ENGLAND COME BACK FROM DESPAIR

 

 

Well the last time England faced the Netherlands was in a Steve McLaren era friendly back in late '06, where we came up with a decent enough 1-1 draw at the Amsterdam Arena - one of the better results from that era. However, we haven't actually beaten the Dutch since that Euro 96 Group A night at Wembley with us coming out 4-1 winners. As for us beaten the Dutch on their own turf well that is alwaysa easier said than done and we haven't done in since 1969 when we won 1-0 at the Olympisch Stadion with Man City assasin Colin Bell hitting a late winner for the then-world champions. Overall, a match against the men in orange is rarely an easy ride.

This time around, well, Fabio decided that his guys needed another top class workout, and where better to go than he Amsterdam Arena. The Dutch are already going to South Africa so this is the sort of game that looked likely to be a reality check. England had run into injury problems so we started off with Terry and Rio in central defence, Lampard and Barry centre mid and Villa's Ashley Young getting his first start at left mid with Rooney and Heskey up front. The Dutch side didn't look as strong as I've seen them in the past but there were certainly enough familiar names around to know that we couldn't let our guard down. Time to see what shape we were in.

The initial suggestion was that we were due another reality check. The opening stages of the match weren't exactly awesome and when Rio blundered by effectively passing the ball to Dirk Kuyt in the 10th minute and the Liverpool striker was more than happy to op[en the scoring. We started to get our act together after that but were still looking well smothered by the Dutch and dodged at least one bullet before it was Barry's turn to lose a few brain cells, giving the ball away to Rafael van de Vaart in the 38th minute. 2-0 to the Dutch and it looked as though it would be one of those matches where England looked absolutely useless.

So that meant Fabio overhauling the team, including bringing Defoe on and Lampard set him up in the 49th minute to pull one back. Then we woke up and though I couldn't quite shake the feeling that "this is only a friendly", it was certainly getting to the point where a turnaround looked very workable, and in the 77th minute another sub, Villa's James Milner, crossed to Defoe to level the match. From there on in, anything could have happened and it was slightly unbelievable that we could have won this match given the first half display but that just goes to show how stubborn the Three Lions were that night. Iffy performance at times but you can't argue with the result.

In the meantime though, there was still action taking place in the 2010 World Cup UEFA qualifying Group 6. Belarus faced Croatia at the Dinamo Stadium with the result important to England's qualification bid. However it was Croatia who opened the scoring through Ivica Olic and Eduardo then put his team two up. The home side then pulled one back through Dmitry Verkhovtsov only for Olic to wrap up the match with his second goal of the game. That means that England remain top of the group and on course for South Africa but Croatia have cut our lead to seven points so we still have work to do in wrapping our qualification spot up.

In UEFA qualifying Group 9, Scotland faced Norway at the Ulevaal Stadium. The Scots did actually have their uses early on in the match but going down to ten men didn't help and it allowed both John Arne Riise and Morten Gamst Pedersen to score for Norway befopre half time. From there on in the Scots wreally were at the Norwegians' mercy and the home side had none, Erik Heseklepp joining the party before Pedersen grabbed his second of the match. That result forces Scotland to drop down to third in the group with South Africa now looking out of reach. They are level on points with Macedonia and a spot in the playoff mixer but have a -3 goal difference deficit.

Wales faced Montenegro in a friendly in the Podgorica City Stadium. Steven Jovetic opened the scoring for the home side with a pen and Radomir Djalovic made it two just before half time in a display that wouldn't have been what John Toshack had in mind. Wolves Sam Volkes pulled one back for the Welsh with his first international goal and from there the Welsh pressed for an equaliser. However, the home defenders had other ideas and ultimately, the Welsh went home empty handed. In World Cup UEFA qualifying Group 4, Azerbaijan were beaten 2-0 by Germany at the Tofik Bakhramov, though that doesn't affect Wales much. They remain 4th in the group, six points behind Russia and a spot in the playoff mixer with Russia having a game in hand.

Northern Ireland faced Israel in a friendly at Windsor Park. Grant McCann opened the scoring for NI only for Israel to equalise through Elyaniv Barda though the home side were certainly pusahing to retake the lead before half time. Things started to go a bit flat in the second half though but the home side still looked to have the edge. However they had to dodge a few late bullets and in the end, wound up having to settle for the draw. That wouldn't have been what NI had in mind though and it wouldn't have put Nigel Worthington's team in the best of moods going into the final run in for World Cup qualification - they need to find a second wind from somewhere.

In the meantime, NI had reason to keep an eye on events in World Cup UEFA qualifying Group 3 with Slovenia facing San Man Marino in the Petrol Arena. Robert Koren opened the scoring for Slovenia with Aleksandar Radosavljevic making it two before half time. Andraz Kirm then hit the net early in the second half before Koren got his second and then Zlatan Ljubijankic finished the visiting side off in a display of demolition. That still allows Northern Ireland to remain second in the group though and on course for the playoff mixer, two points behind Slovakia and a trip to South Africa(with Slovakia having a game in hand) and two points ahead of Slovenia and non-qualification.

The Republic of Ireland faced Australia in a friendly at Thomond Park. Despite some decent form in World Cup qualifiers, the men in green really didn't look in good shape with Tim Cahill striking twice before half time. The Aussies have already secured a spot in South Africa and the Irish proved unable to break down their defence. The embarrasing performance was completed when Australia got a third goal through David Carney. With no action whatsoever in World Cup UEFA qualifying Group 8, the ROI remain second in the group and on course for the playoff mixer, one point behind Italy and a spot in South Africa and five points clear of Bulgaria and non-qualification though both rivals have a game in hand over the Irish.

So, now we come to the World Cup UEFA playoff mixer and currently in the virtual group are Hungary, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Russia, Bosnia, Croatia, France, Republic of Ireland and Macedonia. The first team of interest in that bunch are Northern Ireland and they lie 8th in the playoff mixer, level on points after deductions with 9th placed Macedonia with a +2 goal difference advantageand therefore on course for the playoffs. The Republic of Ireland lie 7th in the mixer after deductions, also level on points with Macedonia but with a +4 goal difference advantage and they are also on course for the playoffs. So, England on course for South Africa and two other British Isles sides still on course for the playoffs after deductions. Starting to look impressive.

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