Match Summary

England Team

Portugal Team

Rarely have I written so few notes for an England international football match, as I did for this dreary encounter with a Portugal side without Cristiano Ronaldo.  In the words of Eric, it was Dier!

The first ten minutes were devoid of any attacks as both sides seemed content to just keep possession and pass back and sideways, with hardly anything going forward.  On 11 minutes Kyle Walker intercepted a long pass and fed Harry Kane down the right.  He crossed into the middle but Wayne Rooney was annoyingly caught offside.  After 15 minutes play, still nothing was happening although there were signs of a quickening of the tempo.  Portugal's captain Ricardo Carvalho tried to wind up Deli Alli, and almost succeeded as the Tottenham player almost took the bait with a petulant reaction, something he will need to watch after the Euro's start.

The next 'highlight' was a dreadful pass by James Milner which gave Nani a clear run at goal.  Luckily for Milner, Nani's shooting was as bad as the rest of the half with the kick more suited to Twickenham!  It was pretty obvious by now that both sides were playing a similar game and cancelling each other out.  Rooney did finally put a header on target but it was easily saved by Rui Patricio, and then Kane and Walker combined to win a corner, oh joy!  Kane made a complete hash of the kick though.

Just after the half hour Kane's cross was good but there was nobody on the end of it, then the best move so far saw Walker's excellent shot well saved by the keeper.  At the other end Adrien Silva headed wide and still, the crowd was craving for something to happen.  On 35 minutes it did, but not as they expected.  Bruno Alves went out to the right as Kane looked to receive the ball.  The defender's challenge was dreadful, and nearly took Kane's head off!  The referee had no hesitation in producing a red card, and to be honest he had no choice.  Funnily enough, when Kane realised his head was still on his shoulders, he got up and began to chase the ball again, but by then it was too late for Alves.

All the pre-match planning of Roy Hodgson was completely ruined by the sending off, and all that was left for England was to try and go on to win the game.  Four minutes later and we were treated to a good England move involving Jamie Vardy, Rooney and Kane, with the latter's shot easily saved.  The passes forward were never good enough from England, often over-hit or under-hit, and Vardy must have been very frustrated by the 'service' he didn't receive.  Gary Cahill was booked for a foul on Nani, and that was it for a first-half where neither side wanted to take the game by the scruff of the neck.  The only incident of note was the sending off.

After the break, with Portugal down to ten men, it was pretty clear that the visitors had no intention of losing by forming two banks of four and challenging England to break them down.  Sadly, England struggled with that task, and a shot by Dier and a free-kick from Kane that was cleared was the most they could muster with 63 minutes on the clock.  You always know when play on the field is poor because that is when the Mexican Wave starts!

Roy Hodgson then brought on Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere for Vardy and Milner and at last there were signs that England might go forward a bit more often.  More substitutions from both sides as Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana came on for Kane and Rooney and on 81 minutes a snapshot from Sturridge went wide.  There was a warning for England as a rare breakaway saw Portugal's Ricardo Quaresma curl a shot only just wide of the far post.

Finally, on 86 minutes, the crowd were finally put out of their misery.  The ball went wide left to Sterling and for once the winger centred quickly and accurately, and there was Chris Smalling to glance home an excellent header, much to the visitor's annoyance.  England's defence had no other alarms, not surprisingly, and they continued their 100% record in these three pre-tournament matches.  However, what Hodgson gained from this match will take some understanding.  No matter, there will be people up and down the country who came to Wembley for this match and they will be able to say, "I was there!"

England did win though and I'm sure all the fans will join me in wishing the team the very best of luck in France.  Come on the Whites, do us proud!