Well it ended up 0-0 for England against Macedonia, and really they should/could have won it but Macedonia deserved praise for making it real hard for England to get that all important 3 points.
Amazingly enough the best chance of the whole game belonged to man Utd captain Gary Neville who blasted his shot into the crowd instead of having a little more composure, but than again he is a rightback not a foward so i guess he can be forgiven.
Neville said after the game that he should have taken his chance or at least pull it back for Wayne Rooney and said in the end it was a costly mistake.
‘In games such as Saturday’s, you might only get one chance,’ he observed. ‘That was the big one and I should have taken it.‘It was a fantastic opportunity. It almost felt like an open goal in front of me. The ball did sit up a little bit but at the very least I should have hit the target. I could have also squared it to Wayne Rooney, although I didn’t see him until after I shot.
‘It is very disappointing because if I had scored, I would have made it more comfortable for us and they would have had to change the way they approached the game.’
Ledley King made hs first appearance for England since March 2006 as Rio Ferdinand was ruled out with a back injury that may also cost him his place in the game against Croatia.
Macedonia really impressed me with their brand of footy and now i can see why Mcclaren had preached caution before the game as the Macedonians approached the game with tremendous flair and confidence which could have suprised some if not all of the England players.
Rooney was again unimpressive although he did have some slight moment of brilliance but that ain’t enough in games like these.
Mcclaren may very well opt to play Jermaine Defoe against Croatia alongside Peter Crouch and play Rooney behind the two as Steven Gerrard will miss the Croatia trip after picking up a yellow card which meant he will miss that game.
The lost of Owen Hargreaves to injury has slightly dented England’s rhythm too as his replacement Michael Carrick is more of a creative player rather than a defensive minded one and that is another point to ponder for Mcclaren, does he bring in Scott Parker, a defensive minded player, in their next game or does he stick with Carrick in midfield?.Knowing Mcclaren style he may just leave it as it is without much tinkering.
Whatever team they choose to display in Croatia and whatever formation, only one thing is clear, they need a win in the next game and indeed Croatia will be the first real England test under Steve Mcclaren.
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That’s what you get when you underestimate Macedonia