Final Observations of England Friendly Against Czech Republic (2-2)

• It’s clear that England is really lacking in two positions – left wing and center forward. Steven Gerrard is a very good player and performed well on the left today, but that’s not his natural position and he doesn’t give England much width. He needs to play in the position Frank Lampard occupied today. Stewart Downing should be nothing more than a squad player. Wayne Rooney, as we all know, is not really a striker, and neither Jermain Defoe nor Emile Heskey (who has 5 goals in 45 appearances) are the answers for England long-term. Fabio Capello left the best options for those positions at home, in my opinion, in Ashley Young (left) and either Darren Bent or Peter Crouch up top. Bent or Crouch paired with either Defoe or Rooney and England would be in business. Young provides the pace and on-ball qualities that England just doesn’t have. Joe Cole is a versatile option who can play either wing and as a second striker, but I’m not sure if he’s consistent enough on the international stage to start.

• Wes Brown scored today, but I don’t think he’s the best option at right back. Glen Johnson brings more to the table than Brown while making half as many mistakes, of which Brown made two bad ones in this game. Luke Young isn’t a bad player. Phil Neville is still serviceable. It seems like Brown’s spot isn’t even up for contention, and that’s a problem.

• The Czech Republic were the better team in this match. They’re not half as flashy as England can be at times, but they get the job done. It was nice to see them rebound with a victory after that disastrous collapse against Turkey in Euro 2008, the last game they played. They deserved the victory and were harshly done by when Joe Cole scuffled home the late equalizer.

• As with the U-21’s, I was disappointed with the turnout at Wembley. Look, there aren’t too many international games played each year so when there is one, I’d expect it to be sold out or close to it. If you don’t think you’re going to get that at Wembley, move the game to a smaller stadium. There’s no need to have a “national stadium” anyway, not when there are other fully capable grounds in the country.

• England’s players didn’t have the same passion as their Czech counterparts. I can’t blame it on their new captain, John Terry, I just think they need to put a little more into their performances in the future. It’s hard to explain, really – it seemed like something was missing. They get plenty of credit for their two comebacks, though, because those are hard to come by at this level (unless you’re Turkey, of course!)

• All things considered, Capello can take some positives and negatives out of this game. As I said, his team came back twice from a goal down. David Beckham looked very good on the right side and still gets it done. Ashley Cole put in a solid 90 minutes. The negatives, though, outweigh the positives. England generated nothing up front. They were very, very sloppy at times. David James wasn’t at his finest, even though there was nothing he could do about Jankulovski’s fantastic free kick. There's a lot to improve upon, and I'm sure Capello knows that.

England is back in action on September 6, when they'll pay a visit to minnows Andorra. Andorra began their qualifying campaign for World Cup 2010 today with a 3-0 loss at Kazakhstan. It'll be England's first game in UEFA Group 6 and should be a victory for the Three Lions. They outscored Andorra by a combined 8-0 in their two games against the 182nd-ranked team in the world in Euro 2008 qualifying.

Observations of England Friendly Against Czech Republic--First Half

• Well, I had it wrong earlier when I said Gareth Barry would be on the left and Steven Gerrard in the middle. The two were reversed to start, though Gerrard ended up drifting inside anyway. Ashley Cole and Wes Brown, the left and right backs, respectively, both needed to get forward and provide some necessary width to the team.

• David Beckham can still hit a dead or slow-moving ball pretty well. Big shock, huh? He's still England's best option on the right side.

• I’m getting tired of seeing Wayne Rooney listed as a striker for England. He comes back so far to collect the ball that’s he virtually a fifth midfielder, and when you only have Jermain Defoe (hardly a target man) up front and the firepower that’s already in England’s midfield, Rooney doesn’t need to drop so deep. It hurts the team more than it helps, though you have to like the hustle and work rate.

• Well-deserved yellow card for Barry – reckless tackle.

• Good awareness from Wes Brown to clear the ball after David James made the one-handed diving save after a quarter of an hour.

• Even though Gerrard rarely plays on the left, he looked great bursting forward out there today. He tested Petr Cech early after cutting in and ripping a low, hard drive, won a corner kick in the 35th minute after having his shot deflected out of bounds, passed it very well, and drew a couple fouls in good position for England. When he came back inside, though, he struggled a little bit to connect his passes.

• After Brown’s good play earlier, he was largely responsible for the Czech Republic’s first goal, scored by Milan Baros. As a defender, Brown made the huge mistake of diving in and letting the attacker walk it right around him there at the corner of the 18. The ball was then passed to Baros, who made no mistake. The goal itself went in off Ashley Cole, an unfortunate bounce because it appeared that James was going to make the save before the ball could sneak into the corner.

