It was a tale of the two halves as the old saying goes. Denmark looked the better side in the first half and England was certainly the better in the second half. England found a way to win with Ashley Young bagging the winner who certainly will get more plaudits for his performance tonight. Ashley Young was certainly the man who made the Three Lions take control of the game. The very moment the Aston Villa winger got on the pitch he made an impact with Fabio Capello's formation change from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1.
The first half was without a doubt the same old England we have all dreaded watching and disappointments were all over the field including the young Jack Wilshere who was hyped up so much in the buildup to this match. Wilshere really struggled with being the holding midfielder next to Frank Lampard as its obvious Wilshere is more comfortable when he is allowed to roam which is how his club manager Arsene Wenger uses him. Denmark showed quality from the beginning especially with the young Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen who was spectacular all night long.
The first goal was by the Danes with Eriksen delivering a beautiful ball to Daniel Agger who put it away with a spectacular header. Two minutes later England was able to draw level with Arsenal winger Theo Walcott influencing proceedings, he showed a great dribbling display and put in a nice ball across the 6 yard box and Darren Bent was there to bury it.
The rest of the half was dominated by Danish Dynamite who really threatened and were very unlucky to not be leading at the break. The backline for England looked shaky throughout the second half as the partnership of Michael Dawson and John Terry looked lost. Wayne Rooney played in a support striker role throughout the 45 minutes he was on the pitch and he did well to link with the midfield at times but he will not win anymore plaudits with tonight's performance.
The second half brought several changes including a formation change that brought new energy to England who really responded and put Denmark on the back foot in the second half. The backline finally calmed down as well with Gary Cahill and Leighton Baines getting playing time to try and make a mark. Jack Wilshere, Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney were all pulled off by Fabio Capello at halftime probably because of club agreements. However, those 3 were definitely sub par to say the least.
The stats say Denmark had more possession than England with a 51% to 49% advantage. And there could be many people criticizing England's performance but overall you have to be happy with England's performance. Since this is a team that needed a win even if it was an ugly one. The night belongs to Ashley Young and it will be very difficult for Capello to keep him out of the lineup. I will go over the other things I saw in my coaching rating.
Player Ratings
Joe Hart 6
Nothing he could really do about the goal he gave up. He looked sharp for the most part and secured the win for England with some splendid saves.
Glen Johnson 5
Would've been a worse rating but because he played a significant part in Ashley Young's deciding goal he got back up to a sub par rating after a disappointing first half full of give aways.
Michael Dawson 4.5
Tough day at the office for Dawson he just looked slow and was caught out of position on several occasions he was beat on the Danish goal so maybe this is a generous rating.
John Terry 5
Not good, but not bad from "Mr. Chelsea" he had trouble early dealing with the Danish attack but was able to put out the fires when needed. And he won the battle of egos with Nicklas Bendtner especially in the second half where Bendtner was largely ineffective.
Ashley Cole 5
Sub par all around from Cole, tough night having to go against Christian Eriksen but he was good enough to get the job done and I think he's the only England player who's position is locked up for 2012.
Theo Walcott 6
Was the best England player in the first half without a doubt. The tactical change to switch sides with Milner definitely didn't help him and he was lost at times but his individual effort to setup the Darren Bent goal was crucial.
Jack Wilshere 4.5
Largely unimpressive for the Arsenal phenom. He seemed to have trouble playing as a holding midfielder so Fabio Capello will have to find other ways to use him.
Frank Lampard 4.5
Nothing spectacular for the man who captained England tonight. He had an absolutely beautiful goal that was waved off due to offsides. He along with Wilshere was part of the central midfield that was completely outplayed by the Danes.
James Milner 5
His service was spotty which was supposed to be a strong point in his game and that definitely needs to change if he is to feature for England in the future.
Wayne Rooney 4.5
Played as a support player where its more difficult to score and he should've scored when he had an open goal but he showed a lack of confidence by not burying it quickly. He was decent linking with the midfield but the critics will continue to blast him for not scoring goals.
Darren Bent 6.5
His second touch of the game was his equalizing goal. The Aston Villa striker showed good skill whenever he could and he definitely deserves more call ups down the road.
Substitutes
Ashley Young (Man of the Match) 7
He was supposed to be the impact substitute and he sure made the "impact" getting involved in every meaningful attack and scoring the winning goal. If I were manager he would've started and Fabio will need to start him with that performance.
Gareth Barry 5
Nothing spectacular from the Man City ace. He was part of the midfield that played well in the second half nothing to criticize completely but we all know Barry is a defensive midfielder to begin with.
Scott Parker 5
Never been a Scott Parker fan to say the least but he was decent. He linked well with Gareth Barry and did what Capello asked of him but I doubt he will feature in future matches for the Three Lions.
Gary Cahill 5
I called for him to start for the Lions but he found himself on the bench. I thought he linked with Terry better than Dawson did and he did well to extinguish the threat known as Nicklas Bendtner.
Stewart Downing N/A
A cameo performance.
Leighton Baines N/A
A cameo performance for the Everton ace.
Coaching Rating 6
Early on I had serious questions about Fabio Capello's tactical moves especially starting Wilshere in a 4-4-2 when his club manager has said repeatedly that he works better in a more free roaming formation. I also didn't like the switching of flanks between Milner and Walcott when it was clear that Theo was getting the better of the Danish left back. Capello improved his rating in the second half with the formation change to a 4-2-3-1 and the addition of Ashley Young. Capello will be happy with the performance especially from Young and the fact that his boys found a way to win.
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