By Myles Palmer
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England 3 Argentina 2 – in Geneva
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FIGHTING SPIRIT we have in abundance.
Where we went wrong against Brazil in 2002 was scoring first.
That woke them up and Ronaldinho then took us apart.
In Saturday’s friendly in Geneva, we never led.
We could have been 4-0 down at half-time, and we never led.
Crespo scored and Rooney equalised and then Samuel put them 2-1 up and then Owen equalised again in 86.
Then Owen scored again in 91.02.
Final whistle went at 93.11
So we only led for two minutes and nine seconds and then the ref blew and it was over.
We didn’t lead till the 92nd minute, so we didn’t have a chance to get neurotic or confused, unable to decide whether to attack or defend.
THE WORLD CUP WON’T BE LIKE THIS.
We won’t see pulsating end-to-end contests with 28 shots and five goals and both teams hitting the post.
BUT I HAVE A GUT FEELING we will play Argentina again.
Both teams are top six and they we could easily meet them in Germany.
SING THIS ONE WITH ME : “We all agreee, Riquelme is better than Veron!”
Juan Roman Riquelme had far too much of the ball for my liking and we couldn’t get it off him.
Ledley King did well but he could not get near JRR because Argentina were able to play round him.
Marking really foxy, artistic players has always been difficult in football and when they are as cute as Riquelme it can be a nightmare, as we saw in the first half.
Riquelme was all over the place and even when play stopped and you think he will bend the free-kick over the wall, he disguises his intention and chips it wide for the unmarked Samuel to place a header down and across and in for 2-1.
Second half, 2-1 up, Argentina surrendered midfield and allowed England to have the ball.
If you do that, if you decide to defend the box, you have to be better at defending the box than they were.
For once, Sven’s subs worked : Joe Cole and Peter Crouch made a difference.
But sheer passion got us two goals at the death.
England were on top but still a goal down on 84 when Riquelme was taken off.
With time running out, Sven had taken King off and reverted, really, to his Houllier Plan A – the long-ball game.
It was the right call because it worked.
MICHAEL OWEN ?
He divides fans and divides managers, but he has scored 35 goals in 75 internationals.
I’ve always said Owen is more of a bullet than a footballer.
His ambition and focus are phenomenal.
He waits and waits and then fires himself at the ball.
The worse he is, the more useless he has been in a game, the more likely he is to score a goal.
Where other strikers would give up, accepted a bad day at the office, Michael Owen is concentrating even harder, waiting for his chance to make the headline.
Think Roma v Liverpool in the Uefa Cup, February 2001.
Owen was hopeless, but scored two goals and Houllier’s Liverpool won 2-0 after losing the first leg 1-0.
Arsenal FA Cup Final in Cardiff, never saw him, scored two goals at the death.
Argentina were more fluid in open play, more inventive on set-pieces, but the fiery spirit of England’s warriors overwhelmed them in injury time and it will defeat them when we meet again.
As I said on Thursday, they are a first half team.
WAYNE ROONEY was calm and mature, but elemental, a force of nature.
He shouted at the ref a couple of times, but so did other players.
Rooney did the business and did it in the right way,
He is still 10% off the magical form he showed in Portugal 2004, but he IS the best player we have produced since Bobby Charlton.
He is as brave as Bryan Robson and as creative as Gazza, without being as vulnerable as Gazza,
Gazza played most of his career four or five kilos overweight.
MAN UNITED got Rooney fit and he can run all day.
His efforts at the end were superhuman, stupendous, pulling down a ball to beat Sorin and Cambiasso, then chipping the keeper, who tipped over.
Then Rooney went in like a lion for two headers in midfield, winning the first, a goal clearance by the keeper, and then recovering to go for the second with colossal fervour, flattening Demichelis, a big player who is very good in the air.
Those moments were truly awesome, truly inspiring for the fans, the players and viewers at home.
Quite incredible.
Rooney was ferocious, but only in his desire to reach the ball first, only within the rules of a man’s game.
Rooney has that Wow! factor that makes five million viewers simultaneously gasp and say : DID YOU SEE THAT ?
I haven’t seen such passionate virtuousity since Vieira scored those two goals against Charlton, just after being given two red cards against Sunderland and Liverpool.
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SUNDAY headline : Vieira – Arsenal didn’t want me.
A scoop for the News of the World, but I told you that months ago.
He was sold and he was shocked to be sold.
Patrick was stunned to be told that the club’s position on his possible departure was “neutral”
I’m convinced that Patrick was sold because the skipper sets the tone and the tone Pat set was not the tone Arsene wanted.