Enlgand 1 Germany 2
The full-backs: arguably England's best player was Micah Richards. He displayed nimble footwork, and athleticism & provided the assist for Lampard's goal. The German debutant, Pander, scored a cracking winner from long-range.
I think James should now be given his chance ahead of Robinson in goal. Robbo has just made too many howlers recently, & his current lack of confidence is affecting his judgement.
England fans will hope Owen is back to his sharpest for the qualifier v Israel on September 8. He missed a couple a half-chances last night that he would have gobbled up on top form.
A goal down at half time, a long-range effort from SW-P which Lehman saved comfortably, low to his right, was the best England had to show for their second-half efforts.
Lampard answered his critics & played well. One writer (Matthew Norman in the Evening Standard) dismissed him as a 'mercenary' this week, but his commitment to the England cause couldn't be faulted last night. As well as scoring, he tracked back diligently & won his share of tackles in midfield.
The latest FIFA rankings show all the traditional major European powers (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal) ahead of England, who are 12th. Brazil are 1st. Surprisingly, Argentina are ranked one ahead of World Cup holders Italy (3rd). Strange when you think that Argentina lost in the QFs, but then the FIFA ranking system does use a four-year (weighted) ranking period. See the link to FIFA's site below.
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html
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