Jermain Defoe was the hero of the Port Elizabeth clash yesterday between England and Slovenia in a must-win World Cup game for Fabio Capello’s team.
At the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium England started off quite tentatively and then finally made their presence felt at the 2010 World Cup by securing the win they needed over Slovenia in Port Elizabeth to reach the last 16.
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe’s close-range strike in the 23rd minute was enough to give Fabio Capello’s side the three points they required to avoid an early departure from South Africa and this rescued England’s stuttering World Cup campaign
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Defoe started for the first time in the tournament and converted James Milner’s perfect cross to put England ahead. Defoe started in place of Emile Heskey in attack with Milner in the lineup for the ineffective Aaron Lennon. Matthew Upson started in central defense with Jamie Carragher suspended.
And after the misery of Friday’s draw against Algeria in Cape Town and the controversy surrounding former captain John Terry’s comments about the mood in the camp, I’m sure Coach Fabio Capello will have been delighted to see England produce the goal and go through to the final 16, although they hardly showed much dominance over Slovenia and still didn’t look very impressive.
Slow Start to World Cup
But the pundits say that England starts its World Cup campaigns slowly, so I am sure England’s main mission was to secure the win. We will see what happens on Sunday when England takes on Germany in Bloemfontein. Then Capello and his players will hope they can make their mark in South Africa after a faltering start to their campaign.
England will now play the winners of Group D – Ghana, in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
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