The English beginning in chess is usually called the move pawn c2-c4 - a flank maneuver instead of the usual extension of the queen pawn in the center of the board. The staffing problems faced by England coach Steve Maclaren before a friendly match with the Spaniards forced him to choose a similar version of the debut. In the absence of the left midfielder, Maclaren did not even begin to look for him a nominal replacement, trying to shift the focus of team actions to the right flank.
The gap on the left flank in the English team appeared, of course, long before McLaren. In recent years, two Coles tried to patch her - Ashley in the role of a browner and Joe in the role of insider. For reasons of the island press, at Old Trafford in the position of Joe Cole was supposed to play Kiron Dyer, who has not appeared on the national team since 2005. While the possible appearance of the left lateral was not even stuttered: injuries forced McLaren to please MJ fans and reunite the Neville brothers in defense. Phil, who was never distinguished by agility, of course, was not going to run to the attack.
The first minutes of the match showed that Dyer, who was summoned to bezryba, was not even going to create the appearance of control of the left edge. He played a typical drawn forward, about to fight for a rebound from Crouch. And by the way, he became a participant in the first two dangerous moments: at first he struck hard due to the free kick, and soon hesitated with a shot after a wonderful pass by Gerrard. The right flank, defined by Maclaren as the scene of hostilities, was silent. Gary Neville repeatedly bumped into Wright-Phillips, who, when he tried to move to the center, met with Puyol. After twenty minutes of playing at Old Trafford, Spanish trumpets and drums began to be heard, and the situation on the field became - let us allow one more chess analogy - stalemate.
The confusion of the British did not fail to take advantage of the team of Luis Aragones. From the flawed English left flank to the center of the penalty area David Villa gave an excellent pass, Angulo sent the ball to Morientes, but the ball jumped on a bump, and Fernando shot higher. The attack, organized by the three players of “Valencia”, could have ended with a blow from the fourth, David Silva, into the empty net if Morientes gave him a pass. The offensive impulse of the Spaniards in the first half on this has dried up, and the debutant of the English goal Ben Foster did not enter the game in 45 minutes.
Maclaren made a mistake during the break, replacing Gerrard - the only worthy looking midfielder of the English. Shortly before the whistle, Stevie Gee gave an amazing pass with the outside of his foot to Crouch, but his teammate ruined the moment. Neither Frank Lampard nor Michael Carrick were marked by any sharpening action, and with the departure of Gerrard, the initiative in the center of the field irrevocably passed to the Spaniards. Only the right flank continued to snap: Wright-Phillips shot past from the sock, and Neville gave the perfect pass to the goalkeeper, which there was no one to close.
The Spaniards, from the very beginning not going to force events, controlled the ball and waited for the opponent's mistake. And they waited - the central defender Woodgate shifted to the right and lost the fight there Villiers, whose canopy into the penalty area, Rio Ferdinand turned into an assist and Andres Inieste. The player of Barcelona managed to handle the ball and hit with a lift with a twist to the upper corner - a little less spectacular than Maxi Rodriguez at the World Cup, but no less efficient. After the goal, the game essentially ended, turning into an endless stream of substitutions on both sides.
McLaren's team in the last four matches scored just one goal. In the center of midfield, the best players in the Premier League are definitely not getting along. Protection is constantly mowed by injuries. However, the question we are most interested in - whether England will find its game before the fall - while it is impossible to answer. But judging by the fact that McLaren has not yet solved any of the problems that are obvious to the whole nation, one can count on the team to lose points in other matches of the qualifying subgroup. Well, if the Russian team does the opposite.
ENGLAND - SPAIN - 0: 1 (0: 1)
Goal : 0: 1 - Iniesta (63).
ENGLAND : Foster, Ferdinand, F. Neville (Downing, 74), G. Neville (Richards, 64), Woodgate (Carragher, 64), Carrick, Dyer, Gerrard (Barry, 46), Lampard (Barton, 78), Wright Phillips (Defoe, 70), Crouch.
SPAIN : Casillas, Capdevilla, Ibanes, Puyol (Javi Navarro, 46), Sergio Ramos (Angel, 46), Albelda, Silva (Arismendi, 65), Xavi, Angulo (Iniesta, 56), Morientes (Torres, 46), Villa (Fabregas 74).