Good to see an organised, defensive England team that didn’t embarrass itself last night. Granted there were no real creative fireworks from anyone in a white shirt, but frankly anybody who expected there to be is deluded.
That most of the England team were in the penalty box when Samir Nasri fizzed his shot past Joe Hart is annoying. But overall it was a disciplined performance and we’ve got a point on the board, which many fans would have done terrible things for before kick off.
While nobody should get carried away, the pall of gloom hanging over the team from South Africa has lifted a little. Danny Welbeck impressed, albeit it feeding off scraps chucked at him from the midfield; the back four were tight for the main part; and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was mature for the most part, although his decision-making when in possession needs to sharply improve.
I’m not sure what game Jamie Carragher was watching when he claimed France were there for the taking, but there’s nothing to suggest that taking the same discipline to Donetsk on Friday against Sweden couldn’t produce three points. Particularly given their woeful defending against Ukraine.
That said, it was meant to be an even surer thing that we’d beat Algeria. So let’s not get carried away just yet.
