For five horrible minutes on Wednesday night it looked as if Steve McClaren’s shadow still hung over the England team. Indeed pouring rain, a Darren Bent miss and a trademark international clanger from Scott Carson do nothing to dispel painful memories of a wet night in North London little more than a year ago, when a lacklustre England capitulated to Croatia and failed to qualify for the European Championships. Thankfully times have changed and coach Fabio Capello shunned the FA sponsored brolly, barking orders from the technical area as the Three Lions romped to a memorable 2-1 victory in Berlin.
While comparisons are unfair it’s impossible to ignore the confidence Capello has instilled into his squad exactly 12 months and 3 days after McClaren saw his England career unravel on that disastrous night under the Wembley arch. Capello’s England are a radically different prospect, and with no less than eight key players missing it was an opportunity for those on the fringe to step in from the international cold and prove their worth.
Indeed, the eleven players who stepped out at the Olympiastadion on Wednesday night were far superior to the bedraggled team that trudged from Wembley’s sodden pitch last November. That sombrely passed a stunned Steve McClaren as Croatia coach Slaven Bilic danced joyously across the Wembley touchline. That faced the ignominy of watching a major tournament from home for the first time in 14 years.
In the absence of Rio Ferdinand, West Ham United centre-back Matthew Upson excelled, polishing off a convincing performance with a deserved first half goal – his first for his country. In midfield the much maligned Middlesbrough winger Stuart Downing was a revelation in what was his best performance to date in an England shirt while the German defence struggled to cope with debutant Gabriel Agbonlahor’s searing pace.
The consummate ease with which England’s second string disposed of Germany will not be lost on Capello, who has five months to conjure with who to select ahead of England’s next step on the road to South Africa 2010, when Ukraine pay Wembley a visit on April 1st.
Much like Capello, crocked midfield absentee’s Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will have noted – albeit from the comfort of home – the effortless flair of Manchester United’s attacking midfielder Michael Carrick and the ease with which he slotted into a central midfield berth alongside Gareth Barry in what was his first game for Capello.
Darren Bent and Scott Carson made up a trio of players earning their first caps in the new regime, but they’ll be remembering this game for completely different reasons. Spurs striker Bent, coming on as a half-time substitute for Jermain Defoe, found himself staring into the mouth of an open goal having rounded German goalkeeper Tim Wiese, only to lose his footing on the greasy pitch and fire his shot wide.
If memories of Bent’s last gasp miss against Croatia began to stir as the striker picked himself up then it was about to get much worse. At the other end, a horrendous mix-up between skipper John Terry and Carson saw Germany cancel out Upson’s opener; indeed, as the ball rolled between Carson’s legs the hapless keeper could only watch as German sub Patrick Helmes slotted home his first international goal, no doubt grateful to Carson and Terry for gifting him what should be the easiest goal of his career.
It’s hard not to feel a degree of sympathy for Carson, who before Wednesday hadn’t played for England since his horror-show against Croatia. Like the rest of us, he may have been wondering what he’d done to deserve such a baptism of fire in international colours. However, the blushes were short lived thanks to partner in calamity John Terry, who atoned with a trademark header to make it 2-1 in the 84th minute.
Five second half minutes aside, this was a confident display, a message to Premiership managers who bemoan the need for friendly’s and a rubber stamp on what has been a successful 12 months in the England hot-seat for the Italian tactician. Finally, things are looking up for England - let's hope it lasts.
England: James (Carson, 46), Terry, Upson, Johnson, Bridge, Barry, Carrick, Wright-Phillips (Crouch, 90), Defoe (Bent, 46), Agbonlahor (Young, 77)
Germany: Adler (Wiese, 46), Friedrich (Tasci, 68), Rolfes, Mertesacker, Westermann, Compper (Schafer, 77), Schweinsteiger, Trochowski, Jones (Marin, 46), Klose (Helmes, 46), Gomez (Podolski, 57)
Subs not used (England): Robinson, Lescott, Richards, Davies, Mancienne, Bullard, Parker.
Subs not used (Germany): Hitzlsperger, Weis, Hinkel.
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