England players who shone at the World Cup
Posted by DavidM in Aaron Lennon, England, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney, World Cup | 2 July 2006
I've said enough about Rooney so now it's time to look at the England players who proved themselves at this year's competition.
I've covered Hargeaves already, suffice to say he deserved his selection, went from 'zero to hero' wth the England fans and put in a remarkable display against Portugal.
Joe Cole scored a fantastic goal to open England's account at the World Cup. Always regarded as a good player, Cole had been too inconsistent up until the last year. In Germany he proved himself in every game as capable of running at defences, playing the ball and being a threat on goal. He also had some lovely little tricks. He showed he has the skill, work-rate and temperament for the international stage.
Lennon was one of my favourites from the warm-up games. He came on for the latter half of games and each time changed the whole dynamic. His pace and willingness to run at defenders was impressive and he almost always beat them. With Beckham faling to get wide and whip the crosses in, Lennon gave us an option on the right after most of the play happened down Cole's left. An exciting, skillful player.
I've had my doubts in the past about Ferdinand. He can be a very good defender but has had flaky periods. Not in this tournament though. He did his job well.
At the start of the World Cup I would have expected to be writing about Rooney, Gerard and Lampard as England's leading lights. But football is, as always, unpredictable.
Well done to the players above. While England's performances as a whole have disappointed and losing to Portugal in the quarter-finals is a weak end to our campaign, these players deserve plaudits and have done their valuations no harm at all.
