World Cup qual - How England rated

Eurosport - Sun, 07 Jun 12:54:00 2009

We cast a discerning eye over England's performers in the 4-0 World Cup qualifying win against Kazakhstan.

2009 Kazakhstan-England Gareth Barry Emile Heskey - 0

Robert Green - 6

His only major contribution came after 20 seconds, when he made himself big and caused Sergey Ostapenko to fluff his lines when presented with an early chance. Ostapenko later found the net but was ruled offside. Green will start against Andorra on Wednesday.

Glen Johnson - 4

Was awful in the first half, giving the ball away to Zhambyl Kukeyev for that early chance, and then playing panicky stuff. Partially redeemed himself with the cross for Rooney's goal, but will be thankful backup right-back Gary Neville is injured.

John Terry - 6

Had very little to do following the home side's opening flurry of activity. His pre-match comments that only the result mattered cannot have helped the overall team performance but a win is a win. Will soon be captaining England at the World Cup.

Matthew Upson - 6

It is difficult to remember him making a telling contribution barring a first-half header wide, but Upson did what was required of him. Mind you, England could have kept a clean sheet in the second half with waxwork dummies at centre-back.

Ashley Cole - 5

Was troubled by Eugene Averchenko's searing pace down the Kazakhstan right and was relieved when a tactical reshuffle saw the winger take a more central role. Made no major clangers, as he did in the corresponding fixture at Wembley.

Theo Walcott - 4

The Arsenal flier's long-awaited return to the England team was a disappointment. A small pitch and the home side's tendency to defend in numbers denied him space, and he was replaced at half-time by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Frank Lampard - 7

The Chelsea man's late penalty capped off an authoritative performance in midfield. Lampard worked hard in a more defensive role than that which he plays at club level, but still found space to pass the ball effectively. Set pieces could have been better.

Gareth Barry - 5

A mixed performance after a big week for Manchester City's latest signing. Was booked for a first-half foul and might have picked up a second booking from a fussier referee. But made no mistake heading in the opening goal.

Steven Gerrard - 6

The Liverpool skipper set up the opening goal with a left-foot cross, but he still looks less than comfortable in his position on the left. Occasionally swapped positions with Wayne Rooney, drifting inside to more familiar ground.

Wayne Rooney - 6

After a big build-up, Rooney's return to his favoured position as a second striker was something of a let-down. Did not see as much of the ball as he wanted, but executed a superb overhead kick late on to score his eighth England goal in six matches.

Emile Heskey - 7

A record of seven goals in 53 caps is hardly prolific, but the Aston Villa striker has now found the net in his last two England games. Led the line with his usual hard work and physical presence, and also hit the post before his goal.

Substitutes

Shaun Wright-Phillips - 5

Played the whole second half but did little to persuade Fabio Capello to start him against Andorra.

David Beckham - 6

A popular introduction late in the second half, Goldenballs moved closer to the all-time record and sent a shot wide.

Jermain Defoe - 5

Had little time to make an impact in his 10-minute cameo.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 5 - 24 of 84

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  1. Yes we won 4-0 but sloppy goals,@#$% passing,@#$%­ goalkeeping,if we play like tht in the WC againtst the­ likes of Italy,Spain,Netherlands,Brazil,Argentia we­ will get ripped apart...

    From Alex B, on Sun 7 Jun 10:28AM

  2. England will never win thw world cup becasue they have­ no passing game like spain or brazil and no playmaker­ like a Messi , Kaka , Iniesta

    From ninja_king_returns, on Sun 7 Jun 10:26AM

  3. I watched the match and for whatever reason we lacked­ any drive or purpose for most of the match. You can­ argue it was the pitch / the opposition / the journey /­ the end of a long season but no one took the game by­ the scruff of the neck and worse we were technically­ poor. The performance will not have sent shivers down­ the spines of the world's best and no one involved­ came away from the game with their reputations­ enhanced. Our fullbacks were given the run around­ whilst our wingers failed to scare theirs. The­ midfield didn't impose itself and our attacks­ didn't flow so at no point did we build any­ momentum. To top it all Capello panders to the clamour­ to give Beckham another unearned cap.

    In the short­ term I'm happy we avoided the banana skin and came­ away with the points but it didn't fill me with­ confidence for the real thing next year.

