England’s qualification for the World Cup finals next summer in South Africa has prompted the latest surge of fear that fans will fall foul to ticket touts and black market scams. Tickets for guaranteed entry to England games have already been sold out and tickets are already on sale online for upwards of £3,000.

England often take a lot of fans to a major tournament and some travel without tickets hoping to buy them outside the stadium of each respective match. This makes England fans a classic target for touts who are very clever at producing fake tickets, which fans will sometimes pay a lot of money for in the hope of seeing a game.

Abta spokesman, Sean Tipton, said: “We’re saying that when you book you should do so with a company authorised by Fifa. In the past we have had instances of people booking trips for major sporting events and then finding that their tickets did not materialise.”G

“Travellers should heed the Foreign Office travel advice for South Africa. It’s not a good idea, for example, to tour Johannesburg at night,” said Tipton. “[But] there is no doubt that this is going to be a tremendous boost for South Africa tourism and it’s a great destination for Britons. It’s one of the few places where the pound has actually strengthened against the local currency of late. The food is good and prices are low.”

There are many different avenues that fans can go down in order to make sure they are not eventually ripped off. FIFA say that are going to set up a bar code system that will allow ticket holders to enter certain numbers on an online website, which will then tell them if the ticket is valid for entry to the match that the ticket says.

It will not be the first time that England fans have been greatly ripped off if the authorities do not a grip on the situation very quickly. There were examples in Germany and South Korea of when England fans paid thousands of pounds in order to see a match and then were denied entry based on the fact that the ticket said the wrong staidum or a letter was out of place. In one instance a man even spent £20,000 on a fake ticket and had no way of getting his cash back.

England manager, Fabio Capello, says that he will have to be ruthless if his defensive players do not tighten up. Capello was visibly annoyed during the 2-1 home friendly victory over Slovenia at the weekend but the manager says there are worries in defence.

England won the match thanks to goals from Frank Lampard and Jermain Defoe but were worryingly loose in defence, which was shown when Slovenia grabbed their consolation goal.

Capello has a history of dropping players without a second thought and has been previously involved in a number of heated arguments and exchanges at a variety of clubs he managed at before taking the England job.

Capello said: “Sometimes I shout but this time not. I will explain what I want them to do – if they want to stay with me.”

It is unlikely that Capello will make huge changes ahead of England’s World Cup qualifying match with Croatia on Wednesday. If England win the match then they will become one of the first teams to secure a place at next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

However, the point is that another bad performance in defence from England could lead to a number of players falling out of favour with the coach and it could open up a corridor of possibility for fringe players that would not have been expecting a chance.

England have the team and the ability to do very well at the World Cup but the fundemental basis of Capello’s game is built around having a tight defence. Mathew Upson has not impressed since he was given the nod to replace Rio Ferdinand and Capello may opt to go for less experience but more desire in future games.

England’s strongest defensive pairing is still John Terry and Rio Ferdinand but the worry is what comes after this. Capello has already tried a variety of combinations that have for some reason or another not worked and the reliance on big name players is worrying.

There is no room for egos or mistakes in what the Italian is trying to achieve with the English national side. As he has said himself, there is room to do big and great things but this requires commitment and focus in every single national game that is played. England will not get off so lightly against better opposition.

Any lapse in concentration against an Italy, Germany, Spain or France, even for the smallest amount of time could be the difference between failure and success for England. Complete and utter focus is necessary if the side are to have any chance of winning a major tournament that they can do.

So it’s official, the reigning world player of the year now plies his trade in La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo was greeted by around 80,000 jubilant Real Madrid fans upon his official revealing as the Bernabeu neared its full capacity on Monday night. If you thought Florentino Perez’s second ‘Galacticos’ era had begun with the unveiling of Brazilian Kaka last week, well it has well and truly begun now.

Ronaldo’s unveiling breaks the record number of fans turning out for such an occasion which was previously set by none other than Diego Maradona, who attracted 75,000 upon his arrival at Napoli in 1984.

Put world records to one side for a minute however, take a step back and look at what effect this transfer can have on other major leagues in Europe. The arrivals of Kaka and Ronaldo in Madrid means La Liga have arguably the three best players in the world, with Lionel Messi set to remain at the Nou Camp.

Not since the early 1990’s when Seria A boasted players such as Gullit, Van Basten and Klinsmann has a league employed such world class quality from nations other than their own, and back then Italy was the place to be.

