Euro 2012 qual. - Capello: We were lucky
England coach Fabio Capello said his side were lucky to beat Wales 1-0 as they again suffered Wembley stage fright in a dour Euro 2012 Group G qualifier.
The only goal on an uninspiring night, when Wembley was wrapped in autumnal gloom and travel problems meant there were thousands of empty seats at kick-off, came after 35 minutes through Ashley Young.
England, though, are now within a point of qualifying for next year's finals in Poland and Ukraine.
Wales had a gilt-edged chance to equalise after 76 minutes when the ball fell to substitute Robert Earnshaw five metres out and the striker blasted the ball high over an open goal.
"Yes I think we were a bit lucky, they made a big mistake in front of goal (through Earnshaw) but that was our luck," a relieved Capello told reporters.
"In the last 15 minutes we suffered a bit and didn't play good passes. We never pressed the ball, we were without speed ... we survived the last 15 minutes."
The Italian lamented another poor England performance in front of 77,000 fans who braved a torrential storm and problems on the Underground and nearby roads.
It was England's first win at home in five matches since they beat Bulgaria a year ago but they struggled for long periods.
"We seem to lose confidence at Wembley," said Capello. "Some players that usually dribble and go straight at goal don't do it here.
"We pass across the goal four or five times. I want always three players in front of the goal, tonight there was one.
"When we play at Wembley we want to play with more courage," Capello added. "Before we qualified for the 2010 World Cup we played very well here but when there is pressure to get the result it's hard."
Wales manager Gary Speed was pleased with his side's second-half showing.
"We were unlucky. I think we played a great second half," said Speed. "We knew coming to a place like this and playing the fourth-ranked team in the world we were going to come under pressure.
"We created a few chances and were unlucky not to score with the Earnshaw chance. There was also a chance where Gareth Bale was one-on-one with the keeper and he was ruled offside when he was actually one-metre onside.
"That didn't go for us today but I'm really proud of the players. How comfortable they were on the ball in the second half against a top team was really good," said Speed.
The Wales coach said he drew plenty of positives from the performance of his team.
"There's not an awful lot we could have done about the goal and we limited England to very few chances," added Speed.
"Once the game opened up I thought the way we passed the ball was exceptional. We'll take a lot of positivity from this for the future.
"But we've had false dawns in Wales before and we can't afford another false dawn. We've got a lot of hard work to do if we want to keep progressing," said Speed.
Comment 52 - 71 of 71
Well if win it in 2050, it will still be before Wales have even Qualified for a major competion, let alone won one, as for lucky you make your own luck and Earnshaw's miss was frankly appalling, if i was a welsh fan i would be disgusted with it.
Why do the celts continue to knock us at least (unless something increable happens) be in Poland or Ukraine, the odds are again as the only British or UK side.
I was in the Welsh crowd there and it may be pretty depressing to say it came during a loss but it was definitely the best atmosphere in a Welsh crowd I've ever experienced. Awesome, bit of a party at the end with the band playing on. At the end of the day England got what they needed in the three points and Wales got what they needed in a promising performance after years of poor performances and results. A couple years ago we'd have got stuffed at Wembley but not this time, could easily have drawn, maybe even won... Bring on the 2014 qualifiers!
A proud Welshman.
England were lucky you say you should of seen irelands luck and defending yesterday basciallly it must be our destiny to qualify for euro 2012 after that battering by the russians yesterday also have to say thanks to armenia.
wales will win n all their remaining games not montenegro.
haha 1-0 win over welsh, and not a convincing win at all.
I think at that speed,ENGLAND can win a EURO or a WORLD CUP by 2050
my reply to wilberforce, did you actually watch the whole game, Smalling played @#$%, should not be picked again, anyother team would have run riot against him, Are you a relative of Smalling by any chance,
wales played well and should have done a lot better , but a 20 million pound team against a 465 million pound team what can you say , wales had their chances over and over , but the welsh boys are young but improving fast.
Why do England play in 15mins PATCH*S ? As we did yesterday.
Also i noiticed some of the England players looked KNACKED. WHY ?
What voodoo sign hangs over Wembley when England play.IF YOU*RE ENGLISH DON*T PLAY YOUR NATURAL GAME...
