as impressive, if not more, than the Arsenal winger. Johnson took full advantage of his substitute appearance by scoring a goal.

First goal for England wraps up the night

The biggest relief for England fans will be Wayne Rooney’s showing. Playing deeper with Defoe up on the last man, the United frontman was given space to create havoc in the final third. And havoc he most certainly did create. Despite some careless touches and drew jeers from the crowd, Rooney provided three assists that will do wonders to his growing confidence. He is still far from the monstrous form that terrorised teams prior to the World Cup, but that he was back in and among the goals last weekend for his club and then deep in the thick of the action for country is a very positive sign.

Perhaps the most positive sign however, was Joe Hart’s confident performance to cement his place as England’s number one for years to come. Capello got it wrong in South Africa by not giving Hart some playing time. He was not wrong at Wembley though, and the City stopper did not disappoint. His lightning reflexes on the goal line prevented an embarrassing own goal for the very disappointing Glen Johnson, and his confidence in front of goal was highlighted as he stood firm to deny Bulgaria on two occasions. His confidence was infectious and, Glen Johnson aside, the England back line was on top form as a result.

Should be two thumbs up for the England stopper

There are still questions, however. Capello will have to decide whether to hand Bolton’s Gary Cahill his first England start against Switzerland on Tuesday or to go with Matthew Upson or Joleon Lescott – neither of whom have had distinguished starts to the season (or seasons last year for that matter). That Cahill was named to the bench ahead of both is an indication that he may start alongside Phil Jagielka, who will take plenty away from his impressive showing against Bulgaria. The other defensive problem still remains with Glen Johnson, who was poor on Friday. His attacking instincts left him out of position at times and his defensive frailties were exposed time and time again. We don’t seem to have another alternative though – as one Sky Sports writer commented, who else is there, really? Gary Neville is too old, Wes Brown retired, and Micah Richards is not fit.

Overall though, Capello can breathe a sigh of relief and maybe even smile. His change in tactics, making the normally rigid 4-4-2 fluid enough to allow for Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney to combine devastatingly, paid off. It was a good performance for England with only a few minor bumps. Glen Johnson is one of them. The sight of Michael Dawson buckling under his right leg in agony is another. It may be too early to say that England can automatically win qualification to Poland-Ukraine, or that they’ll win the tournament itself, but this is a very big step in the right direction for Don Capello and his band of merry men. Next is a much sterner test: Switzerland.