• As match commentator Robbie Earle wisely pointed out, the width of the Czech Republic put England at a big disadvantage because the Three Lions have little of it. When the full backs have to go that far forward, they leave holes in the back that can be exploited.

• Frank Lampard was fortunate to not receive a yellow card for his sliding challenge in the 28th minute. He caught all man first, ball second, and it wasn’t even close.

• England’s best stretch of the half came between the 25th-40th minutes, but Cech was up to the task. Better finishing from Rooney and Defoe, in particular, was needed to equalize.

• Great long throw from James to his Portsmouth teammate, Defoe, just before halftime. Defoe then won a foul. The free kick from that foul resulted in an England corner kick, which was headed in by Brown, whose first international goal makes up for his earlier mistake.

Lampard Paired With Gerrard in England's Starting Lineup

Yes, you read correctly.

We've seen this story before. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard can't play together in the same midfield, but yet England boss Fabio Capello is going to give it another try in today's friendly against the Czech Republic. This should be interesting.

The other surprise in the starting lineup is Gareth Barry, not because of his inclusion but because of his position. Barry will be playing left wing, definitely not his best role or the one he's been so successful in for Aston Villa lately. Why play Barry, who has a great relationship with Gerrard and would allow the Liverpool captain to go forward, in the holding role, where Barry is best, when you can play Lampard, who gives you nothing defensively? Makes no sense to me.

Here's the full lineup:

(4-4-2)
GK: James

RB: Brown
CB: Ferdinand
CB: Terry (captain)
LB: A. Cole

RMF: Beckham
CMF: Gerrard
CMF: Lampard
LMF: Barry

ST: Rooney
ST: Defoe

More analysis later.

England Squad Announced for Czech Republic Friendly

Fabio Capello has named his 23-man roster for England's friendly against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, and there were a couple of surprise absentees, one of which really bothers me.

I can't emphasize enough just how highly I rate Aston Villa's Ashley Young, who had a breakout season last year and was rewarded with a place in the PFA Team of the Year for his efforts. He's right-footed but plays on the left wing and has a good enough left foot, which he showed midweek on the terrific goal he scored in Villa's 4-1 victory over FH in the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round. England has a huge void on the left flank: Stewart Downing isn't good enough, Joe Cole doesn't bring much pace to the position, and there really aren't many options behind those two and Young.

Young was snubbed by Capello -- that's the only way I can put it. He should've been in the squad and should've started in the game. It's that simple. You cannot and never will convince me that Downing is a better player than Young. Cole should be on the field, but not at that position. If anyone watched Aston Villa last season, they'd know just how good of a player this guy is. His peers recognize his talent, hence the spot on that PFA team.

The other notable exclusion was that of Darren Bent, who lit it up in the pre-season for Tottenham with, I believe, 12 goals in 5 or 6 games. I understand that pre-season doesn't mean much but they're games. What else is Capello supposed to go on? The main issue with Steve McLaren was that he seemed to pick his team on reputation and name value rather than form, and Capello didn't do that when he took over. It's almost impossible to be playing better right now than Bent.

My surprise here is coupled with the fact that Capello selected Wayne Rooney as one of his three strikers. Rooney has been out for a couple weeks with a virus he contracted on Manchester United's pre-season tour of Africa. He definitely has the talent to be on this team, but he hasn't played in a while and is only just now near complete recovery. He has a tendency to drop back into midfield, where England is already loaded, to pick up the ball instead of staying up front to receive it. This is fine, and I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it as I do, but Capello also picked Jermain Defoe, who is another quick, slight striker, and only one center forward, Emile Heskey, whose best days are clearly behind him.

There's no way that Bent shouldn't be in this group based on his attributes and his current form. If you're going to play Rooney, it's like adding another midfielder with the way he plays for England, and if you're going to play Defoe, he's going to be alongside an unfamiliar face in Heskey. Bent and Defoe were teammates at Tottenham last season before the latter moved to Portsmouth in January, so they should have some chemistry. Defoe has been training with Peter Crouch, a perfect contrasting partnership, all summer, and Crouch also wasn't named to the England team.

West Ham's Dean Ashton certainly would've made the team after his two-goal performance today against Wigan as he's a solid center forward, but he's been ruled out with an injury problem, something that has plagued his career.

Here's the full squad, followed immediately by a couple additional thoughts on the team and my personal starting lineup based on the options available, not necessarily who Capello will use:

GK (3): David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn)

DEF (8): Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, and John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham), Matthew Upson (West Ham)

MID (9): Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham)

ST (3): Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan)

• Eight defenders and nine midfielders, but only three strikers? Interesting, considering Rooney has been sick lately.

