Match Summary

England Team

Denmark Team

The Football Association are not the only ones to have had no defence for their actions this week.  England may have been inspired by the youthful endeavour of Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole as they both shouldered the goalscoring responsibility in the absence of Michael Owen at Old Trafford.  However, if England managed to cope in attack against Denmark without their leading scorer, there was no disguising the gaping defensive holes in the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell at the back.

This was Sven-Göran Eriksson's first defeat since the February setback against Australia, when a large number of fresh faces were similarly introduced in a friendly.  However, the two strikes by Martin J�rgensen and Jon-Dahl Tomasson's late winner still underlined the defensive weaknesses that, for of all England's youthful promise, continue to blight this side.  Eriksson's team twice seized the lead, firstly through Rooney - who also struck the woodwork - and then through Cole, but they were pegged back on both occasions before Tomasson's decisive strike.

And so a week in which the national team's build-up was marred by yet another controversy over squad selection ended in defeat.  Above all, this England side failed to match the inspiring example of their rugby counterparts, even if Cole and Rooney will both emerge with much credit from their exciting displays.  England had seized an early initiative in their World Cup second-round meeting against Denmark last summer, which ended in a 3-0 victory, and they were similarly on top early on at Old Trafford.  With just five minutes gone, Rooney attempted to play a pass through to Emile Heskey and when the ball rebounded into space, the teenager was onto it in a flash to rifle a shot off the underside of the crossbar.  This time, however, rather than making the most of their advantage, England showed the first signs of the lack of experience and pace at the back which would continue to afflict them thereafter.  Once Joe Cole had lost possession, Denmark broke with convićtion and J�rgensen was left in plenty of space to swivel and strike his shot past the exposed figure of David James.

Back came England. Almost immediately from the restart, Heskey knocked the ball down for Rooney to feed Cole and the midfielder buried his shot past Thomas S�rensen with aplomb.  For all of England's attacking pressure, however, they continued to look vulnerable to pace at the back.  Indeed, when Dennis Rommedahl burst past Matthew Upson, goalkeeper James was fortunate to escape with a yellow card for bringing him down just outside the penalty area.

England were forced into an early defensive change when an injury to Gary Neville brought on Glen Johnson for his debut, but still their problems continued.  When Upson produced a weak header, he tried to redeem his mistake but succeeded only in making matters worse as he dived headlong into a rash tackle that brought down substitute Daniel Jensen.  J�rgensen converted the ensuing penalty and while Frank Lampard switched roles with Cole, England were still struggling to rediscover the midfield impetus lacking in the absence of Steven Gerrard.

While Cole was making mistakes, however, he was also responsible for England's moments of invention and one exquisite touch and turn saw him bearing down on goal only for his shot to be blocked. 

Eriksson made four changes at the break, with Wayne Bridge, James Beattie, Phil Neville and Paul Robinson all entering the fray as Chelsea's contingent made up half of England's outfield players.  That did not make England immune to Danish pressure, with Kenneth Perez striking a shot just wide and Jesper Gr�nkj�r - a Chelsea player himself - only denied by Robinson's reflexes.  However, England threatened themselves, with Rooney thundering a shot against the far post and Cole also testing out S�rensen from long range.

S�rensen also rushed out to block Rooney's path as the Everton striker threatened to break through again, while Robinson had to be similarly alert to deny Perez.  Still the substitutions continued as debutant Scott Parker and Jermaine Jenas were both introduced and England were almost inevitably left disjointed by so many changes.  Lampard came close, while Danny Murphy struck the side-netting, but England were finally undone for a third time.  Robinson initially denied Peter L�venkrands but when he could then only parry another effort from J�rgensen, former Newcastle striker Tomasson was on hand to bury the rebound.

As long as England, just like the FA, learn their lessons from this week, all will be well, but there is no doubt that both have pressing issues to address in the coming months.

Source Notes

BBC Sport
TheFA.com
SkySports.com/football
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CG