England 1-0 Spain

[Skeng DX]

Frank Lampard celebrated claiming the England captain's armband by scoring the goal that secured victory against World Cup holders Spain at Wembley.

Lampard - leading his country in the absence of rested Chelsea team-mate John Terry - headed in from close range in the 49th minute after Darren Bent had struck the woodwork.

The world and European champions dominated possession and territory for long periods and almost equalised late on when David Villa struck a post and substitute Cesc Fabregas wasted a chance.

But England held on with real resilience for a win that will inject new reserves of confidence into Fabio Capello's side.

Capello was missing his son's wedding in Milan to take charge - yet his reshaped England team gave him cause for a double celebration as they overturned the odds in front of a delighted Wembley gallery.

cont..@ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15693231.stm

[Mosiah]

Cyaan talk to dem now!

Spain was all ova dem, but to be fair, England didn't look shabby.

[Karl]

Very interesting match...Real can take heart on the pointer on how the England strategy can be replicated at the Barelona vs Real level.

...although I would think it will be damn hard to replicate successfully at the club level.

If they meet in the Champions League my GUNNERS certainly should not atempt such tactics against Barcelona...

[Gamma]

First time I see England take the lead against class side and don't (1) panic and (2) get ultra defensive

[Paul Marin]

Cyaan talk to dem now!

Spain was all ova dem, but to be fair, England didn't look shabby.

This was a perfect example of defensive organization trumping attacking talent. Villa, Fab and Silva (I believe) all had their chances, so England were "lucky". Still, Parker, Jones and the England back 4 really made it hard for the Spanish to play inside, so you have to give it to them. It would have been interesting to see what Capello would have done differently were Rooney and Gerrard available; as it turns out, Parker has probably (deservedly) sealed his position in the team.

[Zeppo]

It was only a friendly - but Spain's defeat to England at Wembley shows Vicente del Bosque needs a 'Plan B'

[Gamma]

reminds me of colombia 94, where it plan A goes awry .... it could look embarassing. too bad messi never declared for spain....

[Zeppo]

Boring, cynical, defensive and lucky: How Spain's papers rated England

Beep! Beep! Beep! Fabio Capello cranked the bus into reverse and, with barely a flicker of shame, slowly reversed it into the England six-yard box. According to the Spanish media that's what he did anyway. "England," said Sport on Sunday morning, "turned Italian to beat Spain". They could hardly have proffered a greater insult. As far as the Spanish are concerned, when it comes to football, "Italian" is another way of saying "boring". Boring and cynical and defensive. Lucky, too.

"It didn't matter to Capello that he was playing at Wembley in front of his own fans. He got his team to lock themselves in their own half and wait for a miracle," the Catalan daily Sport continued, before turning to its favourite subject: Barcelona. "The selección was a victim of the ultra defensive, mean tactics that Barcelona have suffered so often," said the paper whose cover said: "Wembley is only for Barça."

(continue)

[Gamma]

disagree with the spanish papers

[Jawge]

low dem cause dem nah deal wid reality. The first wake up call , helloooo smell the coffee was the ass cutting from the US in the confeds cup. In the WC , they were on their way home but for some reason, they stuck around tho beat that German machine (which is mystery seeing that they couldn't even handle the little teams) they went on to beat Holland who weren't a happy camper but...

They say they are sooo good yet they haven't played Brasil. Every team on this plante wants to play Brasil. You cannot claim greatness in football and haven't test your mettle against Brasil. The truth is England may just be surpassing them.

[Muadib]

badmind is not a pretty sight.

Spain was the best team in the World going into and during the World Cup.

Dem also play di prettiest ball.. Brazil was an also ran...

Easy yuhself.

[Jawge]

maybe yuh can convine dem fi stop dodge and face the true champion Brasil.

tell dem how dem skill an dem play di prettiest ball. Yuh speak Espanol? LOL

[Gamma]

they would have faced brasil in the las WC BUT for that one little blip ....

[Jawge]

true but that said ; it's now easier. All they have to do is book a friendly game. Oh i forgot they are busy

[Gamma]

they are the no 1 team in the world ... it is for brasil to want to knock them off .... the onus is on brasil and while brasil is playing egypt .....