• I have no idea how Wayne Bridge, who can’t even get a game at Chelsea and certainly doesn’t start on a regular basis, is the second left back ahead of guys like Nicky Shorey, Stephen Warnock, or even Joleon Lescott, a natural center back capable of playing on the left. Those three are all starters, play a lot, and are good players. Bridge doesn't fit into either of the first two categories, so how can be on the team?

(4-4-1-1)
GK: James

RB: Johnson
CB: Ferdinand
CB: Terry
LB: A. Cole

RMF: Beckham
DMF: Barry
CMF: Gerrard (captain)
LMF: J. Cole

SS: Rooney

ST: Heskey

Update (08/17-4:28 PM): An ankle injury suffered by Carrick in today’s Manchester United-Newcastle game has ruled the midfielder out of this upcoming friendly. Capello replaced Carrick with Jermaine Jenas. My original starting lineup included Carrick but has now been adjusted and based on Gareth Barry’s current form, he gets the nod.

Euro 2008 Recap--Day 1

The 13th edition of the European Championships started out in decent fashion today, as both games had their exciting moments and neither ended in draws. The picks of many to advance from Group A, Portugal and the Czech Republic, both came away with victories, setting up a showdown in Geneva between the two in four days' time. That game will likely determine the group winner, but before we get there, let's take a look back at the opening day of Euro 2008.

In the first game, co-host Switzerland had the crowd in Basel firmly behind them against their opponent, Karel Brückner's Czech Republic. While his team seemed content to sit back and defend in their 4-5-1 for most of the first half, the Swiss came out as the aggressors and created several chances sprung by their wide men, Tranquillo Barnetta and Valon Behrami. On the rare occasions that the Czech Republic did push forward, Switzerland was able to build dangerous counter-attacks, and Alexander Frei forced Petr Čech to make two good saves, one from long range and the other coming from in tight as Frei bore down on the Czech goalkeeper from an angle.

Frei was forced to come off with a knee injury right before halftime, one that left the team's captain and all-time leading goal scorer in tears. At the time, it didn't seem like a huge blow because the Czech Republc had done absolutely nothing in the first half to convince anyone that they'd be able to score, and it seemed inevitable that Switzerland was going to eventually break through. Jan Koller was nothing more than a statue up front on his own; he can't run anymore and it didn't help that his teammates were not playing to his strengths -- getting him the ball with his back to goal so he could play it off to a midfielder making a forward run.

It was more of the same in the second half. Switzerland was controlling the game and playing it at their tempo, forcing the Czechs to chase the moving ball all over the field.

The creative Hakan Yakin came on for Frei at halftime and immediately made his presence known by drawing a foul right at the edge of the area and using his terrific passing ability later on. Yakin should've been on from the outside in place of Marco Streller, who also looked frozen up top, and the Swiss were made to pay for not being able to push one by Cech when Václav Svěrkoš, who had replaced the ineffective Koller in the 56th minute, outfoxed a Switzerland back line that was in the process of pushing up to catch the Czechs offside and managed to sneak in behind them. A lobbed header over the top by right back Zdeněk Grygera put Svěrkoš in alone, and the Banik Ostrava striker made his first international goal count in the 71st minute. He clearly mishit the ball; he wanted to strike it on the bounce with his laces but kind of shanked it off his ankle, but they all count the same.

After that goal, Switzerland threw everything they had and the kitchen sink at the Czechs, who dropped 10 men behind the ball and relied on a hoof-and-chase style to clear the ball out of their defensive third. Switzerland had a stone cold penalty turned down by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti after Tomáš Ujfaluši clearly handled the ball in the box. Barnetta then picked up the loose ball, forced Cech to dive to his left to push away a smashing, low left-footed shot, and Johan Vonlanthen put the bouncing rebound off the crossbar. Seconds before full time, another questionable use of the upper arm in the area by a Czech player went unnoticed by Rosetti, and the match ended 1-0 despite the fact that Switzerland deserved a better fate.

Today's second game wasn't nearly as dramatic; Portugal dominated Turkey for large stretches and were unlucky to only win 2-0 as Nuno Gomes hit the crossbar and a post and Cristiano Ronaldo's beautiful curving free kick in the first half was parried off the post by Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel.

Real Madrid's Pepe had had his header off a corner kick disallowed due to a correctly called offside in the 17th minute, but he more than made up for it with the beautiful one-two between himself and Nuno Gomes that resulted in Pepe walking in alone on goal. The center back coolly finished the play like he was an experienced striker. It had taken just over an hour for Portugal to finally break through, and the goal seemed to break Turkey's spirit a little bit. Minutes later, the aforementioned Nuno Gomes, who wore the captain's armband in this game, nodded Cristiano Ronaldo's good cross off the crossbar.

