Why England cooked up a storm against the World Champions

By Terry Butcher

Published 23:10 12/11/11

• 

Taking on Spain at football is much like eating tapas.

Do you sit back and leisurely pick at the delightful little dishes; do you attack the plates as soon as they arrive, not ­allowing the delicacies to settle for too long; or are there just way too many choices?

England and boss Fabio Capello were faced with a similar problem last night as the World and ­European Champions came for an early supper at the newly renamed, “It’s Easier To Get Back From Mars” Wembley Stadium.

Capello’s menu showed no real surprises – youngster Phil Jones was the only real new dish in the centre of midfield – whereas the ­Spanish list of options was predictably ­formidable.

England actually began the game with ­enthusiasm and fire, with Jones and Ashley Cole making a ­couple of ­excellent early interceptions.

Good breaks by Glenn ­Johnson and Jones seemed to offer hope for the men in the chefs’ whites, whereas ­England’s five-man midfield and back four smothered Spain’s attack like a good old-fashioned steak-and-kidney pie case.

At times it was like ­watching the Spanish over-beating the eggs of one of their famous omelettes, as the minutes ticked by without any real shots or decent crosses.

Frank Lampard’s strong 25-yard effort straight at Iker Casillas surprised everyone after 32 minutes but it was a brief respite for England as Spain instantly resumed their probing and teasing, like red-caped matadors, ­sizing up the weaknesses in the English bull.

James Milner showed ­Sergio Ramos that the bull could fight back with a strong challenge that earned a yellow card.

But all in all, at half-time Capello would have been proud of England’s defence and ­resilience.

And just like a traditional casserole, all the ingredients had blended ­extremely well.

Vincente Del Bosque, Spain’s Chef de Mission, instantly made three changes at the ­interval.

Capello, England’s Little Chef, brought on the intimidating Stuart Downing, but almost ­immediately Lampard stuck a knife into the visitors’ hearts with a stooped header to open the scoring, after ­Darren Bent’s initial effort had come back off the post.

If anything, Spain have been shown to be vulnerable at set pieces and so it proved as ­Milner’s accurate cross caused mayhem in the box.

Could an upset really be on the cards, we asked? Sergio Ramos threw a major Gordon Ramsay strop with a two-footed challenge and even Cesc Fabregas received a ­caution for a wild barge.

Spain actually looked like the heat of the ­kitchen was just a bit too much for them.

It was great to see the World Champions rattled for once and, with the introduction of the pace of Jack Rodwell and Danny Wellbeck, the youngsters got a brief but ­precious taste of the big time.

England defended well, with the back four showing ­tremendous concentration and strength, but they also knew that one moment’s lack of focus could prove costly – as David Villa showed when he hit the post after 73 minutes and Fabregas sliced wide in the final minutes.

I thought Scott Parker was superb at the heart of midfield and even popped up in front of Gerard Pique in the box to make a goal-saving tackle. Capello (above) will have learned a great deal about the hearts of his players, who had a real cause to fight for after ­Lampard’s goal.

It was a fantastic result backed up by a first-class ­attitude and should do ­wonders for the morale and confidence of players and manager.

I know Parker received the Man of the Match award, but I thought Cole was absolutely brilliant too.

The Chelsea full-back set the tone for the night by ­squeezing and pressing from the back from the first whistle.

Del Bosque might just be the one having indigestion after this result.

Well done Fabio. It was worth missing your son’s wedding breakfast for this tasty treat!

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!