Match Summary

England Team

Egypt Team

England chose a tricky match against the new African Cup Champions, Egypt, for a warm up friendly fixture as the clock counts down to the World Cup in South Africa.  As it turned out, in the first 45 minutes the Egyptians showed just why they had succeeded in the recent tournament. 

England began well and after just four minutes Frank Lampard had a golden chance to give England the lead.  Wayne Rooney combined with Theo Walcott down the right and the Arsenal winger�s cross was tailor-made for Lampard, but his first time shot was blocked by the Egyptian goalkeeper Al Hadari.  The Chelsea man should have scored and he knew it too.  Still, England looked positive and confident, although they did lack the assertive play that was needed.  Only Gareth Barry in the midfield was consistently battling away and too often it was as individuals rather than collectively that England attacked. 

At the other end there were moments of slackness and Jermaine Defoe cleared one scuffed shot off the line, as Egypt threatened from a corner.  Mohammed Zidan was particularly lively for the visitors and he shot just over after another good attack.  England�s problem was that they were not pressing as a team and they allowed Egypt to dictate for long spells.  In the end it came as no real surprise when the visitors took a deserved lead, albeit with a little help from Matthew Upson.  Upson and the under pressure John Terry had looked reasonably secure in the middle of the defence, but in the 23^rd minute a pass came in from the left towards Zidan, Upson slipped at a crucial moment, and the striker had a clear shot at goal which he despatched with aplomb. 

Egypt grew in confidence, with Hassan running the show in midfield, but England did up their game a little, and the one consolation for them was that they were still creating chances.  Rooney, whose touch wasn�t quite as sharp as usual on the night, headed wide and Defoe fired in a good shot, which was well saved again by the keeper.  The Spurs striker also headed a Wes Brown cross just over as England fought for parity at the break.  The best chance again fell to Lampard from a corner but again he failed with his attempted shot and the ball bounced over. 

The first half ended with England still trailing, there had been plenty of endeavour but no real cohesion.  Rooney showed he shared the crowd�s frustrations and screamed at his teammates for more effort.  Barry had worked tirelessly but Gerrard, captain for the night, failed to make any of his trademark surging runs into the danger area.  Walcott faded after a promising start, Leighton Baines did nothing wrong at left-back on his debut, but Brown had a poor match on the other flank, repeatedly giving the ball away. 

At the break Fabio Capello decided to make two changes bringing on Peter Crouch for Defoe and Michael Carrick for Lampard.  And right from the restart it was obvious that he had told his players to press the Egyptians back further and quicker.  Soon Rooney nearly broke through before England found a peach of an equaliser in the 56^th minute.  Swift one-touch passing from Carrick to Gerrard to Barry ended with a first-time cross that Crouch swept home in brilliant fashion.  It was lightening quick and a quality finish. 

John Terry despite all his recent problems was still England�s best and most disciplined defender and all credit to him for rising above all the hoo hah that has surrounded him lately. 

With 15 minutes left England turned the game around with another well worked goal, and again the substitutes were involved.  Baines�s cross was deflected to James Milner who hit a powerful shot with his left foot, which the keeper parried.  The ball bounced out to Shaun Wright-Phillips and his shot found the net.  There was a slight swerve on the shot but Al Hadari will be disappointed with his contribution to the goal.

On 80 minutes England made the game safe with another excellent goal from the prolific Crouch.  This time Brown had his best moment of the game with a good pass to send Wright-Phillips away.  Again a first-time cross gave Crouch his chance and that is now 20 international goals for the big man.  It rounded off a fine second half comeback and sent the crowd home happy.  It was also the England team�s 500^th win and sends us on our way to the World Cup in good spirits.  Although Crouch was named official man of the match, the best player on the night was undoubtedly Barry who had a superb game throughout the whole 90 minutes.  He even ended the game as captain, the third, after Gerrard and Rooney, to wear the armband during the evening.

Source Notes

BBC Sport
FIFA.com
SkySports.com
TheFA.com
AngelFire.com/ak/EgyptianSports
Mike Payne - football historian and contributor
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CG