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Top of the Match
Steven Gerrard
England
England
Steven Gerrard
England
England
Flop of the Match
Frank Lampard
England
England
Phil Jagielka
England
England
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating England 2-1 Hungary: Magic Steven Gerrard Brace Restores Some Pride In Three Lions
New generation exhibited, but old face makes the difference...
By Michael Landon
Fabio Capello's rebuilding process for the Three Lions was started on Wednesday night after England beat Hungary 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.
It nearly wasn't that way however, with Hungary taking the lead through a Phil Jagielka own goal. But Gerrard lifted the gloom with a fantastic brace to ensure a comeback victory for Capello's altered side.
There was a lot of talk about the 'new generation' before kick off but Capello's starting line-up featured a lot of the faces familiar with England's doomed World Cup campaign. Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney were all offered up as bait for the Wembley boo-boys.
The presence of World Cup absentees Phil Jagielka, Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson freshened-up some of the staleness, and Capello's formation did have something of a freshness about it, with Rooney operating as a lone striker ahead of captain Gerrard. A formation which was never used in South Africa.
England started the game displaying a hint of understandable tension, some settling play with the ball being played around the defence gave the Wembley crowd ample opportunity to voice their discontent. Aside from a smattering of boos, the expected backlash did not materialise. In fact the crowd were cheering loudly after less than five minutes, after Rooney had put the ball in the back of the net after being fed through by Gerrard. The rapid change in crowd reception proved to be short-lived though, with the linesman correctly raising his flag to rule the goal offside.
The early pressure from the Three Lions was impressive, and for a second time it appeared Capello's men had scored when the Hungarian net was made to ripple. A good corner by Gerrard wasn't dealt with and Jagielka shot at close range, but the ball zoomed past the wrong side of the post and the visitors were let off.
There was a zip and purpose about England's early play, something that was clearly missing in Africa several weeks ago, and Walcott set up Adam Johnson next with a mazy run into the box before squaring the ball across goal. The Man City man ran onto it but he was leaning back when he let fly with his foot and the ball flew high and wide.
A momentary glimpse of any threat that the once magical Magyars possess was offered when Balazs Dzsudzsak turned Terry on the edge of the box and shot just wide of Hart's goal.
Walcott was seeing a lot of joy running into space down the right channel with the laboured Vilmos Vanczak giving the Arsenal youngster too much space but his delivery was often wasteful.
Down the centre of the pitch England were nearly gifted a goal when Gerrard was allowed to sprint through on goal after a simple pass caught the Hungarian back-line out, but goalkeeper
Gabor Kiraly was alert enough to dash out and clear his lines.
Hungary were second best but crucially they had not been breached at the back and in another rare foray forward, Zoltan Gera gave Hart something to do in goal with a shot that was caught easily.
Down the other end, England were given another chance after Walcott was fouled outside the box to the right of goal. Gerrard stepped up and went for goal with a dipping shot, but Kiraly was able to tip it over the bar.
Capello's side should have been ahead by now, but the Hungarians were determined to hold on until half-time. A long range shot from Rooney just before the interval seemed to indicate a touch of frustration with the Three Lions unable to find the breakthough, but their play in the first 45 minutes was generally good.
HALF-TIME: ENGLAND 0-0 HUNGARY
The second half saw Capello introduce a raft of changes, with Bobby Zamora, Kieran Gibbs and Michael Dawson each given England debuts, with Ashley Young also getting half a game. Walcott, Cole, Lampard and Terry were all given a reprieve. Or a rest.
The introduction of Young saw Adam Johnson switched to the left in a more standard 4-4-2, and the Aston Villa man almost made an immediate impact, curling into the near post after being fed through by Barry, but Zoltan Liptak was there to head a dangerous ball away.
Next another of the new boys threatened an impact on the game. Glen Johnson's ball allowed Zamora to ghost right in behind the Hungarian defence but the Fulham man was quickly closed down and cornered and could only pass tamely to Rooney on the edge of box. The striker had little option but to square to Gerrard who blasted well over and the move was squandered.
Not long after and a mistake that brought back all the memories of England's shambolic defending in the World Cup knockout round occured.
