Thursday, March 27, 2008
England, Italy loss but Brazillian's Pato shines
Fabio Capello has insisted that his bid to revive England remains on track, despite seeing his new charges comprehensively outclassed by a far from full strength France side.
Franck Ribery's first-half penalty ensured David Beckham's 100th appearance for England ended in a 1-0 defeat at the Stade de France, but the narrow margin of victory disguised France's comfortable superiority and the fact that better finishing could have delivered a far more convincing win.
Capello however found grounds for optimism after his second game in charge, which followed a 2-1 win over Switzerland last month.
Meanwhile, Brazil coach Dunga backed his young players to cope with the differing pressures of stardom after their 1-0 friendly win over Sweden last night.
Debutant Alexandre Pato and Manchester United youngster Anderson were among the inexperienced second-half substitutes who helped to turn the game in Brazil's favour at the Emirates Stadium.
But while AC Milan forward Pato - who scored the game's only goal - was given a hero's reception by a large Brazilian following, Anderson received far less hospitable treatment.
Large sections of Arsenal fans booed his every touch, but he still showed some of the skills which have excited the Old Trafford faithful this season.
In Spain, a 78th-minute volley from second-half substitute David Villa gave home side a 1-0 win over world champions and fellow EURO 2008 contenders Italy in Elche.
The Valencia CF forward, a half-time replacement for Fernando Torres, ended the stalemate in brilliant fashion by letting fly a shot into the top corner of Gianluigi Buffon's goal. However, Spain also had Iker Casillas and the frame of his goal to thank for their victory in this warm-up friendly.
Franck Ribery's first-half penalty ensured David Beckham's 100th appearance for England ended in a 1-0 defeat at the Stade de France, but the narrow margin of victory disguised France's comfortable superiority and the fact that better finishing could have delivered a far more convincing win.
Capello however found grounds for optimism after his second game in charge, which followed a 2-1 win over Switzerland last month.
Meanwhile, Brazil coach Dunga backed his young players to cope with the differing pressures of stardom after their 1-0 friendly win over Sweden last night.
Debutant Alexandre Pato and Manchester United youngster Anderson were among the inexperienced second-half substitutes who helped to turn the game in Brazil's favour at the Emirates Stadium.
But while AC Milan forward Pato - who scored the game's only goal - was given a hero's reception by a large Brazilian following, Anderson received far less hospitable treatment.
Large sections of Arsenal fans booed his every touch, but he still showed some of the skills which have excited the Old Trafford faithful this season.
In Spain, a 78th-minute volley from second-half substitute David Villa gave home side a 1-0 win over world champions and fellow EURO 2008 contenders Italy in Elche.
The Valencia CF forward, a half-time replacement for Fernando Torres, ended the stalemate in brilliant fashion by letting fly a shot into the top corner of Gianluigi Buffon's goal. However, Spain also had Iker Casillas and the frame of his goal to thank for their victory in this warm-up friendly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment