The Fan

Greeks bearing gifts give McClaren perfect start

The Editor — Wed, August 16th 2006

England 4 - Greece 0

England gave new coach Steve McClaren a perfect start by scoring four first half goals against a poor Greece side in a friendly at Old Trafford.

New captain John Terry started the ball rolling with a header on the quarter hour, with Lampard and Crouch (2) adding further goals before half time. Greece came into the game more in the second half, looking dangerous from set pieces, but England coasted through their first game since the disappointment of the World Cup.

In a 4-4-2 formation the players looked much more comfortable than in previous England games, and this demonstrated itself with a confidence-exuding performance. England passed the ball better, and gelled as a team, pressing the Greeks all over the pitch.

Gerrard moved into Beckham’s right side of midfield role, and with Owen Hargreaves partnering Lampard in the middle, both Gerrard and Lampard were able to find space to attack the opposition without getting in each others way. Getting England’s two best attacking midfielders playing well together could be McClaren’s greatest achievement from the game.

Greece’s defending for the first half goals was poor, and the 4-nil half time scoreline killed off the second half as a spectacle. Greece pushed forward more, but England, with the Premiership season due to start on Saturday, looked happy to settle for the clean sheet.

Listed in: Countries, England

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