England 4-0 Greece

England cruised to victory against the current champions of Europe by a 4 goal margin last night at Old Trafford.

Significantly, the England players looked more determined and motivated against Greece than they did at any time during Sven’s reign. This could show that the lack of real motivation provided by England’s exiled manager had a larger impact on the players than even Sven’s harshest doubters could have imagined.

John Terry commented prior to the game that “the training has been sharper and more focused� and the benefits were plain to see.

Steve McClaren could not have hoped for a more emphatic response from John Terry who, having recently been crowned as England captain, opened the scoring on 14 minutes. Lampard’s cross provided Crouch with a header which was deflected by Greek keeper Nikopolidis, the ball came to Downing who put it back across the area, finding the skipper who powerfully headed into a gaping net.

England then stepped up the tempo, with the fullbacks providing an attacking outlet down the flanks and the central midfielders dropping deeper to draw out the Greek players.

This tactical manoeuvring allowed Steven Gerrard the room to break from his position on the right, resulting in an incisive cross with Crouch heading just past the far post.

England’s stature rose, and it seemed only a matter of time before they added to their tally.

On 30 minutes, Jermaine Defoe released Frank Lampard, who despite being pulled back by the marking defender, managed to get a shot off which took a wicked deflection to beat the keeper.

The Greeks were starting to look helpless, and their misery was further compounded by their own poor marking in the build up to England’s third goal. Downing found space on the wing to pick out Lampard in the area, who drilled the ball into the keeper’s midriff, only for Crouch to dispatch the rebound.

Gerrard provided a competent outlet on the right. Shortly after the third goal he broke down the wing and beat the left back to provide an incisive cross to Crouch who haplessly entangled himself around the Greek centre back, missing the ball by a yard.

Crouch would not have to wait long for his second as Downing was again found in space on the left flank. His dangerous cross allowed the Liverpool striker to calmly head past the keeper just inside the post.

Half time appeared to have an impact on both teams, as England re-emerged with a containment plan, sitting deeper in order to absorb the Greek attacks.

There were a few moments of panic, as a powerful shot from Amanatidis deflected off Rio Ferdinand’s head early in the second half. The resulting corner provided Dellas with an opportunity to beat the keeper, but Ashley Cole was guarding the near post to make an outstanding double block as the rebound fell to Amanatidis

Bridge, Richardson, Carragher and Lennon all received run-outs in an otherwise cagey second half, with Kirkland coming on as substitute keeper.

Greece did not provide the stern test which had been predicted, and while it was a conclusive and convincing win for the ‘new’ England setup, they can expect to face far greater challenges in their upcoming games.

Player ratings:

Robinson: 7
A.Cole: 7
R. Ferdinand: 9
J.Terry: 8
G.Neville: 8
O.Hargreaves: 9
F.Lampard: 8
S. Gerrard: 7
Downing: 8
J.Defoe: 7
P. Crouch: 9

Subs:
Lennon: 6
Richardson: 7
Carragher: 6
Bridge: 6
Kirkland: 7