Match Summary

England Team

Bulgaria Team

The England players were looking to make a positive start to their European Championship qualifying campaign, and they could hardly have asked for a better start than this.  Right from the first whistle there was an energy and a fizz about their play, and straight away Bulgaria were on the back foot.  And there was a dream start for England, with a goal after just over two minutes.  A bad pass by Manolev gave Wayne Rooney possession, he spotted Ashley Cole making a darting run in to the box.  An inch perfect chipped pass found the full-back and only a brave block by goalkeeper Mihaylov stopped a goal.  But the ball bounced back to Cole who squared it to Jermaine Defoe waist high.  Defoe licked his lips and volleyed England into the lead with a terrific finish.

The perfect start and for the next ten minutes England continued with their marauding, high octane start to the game.  On seven minutes Theo Walcott almost scored another and it seemed only a matter of time before England added to their lead.  As the half wore on though the pace slackened and it allowed the visitors to string some passes together without really troubling the home defence.  It was not until the 20^th minute that the Bulgarians created a semblance of a chance and it came from an unlikely source.  As the ball came over from the right Glen Johnson looked to put it out for a corner but only succeeded in shinning the ball inside Joe Hart's post.  Luckily for Johnson and England, Hart made a super save to prevent any embarrassment.  Three minutes later sloppiness in England's midfield allowed Popov to split the defence with a good pass.  But Phil Jagielka did very well to time his tackle to perfection to snuff out the danger.

James Milner had one run and shot and Walcott saw a mazy dribble produce a corner as England hit back.  The passing between Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry and especially Rooney was brilliant at times and Milner again went close with a deflected shot four minutes from the interval.  England's general dominance deserved another goal before the break and they nearly got it when Walcott's dangerous cross was well saved as Defoe challenged.

Hart's performance in goal was a pleasure to watch.  What a treat it is to see an England goalkeeper enjoying playing for England again.  His handling was excellent and everything he did was done with a calm assurance.  His confidence knows no boundaries and it is gradually rubbing off on all the teammates in front of him.

After the break England began slowly and in fact Bulgaria had a ten minute spell that all but produced an equaliser.  Bojinov missed a good chance when well placed and there was a certain air of sloppiness amongst the otherwise excellent back four.  A long clearance by Hart then almost produced the goal the fans wanted.  Defoe headed the ball to Rooney and the Manchester United star moved forward and tried an exquisite lob, which Mihaylov did well to touch over the bar.  Two minutes later and Popov had the best chance of the match for Bulgaria, but pulled his shot just wide with Hart, for once, beaten.

Just after this Michael Dawson fell awkwardly and damaged his knee badly.  He had to be stretchered from the field and Gary Cahill was given his first cap as his replacement.  Dawson's injury looked bad and one hopes it is not as serious as it looked.

On the hour mark there was a sixty second passage of play that settled the result.  Petrov pulled the ball back and Yankov smashed a shot straight at Hart.  The goalkeeper could only parry it away but the ball fell for the ever-willing Barry.  Barry passed to Gerrard and England broke at speed.  The captain found Rooney who then made another superbly timed pass to Defoe, who scored with a shot through the keeper's legs.  It was a classic breakaway goal and the match was effectively over. 

England now pushed forward again and Cahill almost reached a Gerrard free-kick at the far post.  Bulgaria were not quite out of it and Rangelov's shot was again superbly saved by Hart, with Cahill cleverly blocking the follow up shot.  By now the match was opening up and Rooney was again the provider as Walcott fired carelessly over the bar.  Rooney was playing deep and picking the ball up in various areas of the pitch, he was acting as an extra midfield player and the Bulgarians didn't quite know how to deal with him.  Rooney's passing was wonderful all night and the player who has suffered much unfair criticism had an outstanding game.  On 76 minutes Gerrard fired in a shot which Mihaylov saved, and then scooped the ball away as Defoe closed in sensing his hat-trick.

England were now well on top and a superb move involving Cole, Rooney and Milner ended with substitute Adam Johnson shooting just wide.  Then Defoe went close again before another good passing move between Milner, Defoe and Rooney ended with the latter teeing up Adam Johnson to cut inside and fire home number three.  It was his first goal for England, and boy, did he look delighted.  With four minutes to go England put the icing on the cake when Barry's quickly taken free-kick sent Rooney away on another surging run.  At just the right moment he released a pass to Defoe and the Tottenham striker crashed home a brilliant goal for a deserved hat-trick.

So, job done and England now move on to a difficult away game in Basle against Switzerland.  If England can break from defence as well there as they did here at Wembley against Bulgaria then another good result is on the cards.  Without getting too carried away the future is looking good as this young team continue to grow together.

Source Notes

BBC Sport
TheFA.com
UEFA.com
ITV.com/football
SkySports.com
UEFA.com
Mike Payne - football historian and contributor
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CG