The supposed future of England looked far from bright against France on Wednesday, with Les Bleus able to secure a 2-1 win at Wembley.
Capello suffers defeat at Wembley for the first time
The supposed future of England looked far from bright against France on Wednesday, with Les Bleus able to secure a 2-1 win at Wembley.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena settled the friendly tie, with the visitors dominating throughout and the Three Lions found lacking in ideas, aside from Peter Crouch's late reply.
Fabio Capello, as expected, handed debuts to Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson from the off while Kieran Gibbs made a first start at full-back, and the youthful exuberance they brought appeared to rub off on the older heads as England started brightly.
The commanding Carroll won a free-kick inside the opening 60 seconds and Steven Gerrard sent a low drive skidding across the slick surface into the grateful arms of Hugo Lloris.
Unfortunately, that was about as good as things got for the hosts in the opening 20 minutes, with France quickly into their stride.
Florent Malouda and Samir Nasri were familiar faces to the England side and they were given far too much time and space in which to run the show in midfield.
Chelsea winger Malouda tested Ben Foster for the first time on nine minutes, with the Birmingham keeper able to gather his shot at the second attempt.
Benzema then saw a shot blocked on the edge of the box, before Valbuena lobbed high over the bar.
France were now threatening on a regular basis, with Malouda skipping past Rio Ferdinand with ease before slicing badly wide.
Yoann Gourcuff stung the fingertips of Foster with a 25-yard effort which dipped and swerved, and on 16 minutes Les Bleus broke the deadlock.
Benzema exchanged passes with Malouda inside the area and, once provided with a clear sight of goal, the Real Madrid forward squeezed a fiercely-struck shot inside Foster's near post.
England were struggling to piece any passages of play together, with much of their work hurried.
Promise
Carroll did start to show signs of promise as the half-hour mark approached, with one towering header freeing James Milner, who subsequently drilled straight at Lloris.
Benzema skied an effort when well-placed as France broke with purpose again, before Gerrard hooked a difficult half-volley over the top following another Carroll nod down.
The Magpies ace decided to go it alone the next time he was found, but Lloris remained untested as he comfortably dealt with the resulting shot.
The inevitable boos greeted the half-time whistle and it came as no surprise to see Capello shuffle his pack at the interval, with Micah Richards, Ashley Young and Adam Johnson introduced in place of Rio Ferdinand, Garth Barry and Theo Walcott.
France, though, remained on the front foot and Henderson saw a tough debut marred by a booking for a clumsy challenge on Gourcuff.
Adil Rami then climbed highest to meet a swinging delivery, but could only divert his header well off target.
On 53 minutes the home crowd were finally given something to get excited about as Gerrard made a trademark burst into the box but, as the Liverpool skipper attempted to cut back onto his favoured right foot, France substitute Mamadou Sakho read his intentions and slammed the door in his face.
Two minutes later and France doubled their lead through another flowing move which left England chasing shadows.
Bacary Sagna was sent scampering down the right and his cross was expertly swept into the bottom corner by Valbuena, who had arrived on the penalty spot unchallenged.
Wembley was now eerily quiet, despite the best efforts of the band to inject some life into those who had braved the wind and rain in the hope of seeing the next generation of talent give cause for optimism.
Those in attendance were brought to their feet briefly on 63 minutes, but Gerrard, who had stolen in at the back post to meet a floated free-kick, saw his header clip the top of the crossbar on its way over the top.
Dangerous
England were now starting to look like something resembling an international side, but a dangerous cross from Gibbs came to nothing and Johnson sent a 30-yard free-kick sailing into the stands.
France decided to replace their goalscorers with just over 20 minutes remaining, with Alou Diarra and Loic Remy introduced to the action.
Shortly after their arrival Carroll had his best opportunity of the night, but despite meeting a cross from Gerrard with a firm head, he again found the hands of Lloris.
That proved to be his last involvement of the night, as he made way for another debutant in the form of Cardiff's Jay Bothroyd, while Gibbs was replaced by Stephen Warnock.
With 15 minutes to go England came as close as they had all night, with a Johnson free-kick taking a number of deflections before trickling agonisingly past the post.
Laurent Blanc gave the dangerous Malouda a rest as time ran down, with Dimitri Payet taking his place, proof that he was confident of picking up the win.
Lloris did give him a scare with 10 minutes remaining, as he let a Johnson cross slip through his grasp, but again the French goal led a charmed existence as Gerrard lashed the follow-up inches past the upright.
Up at the other end, Nasri almost made it three, with Foster beaten again, but he saw a stinging drive cannon back off the woodwork.
Gerrard gave Liverpool supporters a fright when he hobbled from the field, with Crouch coming on in his place, while the mass changes continued from both sides.
Moments after entering the fray Crouch gave England hope as he calmly volleyed home a corner from Young, taking his international tally to 22, but there was to be no leveller for the Three Lions, despite a strong finish which saw Bothroyd come close to sealing a dream debut with a goal.
Capello knows he still has much work to do if he is to turn England into a unit capable of challenging for major honours, with the failings of old still apparent.
As for France, the renaissance is definitely in full swing and they look a completely different side to that which hit the self-destruct button in South Africa over the summer.
| England |
Team Statistics |
France |
| 1 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 3 |
Corners |
5 |
| 4 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 78.3 |
Passing Success |
84.6 |
| 20 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 90 |
Tackles Success |
80 |
| 41.9 |
Possession |
58.1 |
| 48.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
51.2 |
|