    From highest_score_wins, on Sun 7 Jun 10:20AM

  4. stevie g was the best player on the pitch who ever gave­ the ratings needs to find another job the idiot or­ unless he wasnt even watching the game frank lampard­ did bugger all apart from put a pen away and it was a­ poor game but we won and thats what counts STOP­ KNOCKING OUR NATIONAL TEAMS

    From matthew969, on Sun 7 Jun 10:14AM

  5. We WON and,thats all that matters

    From taffy w, on Sun 7 Jun 10:09AM

  6. 4 o that will do

    From paul, on Sun 7 Jun 10:09AM

  7. Peter, he's talking about Arsenal in the last­ paragraph. Please read his comment properly

    From Thomas C, on Sun 7 Jun 10:08AM

  8. Winning 4-0 against kazakstan is nothing to write about­ in the field of rated international teams. This English­ team has not improved, and will disappoint as usual, in­ south Africa. Hard to learn a lesson

    From unzwa, on Sun 7 Jun 10:08AM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    kazakhstan is the greatest country in the world, all­ other countries are run by little girls

    From ColinA, on Sun 7 Jun 10:01AM

  10. DaveP? Youve won nothing for four years? Try forty!

    From Peter, on Sun 7 Jun 9:59AM

  11. 4-0 was flattering, we played rubbish but won,­ that's what you have to do if you are going to get­ anywhere. The guy giving these scores must be a­ Chelsea fan cos Lampard did bugger all.

    From H, on Sun 7 Jun 9:54AM

  12. Whats wrong with you! We win 4-0 and you are still­ knocking the lads. I didn't get a chance to watch­ the game but what more can they do!

    From pushstartautos, on Sun 7 Jun 9:53AM

  13. timbarnett why say bad things about­ ''LAMPARD'' why hate the lad so much­ ,uhhhhh i guess u ar jst been bias yeah ,he did well ­ yesterday , wat more do u expect from him ,u dnt even­ say any thing about G.JOHNSON ,it only lampard .mehn u­ dnt talk like a true football fan which is bad ,on the­ other hand he ''LAMPARD '' doesnt care­ about ur bad comments about him ;so why waste ur time ­ wake up bro

    From seun, on Sun 7 Jun 9:44AM

  14. Well done England.If i had my way i'd join them on­ the beach well just the Wags oooo hello

    From terdo, on Sun 7 Jun 9:42AM

  15. we can raise our game for good oposition. im sick of­ england fans putting down indeviduals in the team, as a­ team we were poor but to win 4-0 when your playing like­ that isnt a bad result. im sure that cappello knows­ more about football than us fans of this great country,­ we will get to the finals and we will do well. all you­ haters can maybe support germany or summit because­ england needs supporters not back stabbers.

    From vanessa.safe, on Sun 7 Jun 9:40AM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    How do England always get such easy groups,I think its­ disrespectful to other great players of the bast that­ Beckham a totally overrated overhyped player is going­ to be the record cap holder.

    From tom, on Sun 7 Jun 9:37AM

  17. not sure about chelsea paying all that money for­ Johnson. They made the same mistake once before. They­ need to think twice before signing him.

    From Raimo K, on Sun 7 Jun 9:31AM

  18. What is the matter with you lot England win 4 - 0 and­ your still complaining its International Football so­ what if we win ugly some times you dummys, most of­ these guys have had a long season and would be rather­ Lying on a beach with thier WAG than be in the back of­ beyond wonder what you num skulls will be like if we­ win it oh we won the world cup but they played­ @#$%.
    You all sound like winging Arsenal fans oh we­ play good football but we havent won nowt for 4 years­ Tossers the lot of you.

    From SYD, on Sun 7 Jun 9:30AM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    thats all its about with becks setting a record he does­ not deserve, @#$%.

    From Kathryn L, on Sun 7 Jun 9:25AM

  20. are you & capello blind? lampard played his normal­ useless game & because he scored a penalty hes­ great. he did not touch the ball in the first 30 mins­ & if he did he gave it away. he managed one cross­ from free kicks that cleared the first defender &­ the only passes he completed were in the last 20 mins­ when they were knackered & dishearterd & they­ were all backwards. If that is his standard at this low­ level of opposition gawd help us when we play a world­ class team. GET RID OF HIM & give the rest of the­ team a chance to win something.

    From timbarnett, on Sun 7 Jun 7:04AM
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