England v Algeria – World Cup match preview

Posted on June 17th, 2010 | 95 Comments |

Come on England!
Come on England!
England head into their second game of the group stage of the World Cup on Friday evening looking to put a disappointing performance against the USA behind them.

A 1-1 draw with the States left an entire nation asking more questions about the various merits of the squad, and whether or not this England team would be able to live up to their label of third favourites for the tournament.

Since then a lot more football has been played, and it does appear that Englnad were not the only team who have failed to play to their potential thus far. That is not to say that the USA didn’t play well, but for a team that is supposed to be third favourites, England should really have been expected to win the game.

But that has gone and we now move on to Cape Town where we go toe to toe against the Desert Foxes of Algeria who face the possibility of their exit from the tournament being confirmed tomorrow evening if results earlier in the day go against them. Basically, if Slovenia beat the USA and Algeria lose against England then there is no way back for them and they will bow out of the tournament.

England will be boosted by the return of Gareth Barry to the team although the absence of Ledley King will ensure boss Fabio Capello has to have a think about who will take his place in defence along side John Terry. Jamie Carragher is tipped to get the nod although it remains to be seen if there will be a surprise inclusion such as Matthew Upson or Michael Dawson instead.

All eyes will be on who plays in goal for England after Rob Green’s calamitous error the other night, although it is expected that Green will persevered with. That should leave the England team looking something like;

EnglandGreen, Johnson, Terry, Carragher, A Cole, Lennon, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney Heskey.

Algeria should be no match for England, ‘should’ being the operative word as England again look to be stuttering when it really counts. Karim Ziani will have to be watched as he has the ability to pull the strings from the midlfield and open up an England defence that is a little lacking in pace.

Ironically, another calamity ‘keeper looks likely to retain his place in goal for Algeria as Faouzi Chaouchi looks to put his own blunder against Slovenia behind him, despite suffering from a knee injury sustained in training. Abdelkader Ghezzal will definately miss out as he serves a suspension for his red card picked in their last outing. They lined up against Slovenia with a team of;

AlgeriaChaouchi, Bougherra, Belhadj, Yahia, Halliche, Lacen, Ziani, Yebda, Foued Kadir, Djebbour, Matmour

England simply have to win in Cape Town tomorrow, and whilst I am at it, a draw in the other game between the USA and Slovenia wouldn’t go amiss either. We have seen how impressive ze Germans were in their first group game, although how much of that can be attributed to a poor Australia side on the night is open for debate.

Whatever happens, if we can manage to top the group and avoid ze Germans then our path through the competition becomes that little bit easier, although is anything ever easy as far as England are concerned?

Come on England!

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

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95 Responses

  1. Do you really think Hesky gets the start? His play was as dreadful as Green’s I thought…not that I minded of course. He just looked worthless out there.

  2. I reckon that it will be Heskey, or Joe Cole will play on the left with Gerrard moved up front to play around Rooney.

  3. i think most keepers ive seen in world cup when someone gets a shot on target the look on there faces its as if an atomic bomb is coming towards them there will be more keepers who make blunders with this ball i reckon it could even happen in final could be contreversial i think rob green should keep his place he was excellent in qualifiers and he has experience as a keeper i know his error was bad but i honestly dont think it will happen to him again i think it could happen to hart or james as if green gets dropped i think it will heap pressure on them more than playing green i hope we get to knockout stage nd green makes a couple of penalty saves hes a good bloke and honest player COME ON THE THREE LIONS

  4. Norcal.In all honesty I thought Heskey played well, butI wouldn’t have picked him the first place.Everybody apart from Capello(and Heskeys mum) would prefer Gerrard playing behind Rooney.It’s the system that he plays thatis wrong.

  5. worthless i know heskey missed a one on one which he should have scored but who lay gerrard off for our goal heskey is a target man not a goal scorer he might not be blessed with ability but he scraps with defenders he plays others into the game by getting any touch on the ball hes efeective that way

  6. Danny totally agree you have summed up Heskey in a paragraph.Sometimes everyone wants to blame Heskey for everything and never look at his good points.France at the moment would love a team of Heskey’s

  7. You know, I have to apologize. It wasn’t that Heskey (spelled his name right this time) was so bad, it’s just that he played against the USA defense. What other defense could have shut down Rooney and was still able to prevent Heskey from having an impact?

