England are OK when Capello has the players for 3 days.
And good when he has them for a week.
Phil Jagielka was in a right backish position and passed the ball to Xabi Alonso in the centre circle and he picked out David Villa, who scored.
1-0 to Spain in 36 minutes
Villa juggled the ball past Jagielka and rolled it past David James, who was on his six yard line. Villa’s expert finish had the impish authority that you sometimes see from the best small strikers.
That goal ended the game after 36 minutes. England had no chance after that and, as always in friendlies, the second half was a substitution show and less interesting than the first 45.
Jagielka had been playing well and deserved his chance. He had played for Everton against Torres recently and done very well. But one sloppy pass cost a goal.
Spain play like a club side .
They obviously believe in each other. The midfielders and defenders know Villa or Torres will score. They’ve played against them in training, and in La Liga. They know that a goal will come.
It was interesting to see Xavi and Iniesta outside a Barcelona context. Xavi is the keep-ball king of European football. He would never go to sleep and allow himself to be robbed as Pirlo was when Robinho scored at the Emirates the previous night.If anything, Iniesta was even better than he is at the Nou Camp.
Spain play in little triangles, tidy triangles, middle-sized triangles, patient triangles.
They are masters of geometry and can make any triangle they want at any moment in the game : a little run, a little pass, a game of stealth and waiting and sharpness. Some passes aim to hurt, while most are just continuity, just kidding, just the shadow-boxing that comes before the knock-out punch.
Since Spain are rarely chasing the game they can wait and look for a killer pass, keeping the ball within the width of the penalty area as much as possible. Their football is not about speed or power, it’s about technique, belief and patience. They took 36 minutes to score in the first half and 37 minutes to score in the second.
They don’t mind waiting. If you don’t concede, you can be patient. If you have David Villa, your conversion ratio of chances to goals will be very high.
No England striker is in the same class as Villa or Torres and we all accept that. But it does not mean Spain have to beat England every time. We can do things they can’t do, if we improve. Anyway, England without Rooney, Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand isn’t really England. Spain are a great team, England a work-in-progress. Seville was good fixture because it put things in perspective. A reality check, as everyone has said.
England were a team with no effective working partnerships, so they had to huff and puff to get the ball, and improvise when they had it. Whereas Spain passed and moved with smooth authority. David Silva was looking for foul in a central area, Upson obliged, Silva collapsed, Xavi flighted the free-kick to a point seven yards from sub keeper Robert Green, Upson jumped under the ball and sub Llorente headed in for 2-0 in 82. It was a gettable ball but Upson missed it. Precision delivery by Xavi but a gettable ball.
Spain are unbeaten in 29 games and three of those are wins over England in which we have not scored.
It’s still a learning curve for players and manager. Fabio Capello knows he has work to do. Only one of our passes reached a striker in a good position, when Beckham supplied sub Carlton Cole , who went round Reina and saw Marchena kick his shot off the line.
In truth, the game was a short one. It only lasted 36 minutes. Short game, valuable exercise.
Alf Ramsey’s England looked like a club side. In time, so will Capello’s.
SPAIN (4-4-2): Casillas (Real Madrid); Ramos (Real Madrid), Albiol (Valencia), Pique (Barcelona), Capdevila (Villarreal); Xavi (Barcelona), Senna (Villarreal), Alonso (Liverpool), Iniesta (Barcelona); Torres (Liverpool), Villa (Valencia).
Subs used: Reina (Liverpool) for Casillas, h-t; Arbeloa (Liverpool) for Capdevila, h-t; Silva (Valencia) for Villa, 56; Llorente (Athletic Bilbao) for Torres, 64; Marchena (Valencia) for Albiol, 75; Guiza (Fenerbahce) for Xavi, 84.
ENGLAND (4-4-2): James (Portsmouth); Johnson (Portsmouth), Terry (Chelsea), Jagielka (Everton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea); Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Carrick (Manchester United), Barry (Aston Villa), Downing (Middlesbrough); Heskey (Aston Villa), Agbonlahor (Aston Villa).
Subs used: Beckham (Milan) for Downing, h-t; Green (West Ham) for James, h-t; Upson (West Ham) for Jagielka, h-t; Crouch (Portsmouth) for Heskey, h-t; Lampard (Chelsea) for Barry, h-t; Carlton Cole (West Ham) for Agbonlahor, 75.
Referee: S Lannoy (France)