Holland v England (From The Northern Echo)

Holland v England

2:23pm Friday 21st August 2009

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With the World Cup 10 months away, England manager Fabio Capello is already starting to think about which players should be on the plane to South Africa next summer if, as expected, England qualify. A friendly away to Holland would be a good test of England’s credentials. Like England, Holland have won every qualifier, but unlike England, the Dutch have already secured their place at the World Cup. Statistically, Holland are the 3rd best side in the world, behind Spain and Brazil. England’s resurgence under Capello has lifted them to 7th. Yet, with confidence high, England were confident of beating the higher ranked Dutch in Amsterdam, a feat they had not managed in 40 years. Could Capello’s men end that record?

Ashley Young was given his chance to impress on the left of midfield as he replaced the injured Steven Gerrard. David Beckham started on the right of midfield, whilst Robert Green was given another chance to stake his claim to be England’s number keeper.

The Holland team was awash with players familiar to fans of Premiership sides. Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie and Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt started, as did former Chelsea midfielder Arjen Robben.

One of the features of the Dutch game is their tremendous passing ability, which leads to them being able to cut open opposition defences and create chances at will. However, instead of carving open England’s defence with a majestic passing move, it was a dreadful mistake from England’s defence which handed the Dutch the opening goal. A lazy backpass from Rio Ferdinand was far too short and easily intercepted by Dirk Kuyt, who rounded Rob Green and fired home from close range, despite John Terry’s best efforts to keep the ball out. 10 minutes in, and England were already 1-0 down. England did manage to create some chances of their own. A Gareth Barry cross was just too high for David Beckham to get his head on it. Then some clever passing on the edge of the Dutch penalty area allowed Glen Johnson to thread through Frank Lampard, whose shot was well saved by Dutch keeper Martin Stekelenburg. Long range efforts from Ashley Young and Gareth Barry didn’t trouble Stekelenburg, but did keep the pressure on Holland. After that brief barrage, England didn’t create much else during the 1st half. It was Holland who looked as if they could go further in front. Van Persie fired just wide, before more sloppy play from England did see the Dutch go 2-0 up. A lack of concentration from Barry saw him pass straight to Robben. Robben burst into the penalty area, and although Green produced a decent save to deny him a goal, Rafael Van Der Vaart was on and to tuck away the rebound. 2 goals behind, England needed a quick goal to get themselves back into the match; and they nearly got it. A knock down from Emile Heskey was met by a ferocious volley from Wayne Rooney, which fizzed just wide. The Dutch nearly made it 3-0 with a fine passing move which ended in Kuyt firing over. At half time, 2 silly errors had put England 2-0 down. They needed to get their act together quick, otherwise they would be heading for a hammering.

Capello made 3 changes at half time, including the introduction of Jermaine Defoe. It took Defoe just 3 minutes to make his mark on the game. Latching onto a long ball over the top from Lampard, Defoe raced towards goal, hitting the ball past Stekelenburg and in off the post to halve the deficit. Capello continued to make substitutions, bringing on James Milner for his international debut. Milner too made an immediate impact, swinging in a dangerous cross which Defoe headed just over the crossbar. England had come out all guns blazing in the 2nd half, and an equaliser looked on the cards. Carlton Cole, one of the half time changes, used his pace and power to turn away from Dutch defenders before firing a shot just wide. On top and sensing a 2nd goal, England were a completely different team from the 1st half. On 77 minutes, they got a deserved equaliser. Milner beat Jonny Heitinga to a high ball, raced into the penalty area, and slid a clever ball across the 6 yard box, where Defoe was on hand to turn in his 2nd goal of the night. England pressed for the winner, with Carlton Cole heading just wide from a corner. A long range effort late on from Ryan Babel was the best the Dutch could manage. In the end, the final score was 2-2.

To use an old cliché, the game really was a tale of 2 halves. From first half carelessness to a courageous 2nd half comeback, England experienced it all in this match. Capello puts the silly errors down to pre-season rust, but they will give some of the more experienced players a wake-up call. What will have pleased Capello is that some of the fringe players like Defoe, Carlton Cole and Milner; all produced excellent performances in the 2nd half and staked their claims for places in the starting line-up. A friendly at home to Slovenia is the final warm up match before England attempt to seal World Cup qualification in the final 3 qualifiers, which take place in the Autumn, starting with the home game against Croatia on September 9th. England need only victory in that game to put themselves on the plane for South Africa next summer, and a draw in Holland is good preparation. The varying performances of certain players have given Capello plenty to mull over ahead of the autumn qualifiers.

By Chris Sykes

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