England scrape win to reach last 16

The Editor — Thu, June 15th 2006

England 2 - Trinidad and Tobago 0

England stuttered to another victory in Group B to confirm their qualification into the last 16. Two late goals from Crouch and Gerrard saved England’s blushes after an often poor performance.

The introduction of Rooney and Aaron Lennon in the second half gave the team a much needed boost of energy, and even though Rooney was not 100% fit he still looked sharper than the off-colour Owen. Rooney combined better with Crouch up front, and Lennon provided width and pace on the right wing which gave Beckham (who dropped back to full back) time and space to deliver quality crosses.

Lennon’s width also created space inside which Lampard made several breaks into but failed to find the target with his efforts.

Into the last 10 minutes, a Beckham cross was met at the back post with an excellent header from Crouch to finally break the deadlock. In injury time, Gerrard secured the win with a cracking drive from the edge of the box.

Player ratings:

Robinson: Again, rarely tested. Again missed a cross. 6
Carragher: Typical Carragher performance, but was never going to provide much attacking support. 7
Cole (A): Looked more match fit and broke forward more 7
Terry: Goal saving clearance, and commanded the defence. Man of the match 9
Ferdinand: Good, but could have helped midfield bby bringing ball out more. 7
Gerrard: Some wild shots before injury time screamer. 7
Beckham: Looked best source to provide goals in open play aswell as set pieces. Settled into right-back role well. 7
Lampard: Missed plenty of chances and still looks ill at ease sharing midfield with Gerrard . Tries hard to score, though. 6
Crouch: Stinker of a volley in the first half, but worked hard and linked up with Rooney well. 7
Owen: Another below-par match. May struggle to make team when Rooney 100%. 5
Cole (J): Less effective game against athletic opponent. 6

Subs:

Rooney: Not at best, but much better than what was on the pitch prior. Huge boost to have him playing. 7
Lennon: Electrifying pace pushed T & T back and created width for rest of team. Quality of crosses let him down a little 8
Downing: Provided quality crosses from left.

Owen’s continuing lack of form. The how to get the best from Lampard and Gerrard dilemma in the middle of midfield.

Rooney’s return. He looked eager and didn’t shirk some rugged tackling. John Terry produced a robust performance - leading the defence like the Chelsea captain leads his club.

The Fan