Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
LINEUPS:
Slovenia (442): Handanovic, Brecko, Jokic, Suler (Dzinic 45'), Cesar, Stevanovic, Koren (Krhin 71'), Birsa, Ljubijankic, Novakovic, Kirm
England (442): James, Johnson (Carragher 62'), Cole, Terry (King 51'), Upson, Barry, Lampard, Milner, Rooney (Carrick 79'), Defoe, Gerrard
England started out well in a very eventful opening half when Steven Gerrard, on his way to a second Man of the Match performance in the tournament, opened the scoring in the third minute of play when he got on the end of a Defoe cross. Jermaine Defoe was a constant bother for Slovenia, who started without the suspended Radosavijevic with Stevanovic taking his place, without getting on the scoresheet himself.
The second goal came from an unlikely source in an even more unlikely fashion. Matthew Upson collected the ball well outside of the area and sent a rocket into the back of the net from distance at an angle in the 17th minute. Five minutes later and the mood of the match changed when Millvoje Novakovic beat one man before a bad challenge put him on the ground and Ashley Cole heading for an early bath. But while Slovenia were seeking to break down the ten men of England a thunderous free kick by Frank Lampard made it 3-0 before the leaders stifled the remaining half.
The second half was all Slovenian pressure and this led to an early penalty to get them back into the game. Lampard fouled Andraz Kirm just inside the box, earning both a booking for some afters, and Kirm held his nerve to pull one back. The heat was still on the shorthanded England team, especially when John Terry was subbed from the game with a slight knock, but their opponents wasted chance after chance. Kirm shot over and Ljubijankic had two bites at the cherry; his first was bravely blocked and the rebound deflected to the waiting arms of David James.
Slovenia 1 - 3 England
Goalscorers:
ENG Gerrard 3'
ENG Upson 17'
ENG Lampard 34'
SVN Kirm 48'
Discipline:
ENG Johnson 15'
ENG Cole 22' (off)
SVN Jokic 34'
ENG Lampard 47'
SVN Kirm 47'
SVN Stevanovic 60'
Man of the Match:
ENG Steven Gerrard
| GROUP C | ||||||||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| England | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 |
| United States | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Algeria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
No comments:
Post a Comment