A SECOND SUCCESSIVE VICTORY, A place in the last 16 and Wayne Rooney taking to the pitch in defiance of a thousand sceptics. You might not think there was a cloud on England’s World Cup horizon if you tuned in purely for the last seven minutes.
Some hard questions will have to be asked about the previous 83 — and not all the answers will be found in Rooney’s return — but at least Sven-Göran Eriksson has time to ponder his responses. Peter Crouch’s header and Steven Gerrard’s wonderful, curling shot bought him three points but, just as importantly, breathing space on a horribly muggy evening in Nuremberg. The Swede will have to find good use for every precious second of it.
The goals bought time for a rusty Rooney to gather some fitness, time for Gary Neville to try to recover from his torn calf, time for Ashley Cole to continue yesterday’s improvement and, most of all, time for the England coaches to inject some zest into a team which badly requires the element of surprise (back to Rooney again) if it expects to take the autobahn all the way to Berlin.
Leo Beenhakker, the coach of Trinidad & Tobago, talked of England’s reliance on long, early balls from the back and, while Rooney’s return should encourage Eriksson’s men to play with far more creativity, the United striker is expected to be the antidote to an awful lot of ills.
England have brought more fans to Germany than any other team which is just as well because, so far, they are not making any new converts with their predictable football. Their travelling hordes sung joyously at the end but, dismayed by what had gone before, they were only seven minutes from a chorus of jeers.
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Those boos were caught in the throat as David Beckham, who will surely top this tournament for assists if England progress, crossed to the far post for Crouch to climb above Brent Sancho. There was no robotic dance — it was not the time or the place — but Eriksson will cite the goal as vindication for his startling decision to replace Michael Owen rather than Crouch with Rooney.
Having lasted only two minutes longer than against Paraguay (and still less than an hour), the Newcastle United forward will again feel that he has been made a scapegoat for England’s failings. While he was guilty of missing a wonderful chance shortly before he was replaced — and his body language speaks of someone carrying a bag of troubles — it is hard to believe that England can thrive this summer without seeing the best of him.
Gerrard added England’s second goal in the final moments, a sublime left-foot shot reward for his indefatigability, while Frank Lampard had so many efforts that Fifa’s statisticians may have struggled to keep count but no one left this sweaty bowl wondering how it took England so long to score.
They were pondering instead how England could possibly hope to win this tournament unless Rooney truly is as fit as the independent experts claim him to be.
Perhaps just his presence helped England to persevere. Rooney only had to warm up to set a chant rolling around the Frankenstadion although 32 minutes was not enough to assess him properly. There was plenty of time to examine Crouch and a horribly miscued volley shortly before half-time had sent the England fans scurrying to quick, and damning, conclusions.
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Eriksson decided that he had seen enough of his starting XI and, within seconds, Rooney was stripping for action but expectations that Crouch would make way were to prove unfounded. Instead it was Owen who trooped off disconsolately. If that was a surprise, even more so was the sight of Beckham going to full back in place of Jamie Carragher as Aaron Lennon made his first competitive appearance on the right wing.
A cynic might say that the Swede would do anything to keep his captain on the pitch but the move made perfect sense given that, as they laboured for a goal, losing Beckham’s right foot would have deprived them of their best weapon. And so it was to prove as he crossed for Crouch to head in.
With Lennon giving a high-speed cameo on the right flank, England were reassured that they have a game-changing player and, better still, that Eriksson is willing to use him. For once, Eriksson’s replacements were bold although it will be pointed out that he had no choice in the circumstances. England’s perseverance and stamina were further pluses as was another clean sheet although they had to endure a couple of stomach churning moments. Paul Robinson had a couple of wobbles and, on one occasion, was only spared by a late intervention from John Terry.
Nevertheless, Eriksson could claim that it is job done so far. His team’s qualification has aped that of Germany and while a second round meeting between the two would be tumultuous, it would not be one for the aesthetes.
ROUTE TO THE FINAL
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ENGLAND HAVE qualified for the knockout stages, but Sweden’s win last night means Sven-Göran Eriksson’s team can finish second in the group if they are beaten by the Swedes on Tuesday night. On the plus side, because group A will be completed on Tuesday afternoon, England will begin the match against Sweden knowing what they have to do if they want to avoid Germany next.
If England win group B, they will probably face:
Knockout round Ecuador, Stuttgart, June 25
Quarter-finals Portugal or Holland, Gelsenkirchen, July 1
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Semi-finals Brazil, Munich, July 5
Final Argentina, Berlin, July 9
If England finish second:
Knockout round Germany, Munich, June 24
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Quarter-finals Argentina, Berlin, June 30
Semi-finals Italy or France, Dortmund, July 4
Final Brazil, Berlin, July 9