Internationals / Richard Aikman / 13 November 2011 /

Yes, it was just a friendly, but there's still plenty of pointers we can take from England's 1-0 win over Spain as Euro 2012 begins to focus minds. Richard Aikman pulls together the salient points from the Wembley win...

"We'll draw conclusions and learn lessons from this and we'll be ready come the big event next summer," is the sort of stock phrase most of us were expecting Fabio Capello to trot out, having lost to a superior Spain side at Wembley. And yet those were the words of Span coach Vicente Del Bosque after a surprise defeat that some punters backed at odds of [7.4].

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and the fact that Spain have come undone in recent friendlies away from home might have served as a warning. La Roja lost 2-1 to Italy in a non-competitive encounter in August, and last season were heavily beaten 4-1 and 4-0 by Argentina and Portugal respectively.

But don't let's kid ourselves. England, who are [1.76] to beat Sweden on Tuesday, may have given a battling display on Saturday but they scored from their only attempt on target - and from a wrongly awarded set-piece at that. So what did we learn from last night's match?

Rooney is the daddy
Anyone who believes that Rooney should not go to next summer's finals can forget about England progressing beyond the quarter-finals. Without the Manchester United forward, England were utterly guileless in attack and the gap between the lone Darren Bent and his midfield team-mates was a yawning chasm. Bent hardly helped his cause by forgetting to make any runs for Frank Lampard or James Milner to exploit, but the Aston Villa striker - who is [40.0] to finish the season as the Premier League's top goalscorer - is used to service from the flanks, and there simply wasn't any. Theo Walcott may be fast but speed is wasted on him. Instead of taking on full-backs he repeatedly checks inside and kills all forward momentum. The deployment from the start of Bent's former club-mate Stewart Downing might have been a better option? England were crying out for the imagination and penetration only Rooney - [5.6] to top score - can provide.

Parker penned in
It has been said that England lack strength in depth but when it comes to holding midfielders they boast countless options. With Jack Wilshere out injured, Parker has seized his chance to shine. Last night he was a tireless performer, working like a Trojan, running and tackling, chivvying and chasing, and patrolling the pitch as though his life depended on it. Time and again he was on hand to make a crucial intervention or block when Spain's passing carousel seemed certain to make its breakthrough. Parker brings a defensive discipline and tactical awareness so often missing in England midfielders; he was constantly demanding the ball before looking up to pick a way out of Spain's full court press by selecting the correct pass. Only once was he caught out overplaying at the back, but he can be forgiven one lapse in an otherwise peerless performance.

Goodison backbone
By Sir Alex Ferguson's own admission Rio Ferdinand's legs have gone, which means he can no longer cover for the teak tough John Terry, whose legs were never there in the first place. Capello was right to experiment with a central defensive pairing - and neither Phil Jagielka nor Joleon Lescott disappointed. Facing such a free-flowing, fast-moving passing machine is a nightmare for any defender, let alone those perhaps more willing to embrace a more physical challenge. Yet they stood tall, stayed organised and only towards the end of a relentless second-half onslaught did they lapse long enough to allow David Villa and Cesc Fabregas the chance to score. Full credit to Capello for reuniting former Everton team-mates who know each other inside-out.

Passing concern
It is perfectly understandable to avoid taking on the world champions at their own game, but it does not make it any less depressing when you see Joe Hart thumping the ball in the air as far as the opponent's goalkeeper ahead of another 45-pass Spanish move. England were set up to negate the world champions with a midfield packed with defensive midfielders - including defender Phil Jones. Short term it paid off, and perhaps Capello, who knows Euro 2012 is his last hurrah, believes his only chance of winning the Henri Delauney trophy [11.5] is to frustrate a good team and hope for the best in a one-off knockout situation. But in the long term England can never aspire to be among the very best unless they begin embracing a passing game.

All is not lost
We must remember that although England were outclassed in everything but the result, there is room for optimism. Aside from the young guns coming through - and too little was seen of Jack Rodwell, Kyle Walker and Danny Welbeck to produce a fair assessment - encouragement can be drawn as much from those who didn't play as those who did. In Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere England were missing their three best players. Imagine those Three Lions starting in a quarter-final next year and Capello's men might not look quite so second-rate after all.

England Quarter-Final XI, Euro 2012, June 2012
Hart, Johnson, Jagielka, Lescott, Cole; Walcott, Parker, Wilshere, Gerrard; Rooney, Sturridge.

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