For the first time in South Africa, the world got a glimpse of the 'real England' on Wednesday evening, as they booked their Round of 16 berth with a narrow victory over Slovenia.
Accused of 'sleepwalking' their way through last Friday’s insipid stalemate with Algeria, England finally came to life in this FIFA World Cup™, securing their progress through Jermain Defoe’s 23rd-minute volley.
There was no tactical revolution - Capello sticking to his favoured 4-4-2 and introducing Defoe alongside Rooney - but there was a return to virtues for which the squad are famed.
In doing so, England gave the perfect response to manager Fabio Capello’s call to arms, as Steven Gerrard explained. Speaking to FIFA, the England captain said the team had delivered “what the manager asked. He wanted us to show the England spirit, he wanted us to press and be very aggressive and also show our qualities at the right times.”
If there were questions about the spirit in the England camp in the build-up to this contest in Port Elizabeth, they were answered with a performance high on commitment and featuring no little quality. Requiring the victory to advance, England took control through Defoe’s volleyed strike and finally lived up to their billing as one of the teams to fear at this FIFA World Cup.
source:http://www.fifa.com
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