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AP Photo/Darko Bandic
Fabio Capello sat on the sidelines, idly watching without any show of expression as the shocker unfolded in front of him. It was like he had England’s 4-1 victory all planned out, and was simply marking off his pregame list.
Be the aggressor at the start? Check.
Score first? Check.
Enter halftime ahead? Check.
Have Theo Walcott score? Check…check….ah hell, give the kid three.
When most would have been satisfied with a draw against Croatia in Zagreb (where they were unbeaten in 35 qualifiers), Capello’s boys stormed out to a 3-0 lead and ended up with the 4-1 shocker thanks to a hat trick from Walcott, who was far and away the largest surprise on a night full of them.
First of all, Capello chose to take a risk and start the 19-year-old while leaving David Beckham out of the lineup. And as the papers will confirm tomorrow, Capello ended up a certified genius in his first real test as England’s manager.
England showed aggression from the start by pressing forward in the initial ten minutes, and after weathering a Croatia attack, they struck first in the 26th minute when Walcott (wearing No. 7 no less) received a fortunate bounce off a Croatian defender and shot the ball through keeper Stipe Pletikosa and into the left side of the net from a tight angle on the right.
The game broke open in the 53rd minute when Robert Kovac was sent off for an extended elbow that gashed Joe Cole’s head. That said, Cole was absolutely fine until he touched his head and saw he was bleeding. Cue: fall back down to the ground and grab the area while writhing in pain….come on now. But for those who thought a straight red was a bit harsh, surely Josip Simunic deserved a second yellow just moments earlier when he was beaten by Wayne Rooney but stepped into the striker’s way for a blatant obstruction.
The resulting open play saw England spread the field and use a pretty setup from Rooney & others to Walcott on the right side again for another fine finish in the 59th. With Rooney adding his own goal and Walcott coolly finishing off a breakaway with his left foot in the 82nd, all was well in London. Despite my new acquaintance in the pub mentioning at one point England’s talent for “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory,” the shouts at the end of the night rang out clear: “Theeeeeooo!! Theeeeeooo!! Theeeeeooo!!
It was truly an impressive road performance from the men in white, as they were assertive offensively from the beginning and never allowed Croatia to counterattack. And when the red card came, they went for the jugular with some fine possession that led to multiple quality chances.
With an opportunistic lineup selection by Capello, Walcott’s brilliance and quality play from Rooney, there weren’t many negatives to discuss Wednesday night. The only question is what Capello has up his sleeve for an encore.
Maybe he should just start with a smile.
