Categories
England's last five opening group matches
We saw plenty of examples of England getting opened up against Germany at the World Cup, now it's time to analyse how they tend to open up qualifying campaigns for international tournaments, by recapping their last five starts...
World Cup 2002 - England 0-1 Germany
Things don't get much worse than a loss in the final game at your famous stadium to the team you consider your biggest rivals, so it was no huge shock that Kevin Keegan quit after Dietmar Hamann's winner. Luckily, Sven-Goran Eriksson rode in to save the day and England wound up topping the group.
Euro 2004 - Slovakia 1-2 England
Michael Owen snatched three points for Sven's men in the 82nd minute of a match that they trailed with less than half an hour remaining thanks to a strike from goal-shy then-Middlesbrough forward Szilard Nemeth. This result was overshadowed by a poor 2-2 home draw with Macedonia days later.
World Cup 2006 - Austria 2-2 England
The Three Lions looked set to make a rare convincing start, as goals from Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard (yes, contributing positively while playing in tandem) had them flying. The hosts scored twice late on though, the second thanks to a David James howler, as things swiftly turned sour.
Euro 2008 - England 5-0 Andorra
And here is the proof that getting underway with a resounding win isn't always a sign of great things to come. England's biggest opening day success of the last decade came on the one occasion that they failed to qualify, as braces for Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe got Steve McClaren off to a flyer.
World Cup 2010 - Andorra 0-2 England
Fabio Capello's first competitive game as an international boss was an underwhelming experience as the visitors took 49 minutes to break down minnows Andorra. Half-time substitute Joe Cole got both the goals, yet would hardly feature again as England triumphed in their next seven group matches.
So there you have it, even when they win on matchday one, England usually fail to impress. They are a [1.34] lay against Bulgaria tomorrow night, while an uninspiring half-time draw/full-time win is [4.6].
Published: 2 Sep 2010
Leave a comment