This time it was a new face to commit the error. A clipped ball was allowed to bounce beyond Dawson who went to ground and easily allowed Gera to breeze past him. The Fulham man squared the ball left to Vladimir Komen whose cross into the box deflects off Dawson and is adjudged to have crossed the line. The decision looked dubious however, with Jagielka appearing to scoop the ball to safety just in time.
Whether the call was correct or not, England were behind and needed to find the zip from the first half to save face.
Adam Johnson was trying to rally his side with lively bursts from the right channel. A good passing move between him and Rooney on the edge of the box almost saw the Three Lions claw back straight away, if only Johnson had not let his shooting boots at home.
England were looking limp and tactics needed to be changed. Rooney was then brought off and Milner came on, the Manchester United talisman suffering the wrath of a crowd in shock that their side were behind.
Then the comeback started. Gibbs was relieved of the ball by the Hungarian defence to the left of the goal but the ball fell to Gerrard, who took a touch and absolutely leathered it into the back of the net. It appeared a great deal of frustration was loosed the way the captain struck the ball and even better was to come from the man not long after.
Hungary looked to be reeling for the first time and they easily allowed the ball to be worked up to Young on the left of their box with the crowd now actually behind the home side.
Young passed into the box to Gerrard who was surrouned by Hungarians. But that did not stop him from jinking past three defenders and stabbing the ball past Kiraly at the near post.
It was a fantastic goal which finally got the fans on England's side. Capello's men were bouyed, and regained some of their confidence. Zamora nearly had a goal on his England debut minutes later, his shot just whistling above the crossbar.
If Rooney was booed, Gerrard's brace meant he was allowed some cheers when he was substituted after a man of the match performance and it was young prodigy Jack Wilshere who would take his place.
There was nearly a sting in the tale as the game wound to an end. Gera again got behind the England back-line but one-on-one, he blasted straight at Hart and ensured Capello's rebuilding process got off to a positive start.
It nearly wasn't that way however, with Hungary taking the lead through a Phil Jagielka own goal. But Gerrard lifted the gloom with a fantastic brace to ensure a comeback victory for Capello's altered side.
| Bet: | Returns: | Norway £32.00 | Draw £32.50 | England £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Norway £35.00 | Draw £32.50 | England £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Norway £34.00 | Draw £33.00 | England £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Norway £35.00 | Draw £33.00 | England £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Norway £30.50 | Draw £32.00 | England £21.80 |
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There was a lot of talk about the 'new generation' before kick off but Capello's starting line-up featured a lot of the faces familiar with England's doomed World Cup campaign. Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney were all offered up as bait for the Wembley boo-boys.
The presence of World Cup absentees Phil Jagielka, Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson freshened-up some of the staleness, and Capello's formation did have something of a freshness about it, with Rooney operating as a lone striker ahead of captain Gerrard. A formation which was never used in South Africa.
England started the game displaying a hint of understandable tension, some settling play with the ball being played around the defence gave the Wembley crowd ample opportunity to voice their discontent. Aside from a smattering of boos, the expected backlash did not materialise. In fact the crowd were cheering loudly after less than five minutes, after Rooney had put the ball in the back of the net after being fed through by Gerrard. The rapid change in crowd reception proved to be short-lived though, with the linesman correctly raising his flag to rule the goal offside.
The early pressure from the Three Lions was impressive, and for a second time it appeared Capello's men had scored when the Hungarian net was made to ripple. A good corner by Gerrard wasn't dealt with and Jagielka shot at close range, but the ball zoomed past the wrong side of the post and the visitors were let off.
There was a zip and purpose about England's early play, something that was clearly missing in Africa several weeks ago, and Walcott set up Adam Johnson next with a mazy run into the box before squaring the ball across goal. The Man City man ran onto it but he was leaning back when he let fly with his foot and the ball flew high and wide.
A momentary glimpse of any threat that the once magical Magyars possess was offered when Balazs Dzsudzsak turned Terry on the edge of the box and shot just wide of Hart's goal.
