BEN FOSTER
THE FIGHT for England's No 1 jersey is similar to the FA's bid
for the World Cup. Despite so much potential, the nagging doubt is:
Is it all going to end in tears? Foster's trademark nervous moment
arrived when he lunged at Nilmar on 56 minutes. He was relieved the
shocking penalty by Luis Fabiano almost hit the overhead camera.
Distribution, usually one of Foster's strongest assets, was also a
problem. Most of his goal kicks gave Brazil possession. Capello may
lament this had more to do with the lack of height and physical
presence in attack without Emile Heskey. In his defence, Foster did
90 per cent of his work with little fuss, but, as with David James,
his concentration level still needs attention.
WES BROWN
FABIO has asked every England full-back other than '66 hero
George Cohen to come out of retirement to sort out this problem
position. As one of the few English right-backs still available,
Brown finds himself in this team by default. There were few signs
of an kind of understanding on the right flank with Shaun
Wright-Phillips. The early debilitating conditions made rampaging
overlaps impossible, while Nilmar's persistent threat kept the
United man pinned in his own half. Glen Johnson will not be
sweating on his England place just yet after the dreadful chested
backpass led to the penalty.
WAYNE BRIDGE
THE SPECTACULAR light show before kick-off made it look as if
the circus had come to town. Some of Bridge's early contributions
had the same impact. There was precious little combination with
James Milner. The lack of dynamism on both flanks meant Capello was
doing windmall impressions with his arms all evening. No sooner was
he sitting down, his wide men and full-backs were losing the ball
and the Italian was marching back to the edge of his technical
area. He will have learned a lot from some of this performance,
none of it pleasurable.
JOLEON LESCOTT
ACCORDING to the 'find your Brazilian nickname' website, Wayne
Rooney would be called Wayniano, Gareth Barry should be dubbed
Biano and Lescott somewhat cruelly finds himself renamed
'Costoomucho'. The £22million move to Manchester City seems to have
damaged rather than enhanced Lescott's reputation. One of the most
expensive defenders in football to mark Kaka, the Brazilian will be
salivating if they meet again next summer. The heart of England's
defence disappeared in the 47th minute. Many England fans will be
hoping that is also the case when John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are
fit.
MATTHEW UPSON
SUCH have been the injuries to Rio Ferdinand, Upson is reaching
a stage where he may no longer be considered a deputy at
centre-back. He has been less susceptible to knocks for the past 12
months - but question marks remain. Upson made an early error when
he was robbed on the touchline by the lightning-fast Nilmar - and
he never looked comfortable after that Whenever the Brazilians
stepped up a gear, especially in the second half, England's defence
looked primed for embarrassment. The exhibition nature of the game
was a God send if the shambles of Nilmar's easy opener was anything
to go by.
SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS
A WORD of warning: Wright-Phillips was the fourth member of the
starting line-up representing Manchester City. A harrowing thought
for those assessing Capello's strength in depth. Joe Cole's injury
handed former Chelsea clubmate Wright-Phillips a year's head start
in establishing himself as the first-choice on the right of
England's midfield. With one game to go before the squad for the
2010 World Cup in South Africa is named, he will have to reflect on
a missed opportunity. Cole will be welcomed back to the fold once
he has proved his fitness after a serious injury.
GARETH BARRY
THE Manchester City midfielder was teased into thinking he would
be captain. But despite the disappointment of losing the armband,
he still had the look of an authoritative presence. Alongside
Rooney, he stood out as the class act in a white shirt, providing a
lesson to some of those around him about keeping possession. That
is why he is a certain starter in South Africa.Tactically, teams
such as Brazil pounce on the carelessness of opponents and look to
monopolise the ball. At times, Barry looked like the only England
players who understood the importance of not passing to a yellow
shirt.
JERMAINE JENAS
JERMAINE JENAS scored the first goal of the Fabio Capello era -
but you get the feeling the only way he is going to South Africa
this summer is on Safari. He was the brightest of the fringe
players, but the quality of the absentees means Jenas had to shine
far more to make an impression. Being okay is not enough to claim a
World Cup place. The meticulous Capello is looking for class acts
to influence his decisions now. Jenas fell well short of that
against illustrious opponents.
JAMES MILNER
THE 'dry' hotels in Qatar offer non-alcoholic strawberry
flavoured beer instead of real ale. It is a bit like replacing a
player of Steven Gerrard's class with James Milner. No matter how
much you want it to work, it never will be adequate. You cannot
question his workrate but you wonder if there is enough X-Factor
about his game. He is more a Louis Walsh act than one of Simon
Cowell's. His versatility should ensure he is part of the final
squad but, like much of this team, you cannot see him making more
than cameo appearances in the summer.
WAYNE ROONEY
FIRST a father, now an England captain, Rooney is emerging as
England's top ambassador. The Manchester United striker shared the
A-list billing with Kaka. Every touch and drop of the shoulder was
greeted with shrieks of approval from a largely subdued crowd. But
such was the lack of support on the pitch that he had to drop ever
deeper to hunt for possession. When he did get a pass, typically he
was always trying to make things happen. Inevitably, he cut a
frustrated figure as the lack of quality showed - and he will
welcome back the cavalry like the rest of us in the next
friendly.
DARREN BENT
ONLY the Royal Mail has carried a greater strike threat since
Bent signed for Sunderland. He was one of those with something to
prove, but precisely what he confirmed is not certain. If anything,
he underlined the strangeness of leaving Peter Crouch on the bench.
Bent's first touch was header over the bar from 25 yards and he
looked lost for the rest of the match. His game relies on the kind
of regular service you can get in the Premier League, but not at
this level. He left the international stage on 55 minutes and his
World Cup hopes probably exited with him.
SUBSTITUTES:
JERMAIN DEFOE 5 (for Bent), 55m
May see his omission from the starting line-up more positively
than it first seemed. Capello wanted to take a closer look at Bent,
but he will have seen nothing to suggest he should displace Defoe
as the prime goal-sniffer in the box.
PETER CROUCH 5 (for Barry), 81m
His enthusiasm saw him chase everything - but he looked rather
one-paced against the masters from Brazil.
TOM HUDDLESTONE 4 (for Wright-Phillips),
81m
Given a half chance to stake a World Cup claim but did not
improve his hopes, not least because he was on for such a short
time.
ASHLEY YOUNG 3 (for Milner), 87m
Just did not have enough time to shine.
SUBS NOT USED: Robert Green, Gary Cahill, Stephen Warnock, Joe
Hart.
