England Vs Kazakhstan Match Report
England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan October 11th 2008 Results World Cup
Pre-Match Info
England fielded a fairly strong side for this match which was described as a ‘must win’ game for Fabio Capello in his first competitive match at Wembley, while Kazakhstan went with the youthful team that had seen some success in recent fixtures.
First Half Flops
The first chance of the match fell to Emile Heskey when Theo Walcott got past his man and whipped in a brilliant cross. Heskey couldn’t make the most of it and after some of his trademark bungling, the ball struck his hand and a Kazakhstan free kick was given.
England continued to press forward until around the 10 minute mark, when a defensive error by Ashley Cole gave Kazakhstan their first sight on goal, which was dragged wide by the debut striker Tanat Nusserbayev. Moments later a poor back-pass from Upson gave them another half chance but again it was wasted.
Hat-trick hero of the previous England fixture Theo Walcott had yet another solid performance in the first half, including a curling shot that missed out on nestling in the top corner by mere inches.
There were less convincing performances from England veteran David James, who had a few uncomfortable moments, and Gareth Barry who failed to make a useful pass for the first half an hour, playing more balls into touch than to his team mates.
Despite periods of pressure and having much of the possession, England failed to break down Kazakhstan’s defence and after 45 minutes the scores were still level at 0-0.
Second Half Switching
Gareth Barry was deservedly replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips over half time giving England a totally new shape for the second half. It seemed they were struggling to adjust as well as only minutes in Kazakhstan had by far the best chance of the match so far. A cross from the right was very nearly headed home but the follow up was poor and lashed miles over the bar from all of five yards by Nusserbayev.
Breaking the Deadlock
The deadlock was finally broken in the 52nd minute as Rio Ferdinand headed a corner past the flapping goalkeeper, which had been won after S.W. Phillips had his first shot palmed wide.
Kazakhstan almost had an instant response when Nusserbayev forced a save from James, but the resulting corner was not as effective as England’s had been moments earlier, and the attack fizzled out.
Goals Galore
England’s lacklustre performance continued until the 64th minute when Lampard’s well delivered free kick found the back of the net via the head of Kuchma, whose defensive header went terribly wrong.
Kuchma’s shame was alleviated 4 minutes later however, when another horrific back pass from Ashley Cole resulted in a simple tap in for Kukeyev, who rolled it past a stunned David James to halve England’s lead.
England put the game to bed in the 76th minute when the Manchester United connection of Wes Brown and Wayne Rooney collaborated with a cross and a header, putting the game beyond a disheartened Kazakhstan.
Theo Walcott made way for David Beckham for the final 10 minutes of the match, which saw Rooney squeezing in his second, before being subbed for Defoe who made it 5 just before the 90 minutes were up.
Summary
In reality it was a game that England were always expected to win comfortably and so the result will not shock many, however the performance was not the most convincing.
The debate of whether Gerrard and Lampard can coexist in the same team was once again raised by Capello’s selection and the general disjointed feel to the majority of the match will not have gone far to support the theory that they can.
Kazakhstan’s youthful team had been playing well in recent fixtures and this match will have dented their confidence. Certain players will have been much happier than others come the final whistle and they will take away the fact that they scored, and that the result was quite flattering to their opposition.
Man of the Match
Wayne Rooney. He never stopped chasing and could have had a hat-trick had he been a few inches taller.
Steven Gerrard in his England Strip
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