Turkey huffed and puffed but never did enough to equalize, and Raul Meireles' first international goal sealed the deal in the 93rd minute. It was created by Ronaldo (who else), who slid a right-footed through ball from the left wing to João Moutinho, who was streaking into the box right down the middle. Moutinho's remarkable turn with the ball onto his right foot left him with only one option as Turkey's goalkeeper was bearing down on him, and Moutinho laid a soft pass onto Meireles. Meireles had the net at his mercy and Portugal finished the game in style after outshooting their opponent 16-6 over the course of the game.

I came away most impressed with Switzerland and Portugal, the former of whom I still think will make it out of Group A. The Czech Republic showed me nothing at all except the fact that they obviously miss Tomas Rosicky as their creator in the midfield, and Turkey are good technically but just don't offer much going forward. Switzerland and Turkey play each other in four days, and the loser of that game will be eliminated from contention -- perhaps not mathematically, but for all intents and purposes, the loser is done. Even a draw doesn't help much for either team, so that should be a fun game to watch. I expect Portugal to wipe the floor with the Czech Republic, perhaps 2-0 or 3-1 if the Czechs really get their scoring boots on.

Group A Standings (after one game):
1. Portugal (3 points, +2 goal differential)
2. Czech Republic (3 pts, +1)
3. Switzerland (0 pts, -1)
4. Turkey (0 pts, -2)

The four teams in Group B open up their respective accounts tomorrow, with co-hosts Austria meeting Croatia in the early game and Germany looking to “blitz” through their Polish neighbors once again in the second match of the day.

Today's highlights:

http://101greatgoals.magnify.net/item/W87TN981TDJJFHTS -- Svěrkoš' winner
http://101greatgoals.magnify.net/item/776CQ7SXK83K202S -- The handball that wasn't and the chances that followed
http://101greatgoals.magnify.net/item/NM76BVXMRY5V8BL8 -- Pepe's beatifully worked goal
http://101greatgoals.magnify.net/item/7GF1B11WPHSKZVBR -- Icing on the cake for Portugal

Euro 2008 Final Rosters--Group A

No time to waste, I have a summer class to get to so let's get right to this.

Czech Republic:

GK (3): Petr Čech (Chelsea), Jaromír Blažek (Nuremberg), Daniel Zítka (Anderlecht)

DEF (7): Zdeněk Grygera (Juventus), Radoslav Kováč (Spartak Moscow), Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan), Zdeněk Pospěch (FC Copenhagen), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Tomáš Ujfaluši* (Fiorentina), David Rozehnal (Lazio)

MID (8): Jan Polák (Anderlecht), Tomáš Galásek (Nuremberg), Libor Sionko (FC Copenhagen), David Jarolím (Hamburg), Marek Matějovský (Reading), Tomáš Sivok (Sparta Prague), Rudi Skácel (Southampton), Jaroslav Plašil (Osasuna)

FWD (5): Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt), Jan Koller (Nuremberg), Václav Svěrkoš (Baník Ostrava), Stanislav Vlček (Anderlecht), Milan Baroš (Portsmouth)

*Captain

Switzerland:

GK (3): Diego Benaglio (VfL Wolfsburg), Eldin Jakupović (Grasshopper), Pascal Zuberbühler (Neuchâtel Xamax)

DEF (8): Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos (Arsenal), Stephane Grichting (Auxerre, Patrick Müller (Lyon), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart)

MID (8): Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Valon Behrami (Lazio), Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshopper), Gelson Fernandes (Manchester City), Daniel Gygax (Metz), Benjamin Huggel (FC Basel), Gökhan İnler (Udinese), Hakan Yakın (Young Boys)

FWD (4): Eren Derdiyok and Marco Streller (FC Basel), Alexander Frei* (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Vonlanthen (Salzburg)

*Captain

Turkey:

GK (3): Rüştü Reçber (Beşiktaş), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor), Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe)

DEF (7): Uğur Boral (Fenerbahçe), Servet Çetin, Hakan Balta, Emre Güngör, Emre Aşık, and Sabri Sarıoğlu (Galatasaray), Gökhan Zan (Beşiktaş)

MID (8): Emre Belözoğlu* (Newcastle), Mehmet Topal, Arda Turan, and Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Mehmet Aurélio and Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbahçe), Tümer Metin (Larissa), Hamit Altıntop (Bayern Munich)

FWD (5): Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal), Semih Şentürk (Fenerbahçe), Gökdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan), Tuncay Şanlı (Middlesbrough), Mevlüt Erdinç (FC Sochaux)

*Captain

Note: Portugal's final roster was already named.

