What did England learn from playing Brazil in a friendly in Doha?
To answer that, it is probably worthwhile to think about what England were hoping to learn from playing in this match.
Firstly, there was a consistency about the level of opposition they faced. Since the arrival of Fabio Capello, the friendlies undertaken by England have been of a much more serious nature. England are always liable to be ranked amongst the top seeds in the qualification processes so they are unlikely to come up against the other top nations in these matches. This can leave them badly exposed against the other major sides when it comes to playing in the knock-out stages.
France, Germany, Holland, Spain and now Brazil have all featured in the fixture list for England and by and large, the results haven’t been too bright. This won’t affect Capello too much and one of the biggest things the Italian boss has done has been to persuade the media of this fact.
Winning or losing in a friendly doesn’t really matter, it is always nicer to win but it is better to learn and at the moment, Capello is learning that his time are falling short against the big boys.
A virtually flawless qualifying campaign indicates there is not a lot wrong with England at the moment but a change in mentality will definitely be required in the knock out stages in South Africa. This is where Capello is likely to earn his money and he could be the main factor in pushing this English team further than they have ever been on foreign soil.
The English team was ravaged by injury, so one or two players may have played their way into the 23 man squad…and some may have played their way out.
Darren Bent, Jermaine Jenas and Jolene Lescott were extremely disappointing and if other players regain and then retain fitness, it is likely they could miss out next Summer. Another thing that Capello learned is that he has to keep Wayne Rooney fit or England’s hopes could be dashed yet again.
Thanks to FAEditor
One of the problems with England is that they always seem reliant on one player and it is this one player who succumbs to an injury in the months leading up to the tournament. This player is then forced into rushing back from injury and unable to be at their best. This has happened to David Beckham but is best exemplified by Wayne Rooney and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Rooney was nowhere near fully fit, especially not for a tournament of this magnitude and his frustration blew over, seeing him red-carded against Portugal, a match that England eventually lost on penalties.
Capello will be praying his key players will be wrapped in cotton wool but is realistic to know that Rooney, Terry, Lampard and Gerrard will be involved in title races and European campaigns until the end of the season.
Well, maybe not Stevie Gerrard..Liverpool are likely to be in mid-table safety come March so he can put his feet up and rest. Of course, this means that Fernando Torres will be putting his feet up and preparing himself for the biggest stage of world football too.
Capello would also have learned that Brazil have a far greater strength in depth than he has, again, over a month long tournament, this is the sort of thing that can make or break a campaign. Even with Kaka being off form, Brazil look capable of making chances and opening teams up. Without Wayne Rooney, England look incapable of opening up a bottle of beer and this is something that needs to be worked upon.
Playing high class opposition in friendlies provides a lot of information but perhaps England need to arrange a few games against smaller teams to remind them of how to attack and score.
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