Walcott was seeing a lot of joy running into space down the right channel with the laboured Vilmos Vanczak giving the Arsenal youngster too much space but his delivery was often wasteful.
Down the centre of the pitch England were nearly gifted a goal when Gerrard was allowed to sprint through on goal after a simple pass caught the Hungarian back-line out, but goalkeeper
Gabor Kiraly was alert enough to dash out and clear his lines.
Hungary were second best but crucially they had not been breached at the back and in another rare foray forward, Zoltan Gera gave Hart something to do in goal with a shot that was caught easily.
Down the other end, England were given another chance after Walcott was fouled outside the box to the right of goal. Gerrard stepped up and went for goal with a dipping shot, but Kiraly was able to tip it over the bar.
Capello's side should have been ahead by now, but the Hungarians were determined to hold on until half-time. A long range shot from Rooney just before the interval seemed to indicate a touch of frustration with the Three Lions unable to find the breakthough, but their play in the first 45 minutes was generally good.
HALF-TIME: ENGLAND 0-0 HUNGARY
Captain fantastic | Gerrard inspires second-half comeback
The second half saw Capello introduce a raft of changes, with Bobby Zamora, Kieran Gibbs and Michael Dawson each given England debuts, with Ashley Young also getting half a game. Walcott, Cole, Lampard and Terry were all given a reprieve. Or a rest.
The introduction of Young saw Adam Johnson switched to the left in a more standard 4-4-2, and the Aston Villa man almost made an immediate impact, curling into the near post after being fed through by Barry, but Zoltan Liptak was there to head a dangerous ball away.
Next another of the new boys threatened an impact on the game. Glen Johnson's ball allowed Zamora to ghost right in behind the Hungarian defence but the Fulham man was quickly closed down and cornered and could only pass tamely to Rooney on the edge of box. The striker had little option but to square to Gerrard who blasted well over and the move was squandered.
Not long after and a mistake that brought back all the memories of England's shambolic defending in the World Cup knockout round occured.
This time it was a new face to commit the error. A clipped ball was allowed to bounce beyond Dawson who went to ground and easily allowed Gera to breeze past him. The Fulham man squared the ball left to Vladimir Komen whose cross into the box deflects off Dawson and is adjudged to have crossed the line. The decision looked dubious however, with Jagielka appearing to scoop the ball to safety just in time.
Whether the call was correct or not, England were behind and needed to find the zip from the first half to save face.
Adam Johnson was trying to rally his side with lively bursts from the right channel. A good passing move between him and Rooney on the edge of the box almost saw the Three Lions claw back straight away, if only Johnson had not let his shooting boots at home.
England were looking limp and tactics needed to be changed. Rooney was then brought off and Milner came on, the Manchester United talisman suffering the wrath of a crowd in shock that their side were behind.
Then the comeback started. Gibbs was relieved of the ball by the Hungarian defence to the left of the goal but the ball fell to Gerrard, who took a touch and absolutely leathered it into the back of the net. It appeared a great deal of frustration was loosed the way the captain struck the ball and even better was to come from the man not long after.
Hungary looked to be reeling for the first time and they easily allowed the ball to be worked up to Young on the left of their box with the crowd now actually behind the home side.
Young passed into the box to Gerrard who was surrouned by Hungarians. But that did not stop him from jinking past three defenders and stabbing the ball past Kiraly at the near post.
It was a fantastic goal which finally got the fans on England's side. Capello's men were bouyed, and regained some of their confidence. Zamora nearly had a goal on his England debut minutes later, his shot just whistling above the crossbar.
If Rooney was booed, Gerrard's brace meant he was allowed some cheers when he was substituted after a man of the match performance and it was young prodigy Jack Wilshere who would take his place.
There was nearly a sting in the tale as the game wound to an end. Gera again got behind the England back-line but one-on-one, he blasted straight at Hart and ensured Capello's rebuilding process got off to a positive start.
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Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 2 |
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3 | 1 |
|
Roberto Soldado
Striker Spain |
3 | 0 |
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Dong-Gook Lee
Striker South Korea |
2 | 0 |
|
Michael Mifsud
Striker Malta |
2 | 0 |
