Thursday, 18th November 2010
England suffered a morale-sapping defeat to France at Wembley last night as Fabio Capello’s team were comprehensively outplayed. Laurent Blanc’s charges, in the midst of a rebuilding project after their World Cup debacle, surprised England with a slick passing game and superior technique to claim a 2-1 victory.
France took the league with an early goal from Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, and doubled their lead after half time as Mathieu Valbuena scored from a Bacary Sagna cross.
England rallied late on and grabbed a consolation in the 86th minute through Peter Crouch, but it was too little too late, leaving Capello reflecting on a loss for his much changed side.
"France played very well in that first half, when we played without confidence and with fear", said the England boss. "We missed a lot of passes and played the ball back, not forward. The only times we went forward were with long balls to [Andy] Carroll, which isn’t the style we like."
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