    So, my apologies. My criticism was misguided.

  8. The USA didnt prevent Heskey from having an impact. Long ball’s played up to him he won in the air near enough every time. Go back and watch the game, he’s one of these players that puts in the graft but doesn’t do anything particularly fancy, is in a goal scoring drought and takes an absolute battering for it.

    I’m not saying he’s the best in the world by any means, and I’d probably play Cole out wide and Gerrard behind Rooney, that is the formation I feel is best, but alot of people are seemingly quick to slump the blame on Heskey because he’s been known to be a bit of a donkey. He set up the goal and worked hard, even if it wasn’t recognised.

    As for shutting down Rooney, had to drop deep to see the ball which didn’t help. I’m quite certain he could have caused the back four plenty of problems if he was sitting on the edge of the box for 90 minutes. He could and will cause problems/Score goals against the best defences in the world.

  9. So Toonsy, did you have money riding on the Mexico France game? PLEASE tell you bet agaisnt the odds and won big!!

  10. every first game bar the gerry bags has been 4 5 1 boring games with teams playing with 11 men behind the ball and trying to counter on possesion the games will get better as teams have to attack to win games if algeria play 3 5 2 i think that will suit england to a tee

  11. Guys, I’m really sorry, but I’m for Algeria. Not that I won’t be too upset to see a victory for the Three Lions, but y’all going down is better for us going up.

    That said, I believe your best options are exactly what Ross said. Play Gerrard behind Rooney and Cole on the wing. I wish y’all had a forward similar to Agbonlahor (only with extreme finishing skills) to play in front of Rooney. Heskey is good and grafts hard, but he NEEDS to find his scorin’ boots.

  12. For England-

    442 all the way. Balance is CRUCIAL with your current squad. Now, see if Big Al can get his boots back on and you could go 433. I bet Shearer could STILL score a goal in the World Cup hahahahaha

  13. ohurley no probs what the yanks know aboot footbal u could write on the back of a postage stamp go go slovinia yank going oot

  14. thats there system they played it all through qualification and they said there sticking to it

  15. Batty-

    Eat sh!t. LMFAO. What THIS yank knows about football, I could write a BOOK. PRAT! :D

  16. Fair enough danny, sounds like you know.
    They might get the fear v england.
    england should go 433.
    algeria would soil themselves.

  17. at times when we attack algeria will have five at the back as they play with 2 holding midfielders they will be looking to counter keeping it wide with belhadj but ashley cole will have him in his pocket

  18. hart
    johnson terry dawson a cole
    barry
    lampard j cole
    gerrard
    heskey rooney

    don’t know if it’ll look right, it’s a diamond mid with gaz baz & thug boyback & front respectively.

  19. I’d also give Cole and Johnson the keys to Algeria, so to speak, haha. Overlapping the wingers as often as possible. They’re both great going forward and they need the permission to attack whenever the opportunity arises.

    What are people’s thoughts on even playing Johnson on the wing with Carragher at RB?..He’s very attacking minded and can cut inside and take a shot well enough. In saying that, we can’t afford to be trying stuff out here, we need to find a winning formula and quickly. Which for me, is Gerrard behind Rooney with Cole out wide.

    Hart, Cole, Terry, Carragher (depending on king’s fitness, he’d start if fit), Johnson, J. Cole, Lampard, Barry, Lennon, Gerrard, Rooney would probably be my 11.

  20. Clint/Ohurley-I’ve thought about 433, but again it’s something that should have been tested in Friendlies. Lampard and Barry in the middle, Gerrard sitting just infront of them/behind a front 3 of Joe Cole, Rooney and Crouch.

  21. For all a think croach is a good enough player, i think his height draws us into to hoofing it high. Good for desperate measures.