We need the youngsters to come through and i thought Downing,Young,Did well,First half only.
One last point, Thank you very much Rob Earnshaw for MISSING A SITTER.!!!
I am a Chelsea fan. I want Lampard to retire from Chelsea and concentrate on England. He has tried for us and we appreciate him. It is time we gave him time to flourish in his international duties.
adrian 57,top comments,were through and well be the only side from the uk through so stuff all those knockers,it all gets boring be nice to see us get behind our boys,
I am a chelsea fan and will want to state it clearly that any midfield depending on lampard will not do better than what you saw against whales. lampard was ingenious for club and country some 5,10 years ago but right now he has nothing left in his plate to offer descerning fans.
AVB please beware!
We will have to wait another 10 years for another generation. This lot are useless.
Monenegro will win their final two matches to win the group.
Sorry England you'll never win anything with footballers of the calibre of Barry, Lampard and Parker as your midfield. Imagine that up against Spain or Germany. Just not good enough, it wouldn't be so bad them being slow if they could pass and keep hold of the ball.
#53 Shaun..yes I agree, you are being Pedantic.wow only 8million short ha!. must be the illegals.. and I dont think it matters if 45 million are born in England to Qualify to play for any sport in England.., England have a very long history of allowing anybody to play for England if its to your advantage, they even got Zola budd a passport in 2weeks to Qualify.
England may not be the fourth best team in the world but thats academic anyway. The FA don't work out the rankings. Let's look at it a bit more positively.
Firstly, England won against a Welsh team that was confident and was always going to raise its game against the old foe.
Secondly, we are going through a rebuilding process. Over half the players who got on the pitch last night did not figure in the opening game of last years World Cup. Give them a bit of time to gel.
Lastly, the return of Gerrard and Wilshire can only make strengthen the team.
Performances by the likes of Smalling, Cahill and Young gives us some cause for optimism and we are top of the group when all is said and done.
`We were lucky`? How about Crapello uttering the immortal words..........we were outstanding,skillful and exciting to watch? Not in our lifetime!!!
Don't we think that other " big teams " have had poor performances in their groups? Just like us, these other teams want to qualify and play fantastic football every in every game. Sorry, but it just doesn't work that way, as these group match results show:
France 0 Belarus 1
Northern Ireland 0 Italy 0
Portugal 4 Cyprus 4
Czech Replublic 0 Lithuania 1
And I'd loved to have seen the Italian press after Italy only scrapped through 1-0 against Slovenia !
I have nothing but the highest regard for Frank Lampard. However, it must be said that his international career
must be brought to a befitting close. I certainly do not expect to see any more mediocre midfield performances
in my lifetime. Barring Carrick (who sometimes runs less than defenders in matches) I have yet to see a more
immobile midfielder. Surely any other midfielder would have helped England's cause better in that match - anyone
who can make space, is willing to receive teh ball and can make passes other than sideways or backwards.
As someone who has been a great servant for club and country over the past 10 years, he must be accorded a respectful
swansong not some of the rude and disrepectful comments we have seen recently. Yes we know he is no Xavi or Iniesta
but it cannot be doubted he hasb tried his hardest as a professional. The time for him to withdraw from the international
scene has however arrived and he must make way for the likes of Wilshere, Parker, Cleverly and Henderson. It is a
lesson we can learn from the Germans given the emergence of talent like Ozil and Goetze.
With a more mobile midfielder who was not running away from the ball in yesterday's match, England should have been able to dominate possession a
little bit more given that we played 3 in the middle of teh park. Unfortunatly, by the time Capello EVENTUALLY
realised this and brought on Parker Wales had already built up an irrestible momentum. This is where I seriously
fault Capello and his methods. As a keen observer of the best managers - Feguson, Mourinho, Guardiola - they never give
up the advantage when their team has the momentum. This is exactly what monsieur Capello did yesterday. By
leaving the substitutions way too late, he allowed Wales to build up momentum (a head of steam if you like)
an entirely avoidable scenario.
Also, while Wayne Rooney is undoubtedly a fine talent, he should have beeen subbed much earlier in that match as it
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