England pay the penalty in France
27th March, 2008
Fabio Capello has had his first taste of defeat as England manager, as England went down 1-0 to France last night.
The visitors were dominant but could not find a breakthrough and paid the price with a first half penalty that was to decide the result. Despite using the possession better and creating a greater number of chances, the final touch was lacking from the three strikers used by England – Rooney, then later Owen and Crouch.
The only goal of the game came when Anelka raced away from a high defence to find himself one-on-one with England keeper David James, who was not quick enough to the ball which was touched round him. Anelka duly went crashing into the keeper at pace and was rightly awarded a definite penalty. Franck Ribery converted from the spot in 32 minutes to grab the unlikely lead. The away side did continue to press and were unlucky to go away with a loss.
David Beckham started the game to win his 100th cap. His game was not exceptional but there is the possibility of a future call up as he was well involved in the match. Elsewhere Rio Ferdinand had a good 90 minutes but it was felt he didn’t do much to stake his claim as the permanent captain of the national side.
England remain fifth favourites to win the 2010 World Cup, at odds ranging from 9/1 to 12/1 with Sporting Bet.
By Chris M
