England proved too strong for little Andorra tonight, but their victory was far from impressive. Defensively they went untroubled and created many opportunities, but their quality in front of goal was worrying. That being said, there is no denying Fabio Capello has improved the spirit and attitude of the England camp, following the largely relaxed atmosphere of the two previous regimes. Their emphatic win against Andorra made it seven wins out of seven for Capello's professional England, who are the biggest enigma in World Football.
England's threat was evident within the opening minutes, and they could have been three up after five minutes. First, Gerrard made a trademark surging run past Rooney and Crouch, only to be foiled by an excellent last-ditch tackle. Less than a minute later, Rooney turned terrifically on the edge of the box and attempted to chip the Andorran goalkeeper off his line, but he was equal to the challenge. Next, it was Theo Walcott's turn to test Andorra's last line of defence, but he too came out second best, seeing his volley flicked away from close range. The ball treacled across the box and while it looked like Rooney was set to score, he managed to hit the crossbar, and not the net, with his instinctive header.
Soon, however, England would have their goal. Johnson had space and time to pick out his man in the middle; and pick him out he did, whipping his cross towards Rooney at the back post, who could not miss from six yards out. With just four minutes on the clock, this looked like it was going to be a one-way exhibition.
Things started to calm down after Rooney's goal. Peter Crouch had a free header in the tenth minute off a Beckham free kick, but could not find the target despite his lanky frame. Less than a minute after that, Gerrard tried his luck from range, but Andorra's best player was determined to spoil the England party, tipping the effort around the post for a corner.
England started to waste possession slightly, seeming a little too eager to further Andorra's woes. With twenty-five minutes on the clock, Rooney received the ball eight yards out, turned well, but skewed wide when it seemed easier to score.
Just as England were starting to go off the boil, they scored again. Johnson fed Walcott through down the right hand side, and he picked Lampard out in the middle. The Chelsea man took his shot first time, powering the ball low and hard into the net.
Robert Green had to open his eyes on a few minutes later, when Sergio Moreno thought he could test him from all of forty yards. His shot was high, wide and handsome, and was one of the extremely rare occasions Andorra had possession in the England half.
Five minutes before the interval, Rooney again proved himself a thorn in Andorra's side, ghosting through the opposition defence to beautifully divert Johnson's cross into the net. 3-0 England, and this could be a cricket score.
Ashley Young came on for Rooney, who was searching for a hat-trick, and could have grabbed a goal just after the break. Speeding into the box in typical fashion, Young opened his body up but lashed his shot wildly into the stands. Despite the friendly-feel to the game, England fans must be concerned with the lack of a clinical instinct in the team, as many chances seem to be squandered in every match they play.
This was evident moments later. Johnson, who was having a fantastic game, slipped Defoe in behind the Andorran defence, yet the Spurs striker fired across goal from a tight angle. A simple cut-back would have put Crouch in a position to score, yet it was another chance that came and went for England.
Young and Cole started to click impressively on the left wing, and it was a combination of the two that presented Defoe with a header on the fifty-fifth minute, but he could only glance it wide of the target. Had England been more clinical in front of goal, it could have been six at this point. Just moments later, Young again caused Andorra problems on their right, dinking the ball dangerously into the box. Crouch nearly made contact just yards in front of goal, but it eluded him as Andorra's goalkeeper came to claim, but spilled it to his defender's feet. Young has a knack of creating a nervousness in opposition defences.
Shortly after the hour mark, Frank Lampard shot from range, and the movement of the ball meant the Andorran shot-stopper could only parry the ball away; straight to Walcott. With the goal gaping, Walcott fired low and hard but his effort was denied.
Young, who was seeing an awful lot of the ball in the second half, raced down the wing and skipped past the left back, leaving him a free run at goal. Reaching the by-line, the Villa man slid the ball across the box, but the sea of bodies bundled the ball away from danger, somehow. As previously stated, he has the ability to create nervous moments for the opposition.
Beckham's short corner caught Andorra out with under twenty minutes to go. Johnson picked the ball up on the corner of the box, and picked out Jermaine Defoe in the middle, who rose to head home from eight yards and make it four. Less than three minutes later, Defoe had put his name on the score sheet again, and Beckham was involved again. His free kick was parried out to Defoe, who could not miss from close range.
On the eightieth minute, Crouch put Defoe in for his hat-trick, but as the moment of truth came, he miscued completely. Again, however, the Andorran 'keeper spilled and Crouch was lying in wait to make it six. The floodgates truly had opened now as the Wembley crowd finally found it's voice.
In typical Capello style, the match petered out as England made ball retention a priority in the last ten minutes. The result is not one that has massive implications on the International scene, but it does prove that Capello is the man for the job, and allows all England fans a stress-free summer. With that being said, there is still need for a clinical striker judging on tonight's performance, but Defoe and Rooney cannot have done themselves any harm.
Man of the Match: Johnson (9)
Involved in many of England's highlights as he provided a constant threat from the right side and linked up well with Walcott.
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