Euro 2008 Preview--Group A (Part 1)

First of all, I want to wish all of my fellow countrymen here in the States a wonderful Memorial Day. Almost everyone I know has or had a family member in the armed forces, and today is all about remembering those who died while in military service to their country. We know it as the unofficial first day of summer when swimming pools traditionally open and families have a nice barbecue, but today is really more than that and I hope everyone takes a moment to reflect upon what this day truly means.

Now, onto the meat of this post -- previewing Group A in Euro 2008, which will start in just under two weeks' time. This group is comprised of Switzerland, the tournament co-host, Turkey, Portugal, and the Czech Republic.

Here's the fixture schedule (all times Eastern):

June 7:
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic (Noon; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)
Portugal vs. Turkey (2:45; Stade de Genève, Geneva)

June 11:
Czech Republic vs. Portugal (Noon; Stade de Genève, Geneva)
Switzerland vs. Turkey (2:45; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)

June 15:
Switzerland vs. Portugal (2:45; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)
Turkey vs. Czech Republic (2:45; Stade de Genève, Geneva)

Czech Republic:

In a qualifying group that included Germany and Ireland, the Czech Republic finished first with 29 points from their 12 games. This is their sixth appearance in the European Championships, although three of them came as the former Czechoslovakia, including the 1976 team that won the whole thing.

Their U-21's won the European U-21 Championship in 2002, and you can find a fair amount of players from that team on the senior team that will open up against Switzerland on June 7, including Petr Čech and Milan Baroš. It's always an unpleasant assignment to play your first game and the first game of the tournament against a host country, and you can bet the Swiss crowd will be in full roar in Basel.

Tomáš Rosický, known as the "Little Mozart" for his creative skill, fantastic passing ability, and the way he orchestrates play out of the center of midfield, will miss the tournament due to injury and that's a major blow for his country. He is their captain and field general and there just isn't anyone who will be able to replace him.

Coach Karel Brückner has named a 23-man provisional squad already, which of course is the number his final roster will have to have as well. If he chooses not to replace anyone, he'll have a team that seems to be pretty solid through the starting XI but without much on the bench.

Čech, one of the world's best at his position, will of course be in goal, in front of him could very well be an experienced back line of Grygera, Rozenhal, Ujfaluši, and Jankulovski (R to L), a midfield comprised of Galásek in the holding role, Jarolím on the right, possibly Skácel or Matějovský on the left, and Plašil right in the center. Up top will be the two stalwarts -- the big target man, Jan Koller, and his quicker sidekick, Baroš.

Portugal:

Big Phil's team finished second in an ultra-competitive qualifying group, as Poland nipped them by just one point. Under Scolari, Portugal lost in the final of Euro 2004 to Greece and lost to France in the semifinals of World Cup 2006. They will be looking to shake off those disappointments and win this competition, one in which they are favored to make a deep run.

Portugal's final squad has already been released and squad numbers have been announced, so barring injury, there will be no changes and what you see is what you'll get. This is a country not known in recent years to produce true center forwards; instead, an emphasis has been placed on pace, creativity, and wing play. In this group, those attributes should be enough to overcome the three either older or slower teams (who also simply have less talent), but that may not be the case come the knockout rounds.

Scolari is known as a unique character, one who tends to take the pressure off his team through his own personal antics and behavior, and I think that will really benefit his side in this tournament. It's a team that has 4-5-1/4-3-3 written all over it, with Ricardo in goal, either Bosingwa or Miguel at right back, Ferreira on the left, where he has played before, and Meira and Carvalho in the center. In the midfield, Deco will roam freely in the center, Cristiano Ronaldo and Simão will be on the wings, Petit seems likely to play in the holding role, and either João Moutinho or Raul Meireles, both terrific passers, will also be in the middle. As the lone center forward, Nuno Gomes will feature with Hélder Postiga spelling him.

Portugal’s schedule also sets up as arguably the most comfortable of any team in the group. While it is no slouch, Turkey has to be considered the weakest team out of the four and Portugal plays them first, followed by the Czech Republic. After those two games, they’ll know exactly what they need (if anything at all) in their third and final match, against Switzerland. That game seems to me like Portugal’s toughest, as not only do the Swiss have the home-field advantage, they are very difficult to break down and that is Portugal’s strength, quick passing and dribbling.

Check back later this afternoon for Part 2 of my Group A preview, in which I'll take a look at Turkey and Switzerland and give you my prediction for how the group will finish up.