England 2 Japan 1 [Manchester Guardian]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/may/30/japan-england-friendly-match-report

It is just as well that friendlies are so often handcuffed to the adjective "meaningless". Fabio Capello would be overjoyed to conclude that nothing seen in Graz has any bearing on the World Cup finals. Then again, why have fixtures of this sort if they are actually inconsequential?

England were much improved by substitutions and Joe Cole came on to make a forceful case for a place in the tournament squad, presumably at the expense of an unused Adam Johnson. It was Cole's ball that Marcus Tulio Tanaka, scorer of the opener, put into his net for a leveller in the 72nd minute of the game. Until then, a scuffed Frank Lampard penalty that was saved had been the most dangerous moment for the team.

After 82 minutes, however, England went ahead with a further own goal as an Ashley Cole delivery sliced off the boot of Yuji Nakazawa. The best that can be said of Capello's side was that it imposed itself far more as the occasion developed. Even so, a header by John Terry still came off his own bar near the end.

There will be agreement that the result itself has no significance, but the details themselves were initially disconcerting. It was, for instance, puzzling to watch Wayne Rooney misdirect a pass so severely that it went far beyond Theo Walcott to run out for a goal-kick in the 44th minute. Anyone in the habit of agonising over England would have writhed anew at the first-half spectacle.

The opener itself was hapless. Yasuhito Endo's low corner from the right found the centre-half Tanaka, and he got in front of Glen Johnson to send a low shot into the corner of the net. David James, starting his first England match since 9 April, must have felt unlucky then to be embroiled in this fixture.

Efforts at a recovery were shaky for a while. The rapport displayed when Rooney fed Aaron Lennon on the left was untypical and the winger's shot went straight to the arms of Eiji Kawashima in the 19th minute. For the most part, the side lumbered in that period and did a disservice to those hoping to make an impression.

Darren Bent, for example, had to scrap to get into the game. His best moment came when a long ball from Rio Ferdinand was not intercepted by the centre-back Nakazawa, but the Sunderland attacker nodded off-target under pressure from Kawashima.

Bent was one of five men withdrawn by Capello at the interval and has presumably failed to force his way into the 23-man party for the World Cup. The alteration saw Rooney becoming a lone centre-forward, with Cole on to prompt him. England went on thwarting themselves for a bit longer.

Japan could even afford the eccentricity of Keisuke Honda, who stuck his arm up in the defensive wall while inside the area and handled Lampard's free-kick. The Chelsea midfielder took the penalty but, following the FA Cup final, failed to convert from 12 yards for a second consecutive time. Kawashima dived to his right and made the save.

While England had more possession, the opposition could have increased the lead too. Joe Hart, on for James, had to move sharply to his left to reach an attempt from the substitute Takayuki Morimoto. Capello's side should go to South Africa free of complacency.