  22. CLiNT-I agree with you but its frustrating with Crouch because we dont need to hoof it high for him. For a lad his size he’s great with the ball at his feet and you just can’t argue with his international scoring record. Can he do it on the big stage? who knows. Wont know unless you give him a bash though.

  23. cant beleive theres a doubt in any 1s minds that were not goin too win the next 3 games at least quarter finals at least

  24. Ross with the mid 4 i favor, it can swap around more fluidly, switching from 433 to 442 to 41212 when needed. They all can score, they’ve all got experience.

  25. I know he has good feet too mate. But hoofing it is v tempting.
    lennon is scared to cross & shoot & is a weak link.

  26. lennon is a good sub with pace against tired legs, don’t let him take a pen though.
    :)

  27. Also,
    i would try out hart & dawson in this game, blood ’em.
    carra’s legs ain’t what they were, king’s lame.

  28. CLiNT-King is one of these “what if” players. Injurys plaguing a player that for me, could be brilliant. You can see when he’s fit and playing he’s a fantastic defender, shame he’s a spud!..Same with Dos Santos, he has looked real class for Mexico.

    I also agree with you RE Lennon. Bring him on at 60/70 minutes. When a wing back’s legs are shot the sight of a fresh Lennon will terrify him I reckon, nevermind when he starts running at them. He went hiding against the USA for some reason. In the prem he would roast Bocanegra all day long.

  29. Aye Ross,
    not knocking king when fit, that’s just not often enough to play at the top level.
    Agree about dos santos, he’s looked good in the last 3 mexico games.
    Like mexico’s attitude, they also play 433.
    Inexperience & under confidence is lennon’s problem, he goes to pieces & gets a nosebleed in the big moment.

  30. Has anyone scored a decent free kick in the WC yet?
    Can’t remember seeing one like.

  31. Hmmmm. 1 – 1 probably sounds better Clint. But if I don’t stick with what I said originally, it’ll come off :)

    I’m off to shop for odds.

  32. Indeed Darth,
    it is a tough call though.
    cos it’ll be close.

    break a leg man.

  33. Sportingbet.com are giving away a ‘free’ £25 bet for new punters if anyone’s interested.

    It’s not exactly free – you’ve got to have a pop with £10 of yer own cash before you get the free bet, and they don’t give you the stake back if you win.

    Anyway, don’t let me set anybody off gambling ;)

  34. Betfair regularly give you a tenner’s free like, thats who i’ve always used online. Leave it for a month or so and they’ll throw you a lovely email telling you they haven’t seen you for a while and would like to give you another free tenner.

  35. The more i see of Capelo the more i think you hired the wrong guy.
    And the more I look at The England Team, hey! they are old, just like most Italian national sides.
    Right now you are carrying more sick notes than fit players.

    In which case you should be afraid, one loss could do it, shoot! I know were going through, the US side is straining at the reins, “ready for freddy” full of confidence.

    To- day we intend to beat the Slovenes and beat em we will.
    Hope England at least get`s a draw, it`s not our intent to embarrass youse guys.

  36. Chuck, have to disagree mate, age has nothing to do with it, its more a case of lack of desire and purpose.
    I blame Adam Crozier when he created Club England and all the oppulence that went with it, a bloated cash cow that was elevated from a representative side to something on another planet.
    Capello has dispensed with the wags and the circus Eriksson and co created but he has retained Beckham which can only be an unwanted distraction, the team needs to get back to basics and play with passion and for that to happen we need an English manager who decides on a system and then picks the players to fit into it rather than cobble together a plan around the so called stars.
    Harry Redknapp should have been given the job, an old un but a good un.

  37. Chuck how will you embarrass us anyway…last week the US were the poorer of 2 sides who played badly,the difference is we can get better but you were at your best.Having said that I think both teams will qualify but you’ll be second and knocked out by Germany.

  38. Algeria are a team of hot heads.

    England would be smart to wind them up because they will get somebody sent off.

    Leave Heskey out and play Gerrard up front alongside Crouch. He has done it with Torres to good effect in the past.

    Play Barry in the middle. and Rooney on the right flank.

