Match Summary

England Team

Estonia Team

England approached their final European Championship group matches with a determined attitude to try and keep their 100% record intact. The match against Estonia at Wembley proved a fairly comfortable win in the end. The visitors were well-drilled and organised and their experienced players revelled in the atmosphere of our premier stadium. For England it was a case of how to break them down to score. Once they did that it was pretty much a done deal.

England forced several early corners and from one Gary Cahill knockdown, Theo Walcott hit a first-time volley that goalkeeper Mihkel Aksalu did well to see, let alone save. Then on 12 minutes good work by the lively Adam Lallana set up the marauding Ross Barkley, who burst into the box, but then lost his footing at the wrong moment. There was suspicion of a nudge but that was waved away by the referee. Two minutes later and a Ryan Bertrand cross was pushed out by Aksalu straight to Barkley. The midfield player's instant shot was on target, but again it was saved by the keeper.

England were dominating possession and Joe Hart was restricted to a few back passes as Estonia showed no inclination to attack. Instead the visitors relied on an organised defence that frustrated England's attackers. England's task was to find a way round this problem. Their approach play was good but there was not enough telling passes to stretch Estonia. Their attacks continued though as Lallana had a low shot deflected over the bar, and then Cahill headed wide from a corner. A rare venture to the other end saw James Milner block a shot by Taijo Teniste and then Konstantin Vassiljev put in a fine cross which Chris Smalling did exceptionally well to deflect over his own crossbar.

As the half progressed England began to find a little more space as Barkley and Lallana continued to impress. Harry Kane almost broke through on 35 minutes and then Walcott shot hust wide four minutes later. Walcott tried again two minutes after that and so nearly opened the scoring, but once again his shot flew wide. Finally, in the last minute of the half England scored the goal their play had deserved. Good play down the left involving Smalling, Raheem Sterling and Bertrand saw the ball eventually find Barkley. This time the midfielder did find that elusive incisive pass. Walcott delayed his run to perfection as Barkley's superb delivery found the Arsenal man in behind the Estonia back four. Before the goalkeeper or defenders could react, Walcott cleverly guided the ball into the net. It was a splendid goal and the half ended with England in a commanding position.

The pattern of play did not change after the restart as England pushed forward to try and seal the match. Sterling hit a shot just too high and then on 50 minutes and excellent free-kick routine almost brought a second goal. Milner squared the ball to Lallana and his fierce shot again brought the best out of Aksalu. Kane followed up but Estonia cleared the loose ball away from danger. Four minutes later brilliant play by Barkley so nearly brought the goal of the campaign so far. He jinked his way past two defenders with some nifty footwork but then fired his shot just the wrong side of the far post.

Another fingertip save stopped Barkley once more but with five minutes to go England settled the result with another good goal. After all the intricate passing and possession that had gone before, England resorted to route one for this goal, but it was no less effective. Hart's long kick was headed on by Kane to the ever-willing Jamie Vardy, a substitute on for Walcott. Vardy raced clear down the left and hit the perfect low cross into the path of Sterling who rammed home number two.

Dele Alli of Spurs, came on for a debut, replacing man of the match Barkley, and England coasted through the remaining minutes to record yet another victory in the group matches. The 'Perfect Ten' match was now the target when England visit Lithuania in three days time.
   

Source Notes