England 1-0 Ukraine; Hodgson: We exceeded expectations
-
England 1-0 Ukraine
Hodgson: We exceeded expectations
Coach pleased as England top group
England were boosted by Rooney's return© PA Photos
Roy Hodgson said he was surprised to see England navigate the early matches of Euro 2012 so smoothly after his team sealed top spot in Group D with a 1-0 defeat of Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine.
Wayne Rooney, returning from a two-match suspension, scored the only goal of the game to send England through to a quarter-final clash with Italy on Sunday.
England were fortunate not to be pegged back in the second period when John Terry appeared to clear Marko Devic's shot after the ball had already crossed the line. But on the whole, Hodgson felt that England were good value for the triumph in only his third competitive game in charge of the side.
Asked if the team had exceeded his expectations, Hodgson said to ITV: "Yes, absolutely. I think [the team] have been really good from the start. And if someone had said we were going to win the group, I don't think there would have been too many takers - most people seemed to think we wouldn't get out of the group.
"We've won [the group] on points, rather than goal difference, and that gives us an extra day's rest which we're badly in need of, because it was an extra-hard game for us tonight. This was an away game with a capital 'a'. There were 60,000 in the stadium, and only 4,000 brave Englishmen. So we didn't have much going for us in that respect.
"I thought it was a really good defensive, disciplined performance - and we needed a bit of luck where the ball may have crossed the line, and we got that luck and were able to carry on and win the match.
"We weren't showing enough composure on the ball when we broke out, and I think that's something we can work on and improve. But this is a fledgling team, we've not been working together for very long, and we are working on our game. Showing composure in attacking areas is always the most difficult area of football."
England captain Steven Gerrard believes his side are slowly hitting form at the right time.
Gerrard provided the assist as the returning Wayne Rooney headed home from point-blank range for the winner just after half-time and he feels an unheralded squad can continue to improve. England now face Italy in the quarter-final on Sunday.
He told ITV1: "It was a difficult group and the idea was to try and win it. No-one believed in us at the start but we're gaining momentum at the right time.
"I don't think tonight's performance was fantastic, but we stuck together, got the job done and won 1-0 against a good team. We've been criticised in the past maybe for not turning up, under-performing and we can take that, we're man enough. But you saw a reaction. When you get criticised it's not nice and you have to react by playing better and I think that's what we did.''
Rooney was visibly buoyed by his return to the side.
"Obviously I was delighted with the win and to score,'' said the Manchester United man. "I haven't scored at a major tournament for a while (since 2004) so it was nice to get a goal which won us the game.
"We stuck in well at times against a difficult crowd and overall we deserved the win.''
Asked how he felt about Italy in the next round, Rooney was more eager to stress his own side's qualities.
"I said before it doesn't matter (who the quarter-final opponents are). The main thing was to get through the group and to finish top,'' he added. "We know our qualities and what we're capable of. We've worked hard, done a lot of tactical play in training. We're difficult to beat and I don't think any team will fancy playing us."
-
Don't tell me before the tournament, he was expecting England to be knocked in the group stages.
That's why he decided to get players to pump high balls away from their own goalmouth.
-
Anyway, they were lucky to get the 1-0 win.
It could have been 0-0 if Rooney was not at the right place at the right time.
-
what was the goal line assistant doing? how could he missed the ukraine goal?
-
it should been a 1-1 draw
and ukraine should through -
Originally posted by dragg:
what was the goal line assistant doing?
how could he missed the ukraine goal?That still wont make ukraine go to the quarter finals, they need a win. But then the match would be make more interesting if it was counted.
-
So this makes up for the non-goal during the World Cup finals 2 years ago?
-
Cannot stand English players. All the big talk before and after a match. I hope they lose to the Italians.