    Joe Cole on the left flank.

  39. I’ve only just noticed this preview!

    My team would be:

    Hart

    Johnson Terry. Dawson. Cole

    Barry

    Lampard Gerrard

    Lennon. Cole.

    Rooney

    Cone on England!

  40. What horses you on today, batty?

    I think I’ll be having a go on Margot Did and Jacqueline Quest, with a little each way squeak on Puff!

  41. chuck says:
    June 18, 2010 at 5:09 am said…

    “The more i see of Capelo the more i think”……. maybe he’s facially a cross between Tommy Cooper (lower face) and Lou Reed (upper)?

    Pity he didn’t have the talent they had/ have!!

  42. ee Stuart79 says: June 18, 2010 at 9:45 am
    Not quite sure that’s fair, considering what he’s achieved in the game….

    Who? Tommy Cooper or Lou Reed?

  43. chuckster u and ohurley should spend less time on here and more time cleaning that oil spill up :lol:

  44. lesh says:
    June 18, 2010 at 9:56 am

    Both….

    batty says:
    June 18, 2010 at 9:58 am

    It looks like Chuck’s been drinking the oil, the crap he’s coming out with!

  45. Hart

    Johnson Terry. Dawson. Cole

    Barry

    Lennon Lampard Cole

    Gerrard

    Rooney

    5-0, easy

  46. That team i love mike should easily beat algeria but i dunno about 5-0 and i think Capello will stick with Green in goal as that would be like him admiting he got it wrong n i dont think he will

  47. yeah was just messing with the 5-0, i do fancy them however to put on a good performance tonight, though not to bothered with the score, apart from the result of course. If we cant beat Algeria however, we dont deserve to go through!!

  48. You have to improve th passing side of things , lampard n gerrard cannot play togethr in the centre midfield by themselves , they need someone to hold n let them get forward n do what they do ,

    I wouldnt start hesky as i think ( with most teams ) when u have a big strong target up front like him the easy option is just to hoof it up to him and live off the scraps. Ye need to get it out wide and let lampard n gerrad run onto the ball and ye could go far

  49. He will play the same team and formation that saw us win 9 out of 10 qualifying games and finish as leading goal scorers out of all the qualifiers.

    Cannot argue with that I guess.

  50. Er, no!

    I just think going forward we’ll need 3 in centre mid against the better teams. I guess Gerrard can be the extra man in midfield coming in from the left in Capello’s formation, but we’ll see I suppose.

  51. Sorry stu i remember now Gerrard playing out left! How far do you think ye will go? R how far would you be happy with?

  52. Before we started I thought we could get to the semi’s and then anything can happen. Then after the first game I was a little dispondant, but that was balanced out from other countries poor first games.

    I still think we can get to the semi’s – We will have to improve but we have the easiest route we’ve had for many a year, so why not…?

  53. Better than them custard kits anyway….Wouldn’t put it past MA to have us playing in red and white stripes at home.

    :lol:

  54. stu aye i agree m8 defo quarters and ile see how were playing like u say owt can happen

  55. Dont like the blue kit, and the home kit could have been far nicer. Thought some of the fan designs were better to be honest.

  56. craig chisholm says:
    June 18, 2010 at 12:30 pm
    hey stu…….dont get me one as they look wank.

    I never offered!

  57. ‘Mon the algerian lads!!!!!!!!! :-p

    I fully expect flack for this comment (even from you Toonsy).

    USA got ROBBED. F*cking awful refereeing.

  58. I am the eternal peacekeeper OHurly ;)

    Unless I get all radge and people catch me at the wrong time :mad:

  59. Don’t really give a toss if england win/lose or draw – i can’t help it, after 8 world cups I’m fed up of the hype and this lot seem the worst set of overhyped gits we’ve had in the side ever
    Cappello ad co are already making excuses with the no easy games blah blah – jesus christ man it’s algeria we’re playing
    Still reckon England will get through and get knocked out in qtrs at the latest which to be fair is about our world ranking so we shouldn’t expect anymore

    right i’m off to pub – enjoy the game if thats possible watching england!