2008 Woodie Awards
ENGLAND DESTROYs KAZAKHSTAN AT WEMBLEY IN WORLD CUP QUALFIER
KEYUR DESAI, OBSERVER STAFF WRITER
Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: Sports
Ask any English soccer fan for a crash course in synonyms and the first example to come up will be England national team and underachieving. It is therefore not surprising that most fans were taking England's recent 4-1 thrashing of Croatia with a huge tablespoon of salt.
What had been described as a "new dawning of English football" after England's 5-1 demolition of Germany in 2001 soon turned into a night of horrors, so it was with cautious optimism that the fans approached the next World Cup qualifier with Kazakhstan.
90,000 had packed into Wembley as a resurgent England strode out against a star-struck Kazakhstan. The 5-1 scoreline flattered England but anyone present during the first half would agree that staying at home and mowing the lawn would have been a wiser option.
Gerrard, Lampard and Barry all started in a new 4-3-3 formation that was meant to unleash the attacking potency of Gerrard and Lampard, while allowing Barry to keep things tidy in his role as the holding man.
Despite the promise, England failed to muster a shot on target with Lampard's long range effort, their most notable chance. Wayne Rooney was ineffective on the left side of the midfield, and with Gerrard unable to combine effectively with Lampard, England lacked the cutting edge to carve open Kazakhstan.
Coach Fabio Cappelo's half time substitution threw the game wide open. Barry was off for Shaun Wright-Phillips as England reverted to the only formation they can play, 4-4-2. This allowed Rooney to play further afield and run at defenders off Emile Heskey while Gerrard and Lampard provided the thrust from midfield. The result was instantaneous. Stand in captain Rio Ferdinand got on the end of a corner and easily headed in to put England one up.
Kazakhstan, however, would not go down easily. The impressive Nussrbayev had a few efforts well-saved by keeper James before England doubled the lead. Lampard's pin-point free-kick was headed in by Kushma for his own first goal and England's second.
What had been described as a "new dawning of English football" after England's 5-1 demolition of Germany in 2001 soon turned into a night of horrors, so it was with cautious optimism that the fans approached the next World Cup qualifier with Kazakhstan.
90,000 had packed into Wembley as a resurgent England strode out against a star-struck Kazakhstan. The 5-1 scoreline flattered England but anyone present during the first half would agree that staying at home and mowing the lawn would have been a wiser option.
Gerrard, Lampard and Barry all started in a new 4-3-3 formation that was meant to unleash the attacking potency of Gerrard and Lampard, while allowing Barry to keep things tidy in his role as the holding man.
Despite the promise, England failed to muster a shot on target with Lampard's long range effort, their most notable chance. Wayne Rooney was ineffective on the left side of the midfield, and with Gerrard unable to combine effectively with Lampard, England lacked the cutting edge to carve open Kazakhstan.
Coach Fabio Cappelo's half time substitution threw the game wide open. Barry was off for Shaun Wright-Phillips as England reverted to the only formation they can play, 4-4-2. This allowed Rooney to play further afield and run at defenders off Emile Heskey while Gerrard and Lampard provided the thrust from midfield. The result was instantaneous. Stand in captain Rio Ferdinand got on the end of a corner and easily headed in to put England one up.
Kazakhstan, however, would not go down easily. The impressive Nussrbayev had a few efforts well-saved by keeper James before England doubled the lead. Lampard's pin-point free-kick was headed in by Kushma for his own first goal and England's second.
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