Grading the Game: England v. Paraguay **SPOILERS**

[May261999]

**SPOILERS**





















Grading The Game: England v. Paraguay

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Goalkeeping: B
Villar really couldn't do much about the own goal, and Bobadilla made some fine stops, particularly from Frank Lampard. Robinson showed confidence. To be fair, though, both teams made few chances.

Defending: C
A case could be made that Paraguay deserved an equalizer, but England's defense was rock solid, with the exception of Ashley Cole, who really needs to check his studs before the next match.

Flow: D
None whatsoever. Between an inability by both sides to sustain possession to nitpicky calls from the referee, the game had a very stop-start nature to it throughout the 90 minutes, and it reduced watching into a bit of a slog.

Goals: C
An own goal that quite possibly could have gone in on its own accord or been finished off by an English player from the 6-yard box. Well-executed set piece, though.

Fans: B
Typical England, singing throughout. The Paraguayans made a great showing as well, but a similiarity in team and national colors meant little variety for the eye.

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Refereeing: C
Good early impression with clamping down on goalies wasting time, but tried a bit too hard to assert his authority on the match, and made a few questionable bookings. Seemed happy to whistle for a foul on Peter Crouch just because he was bigger than the Paraguayan defenders. At least he didn't fall for Paredes' dives and Valdez' whining.

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Man Of The Match: Joe Cole (ENG). One of the few who played with energy and imagination. Mysteriously substituted in a tactical move by the England bench.

[acricketer]

Good analysis. I think Sven is Owen Hargreaves' uncle!

[Capt. Claw]

The referee was bloody terrible...

[stevenofnine]

Referee or not, England should have clobbered this team. Poor performance from the lads.

[matt12345]

i would give the ref a D.

[Swags]

That great long streak of piss called Crouch was rubbish!

[es7eban]

There`s no doubt that the Ericksson`s sistem is booring and too much defensive, but I think that is allright. England starts the game looking for the goal in the first minutes, and when they have it, stops the offensive and let the other team make their game. After watching this game, i think that its gonna be impossible to come back in the score against England. If they score first, the game is over

[xacebop]

I give England a D, I know they can play better but I knew crouch wouldn't shine at all in this tournament. Hopefully they can seal a spot in the 16 and then unleash rooney.

[randy420]

this match was fucking awful.

I feel like shit knowing that I spent 8 hours trying to avoid the result only to get home and watch that piece of piss.

It was an absolute snorefest of a match, as you said, no flow at all, and the referee was a fucking joke too. Absolutely worthless, but I guess that can be expected of a CONCACAF referee..

[Yiannis]

and the referee was a fucking joke too. Absolutely worthless, but I guess that can be expected of a CONCACAF referee..

That's why there are numerous calls for more European refs;)