-
Arrivederci England. It was in Italy, in 1990, that penalties first became a byword for national disappointment and it was to Italy, in 2012, that England made their customary exit. This was a familiar theme for England, going out to the first fine team they have faced in the knockout phase of a major competition, and a variation of a well-known pattern: first half good, second half not so good, extra-time excruciating and penalties positively painful. The wait will be extended from 46 to 48 years of hurt but, as in the last two World Cups, their removal was a merciful release. In 2006 and 2010, underachieving egos got their just desserts; in 2012, an out-passed, outclassed team were spared a potentially embarrassing reunion with Germany. The woeful Ashley Young and the rather better Ashley Cole were the culprits from the spot but, if England were unable to find the Italian net from 12 yards, it was symbolic: they were unable to locate team-mates from a variety of distances. As Roy Hodgson pointed out, England departed undefeated. They have been hard to beat and, at times, hard to watch. A hotchpotch of a team, thrown together at the last minute by a manager parachuted into the impossible job have shown spirit, exhibited an uncharacteristic unity, made some friends with their modesty and were defiant in defence. In short, England have excelled at everything except the most important aspects of the football – principally getting and keeping the ball. Yet this is the most fundamental failing of all, a reason why the quarter-finals tend to represent England’s glass ceiling. Technically and tactically, they are European football’s moneyed dinosaurs, still clinging to an outdated ideology. Any side playing 4-4-2 can be outnumbered and outmanoeuvred in midfield. England duly were: humiliated by Mesut Ozil’s incessant, intelligent movement two years ago and Andrea Pirlo’s enduring, elegiac class now. “He was very good,� said Hodgson afterwards. “I have worked with him in the past, I know what a good player he is.� That regard went unacknowledged on the pitch. Danny Welbeck is many things, but a man-marker is not one of them, especially when the man in question is one of the great passers of his generation. It was a criminal negligence that should have been punished before penalties. This is where Hodgson is most culpable. Two years ago, Fabio Capello recognised the failings of 4-4-2 and switched for the remainder of his reign, only for his successor to reinstate the system he first deployed in Sweden in 1976. It is where, too, the suggestion that England had tried appointing Italians and tried impersonating them falls down: it is hard to imagine an Italian side proving as poor tactically and allowing the opposition’s outstanding talent to roam unchecked. The gameplan needs to be redrawn; the philosophy changed. Hodgson is unfortunate that five of England’s seven finest central midfielders were absent – Jack Wilshere, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry injured, Michael Carrick and the English Pirlo, Paul Scholes, in international retirement – and, running out of players he could trust, he persisted with the lionhearted Scott Parker long after his legs had gone. The sight of Jordan Henderson would have been worrying but he was sufficiently anonymous that few noticed him. from soccernet Hodgson’s appointment was so belated that the initial focus on organising the defence was sensible, but that does not excuse England’s deficiencies in attack. Young was a grave disappointment, James Milner a worthy long-distance runner but rarely a threat in the final third and Wayne Rooney showing signs that his two-match suspension took a toll. He looked rusty and, whereas his old ally Cristiano Ronaldo is answering questions about his record on the major international stage, Rooney’s return remains poor. Apart from against Sweden, England rarely troubled opposing goalkeepers. They are yet to show that order can be married with dynamism, partly because they spent so little time with the ball. Only the valiant Steven Gerrard created consistently, in his finest tournament to date. That he will probably be denied a place in the team of the tournament shows the number of excellent midfielders; that none of his team-mates merit inclusion is a reminder that this is a limited group. Besides Gerrard; Glen Johnson, with a fine line in last-ditch interceptions; Joe Hart, busy but rarely beaten; and Parker, the despairing destroyer, acquitted themselves well. [Cole's penalty is saved by Buffon] Cole's penalty is saved by Buffon© PA Photos Yet there is a case for phasing out Parker, along with John Terry, who drags the England defence ever deeper, and all of the thirty-something contingent apart from Gerrard and Cole. They are not going to improve, whereas England need to. This is a tournament where fortune has favoured them but, if penalties are deemed a lottery, their luck ran out. There should be no hard-luck stories, only lessons. Hopefully the younger players in Poland and Ukraine – Welbeck, Andy Carroll, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones, Martin Kelly – will absorb some; hopefully, they will be joined by Wilshere and some of more of the next generation, equipped with an ethos that would enable England to prosper, rather than simply surviving. Because, while purposeless passing goes against the grain for the English, possession matters. The most worrying quote of the last three weeks came from Hodgson when he said he did not believe in possession statistics. He really should. All England should. Because without the ball, there is only so far a team can go.
-
England should be proud of how they couldn't keep hold of the ball this morning. No one could string a pass properly, Rooney, Milner, Young, Gerrard etc were very mediocre last night. Once they got the ball, they'd lose it within seconds. So confident in the premier league, suddenly like school boys in the game.
I would laugh to think that these players are worth millions of pounds. Tournament after tournament, England do not learn that all they are wearing is an undergarment.
Oh but that Pirlo penalty was class. Sheer class. Nevertheless, England should be proud of their well deserved loss.
-
can you believe hodgson thinks rooney is england's version of pele. please. rooney is way over-rated. he is definitely not among the all time greats of football.
-
Originally posted by dragg:
can you believe hodgson thinks rooney is england’s version of pele.
please. rooney is way over-rated. he is definitely not among the all time greats of football.
He said Glen Johnson could be one of the best too.