The Last Word - Sports Blog (Sean Simara)

Wales 0-2 England The game was a must win and they did. A formation of 4-3-3 shocked some fans but that change was needed a little too late but at least it has happened now. It was a comfortable win in the end. The goals came early and England never looked in trouble. Lampard scored from the spot his first goal for England for a long time, and Darren Bent scored the other. For me the most impressive players were Ashley Young, Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker . In a formation which suits these players Young destroyed the Welsh left back. He had a hand in both goals and looked comfortable playing there. He is a confidence player though and when things are going well he will look class. But what can he do against much tougher opposition? That will show how good a player he is. I think a move away from Villa will be on the cards soon so that may help his cause. The same argument can be made for Scott Parker. He been the best player at Upton Park this season and deserved a starting place....

As the dust settles and all the teams have played their first games at this year’s World Cup I look back at the early talking points of the tournament. England’s performance was not the best but it also wasn’t the worst. Rob Greens howler will live long in the memory of English football now. He will get hounded at every away ground next season just like James, Carson and Robinson have gone through. I think England will learn a lot from the USA game, and I truly think that Joe Cole has to be on the pitch. I would play him behind Rooney which means dropping Heskey even though he did play well on Saturday. My team on Friday would be, Green (One more chance to save his England career), Johnson, Terry, Dawson, A. Cole, Barry, Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard, J. Cole and Rooney. The most impressive team so far have been Germany. They walked all over Australia and with a very young side they could go a long way. Spain suffered the first World Cup shock when Switzerland beat them 1-0. Spain were the ...