Although Premier League clubs self proclaim themselves to play in the ‘best league in the world,’ it very much appears that Spain is now the undisputed place to be, just like Italy was in the 90’s.

Italian football has suffered greatly since the well documented match fixing scandal in 2006, despite the national team winning the World Cup that summer. With the retirements of Pavel Nedved and Luis Figo this summer and Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, probably the biggest name left in Seria A, signalling his intent to leave Italy, it now appears that only Jose Mourinho can save the league from dropping below the likes of Germany as one of the most prestigious in Europe.

Meanwhile, the English league remains as strong as ever, despite the loss of Ronaldo. However, it does now appear inferior to the Spanish game as the new most expensive player in the history of the game suggested himself.

‘The Premier League is a very good competition, but I think that the Spanish league is going to have a little more quality because of the players that are arriving,’ said Ronaldo earlier in the week.

‘Both leagues are going to be very good, but I think that with Florentino Pérez’s signings the Spanish league is superior to the English. It’s going to be a magnificent competition in Spain this year. All the players have a lot of quality and the referees protect the players more.’

Real Madrid now have the previous two Ballon d’Or winners, Barcelona hold the European Cup and to top it off the Spanish national team top the FIFA rankings after a couple of years in which only the USA have inflicted defeat upon them.

What remains to be seen is what effect all of the above will have on the other top leagues. Franck Ribery has made no secret of his desire to move to Madrid from German giants Bayern Munich, while Karim Benzema has already moved to the Bernabeu from Lyon as French football loses it’s only major star player.

Incidentally, Benzema turned down the opportunity to go to Old Trafford in favour of Madrid, further strengthening Ronaldo’s case for now playing in a league ‘superior to the English.’

The Premier League could be the one that suffers most from this summer’s activity. Speculation continues to surround the futures of Liverpool midfield duo Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano as Real and Barcelona continue to sniff around the pair respectively.

La Liga has continued to rob the Premier League of talents such as Thierry Henry, Alex Hleb and Arjen Robben in recent seasons, and the trend looks set to continue.

Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez, is at it again after he has called Europe’s biggest clubs to come together and start a Super League. Perez’s comments have caused outrage within football communities because if his calls are acted upon it will mean the destruction of established leagues across Europe.

Perez has been in the headlines all summer long because of his outrageous spending of money on a small group of players that have recently arrived in the Spanish capital. Just as English fans may have been thinking that they weren’t going to read about this man again for the next few days, he rears his ugly head.

His idea is quite simple but it would destroy more than one league. Perez wants to hold effectively a permanent Champions League, meaning that the top two or three sides from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain would all go off and play each other every single week in order for an over all prize. The problem means that these teams would have to leave the league of the country they play in and this would not be well accepted.

Really prestigious leagues such as the Premier League and La Liga would be forced to restructure and although the idea of a European Super League may be tempting and quite lucrative, it is this, which may be holding any thing from ever happening back.

Perez said: “We have to agree a new European Super League which guarantees that the best always play the best – something that does not happen in the Champions League.”

For the fortunate few that would be involved in a new league, they would be silly not to support it. The advantages of such a league are huge. Firstly there is the fact that the fans of each club would be able to travel around Europe on a constant basis, meeting new opposition fans and being able to experience beautiful cities that they would not have had access to before.

There is also the added factor of money that is always important in modern football. Television and media rights packages to show this new league would produce figures that have never been seen before, which in turn would put a larger amount back into the pocket of the clubs involved.

Thirdly, there is the respect that the players at these top clubs would be playing against a better class of opposition all of the time. This would mean that there personal levels of performance would increase and this can only be beneficial for the national teams, which will draw even closer as a result.

So the argument is there and it is a good one but when you weigh in the disadvantages you start to see the cracks that would be very difficult to replace. Firslty there would be the distruction of top flight leagues upon which a lot does depend. For example, restructuring the Premier League could mean that the Football League in England is completely changed to cope.

This would have to be done because if it isn’t it would only mean that the gap between the very top clubs and those trying to make a name for themselves would only increase even further, meaning that it would become virtually impossible for some sides to ever have a chance of getting Premier League or Super League football.

You also need to consider the viability of fans travelling large distances each week and the strain this would place upon the authorities of various countries. If this was not properly considered then it could result in a lot of violence from a small bunch of hooligans that are taking advantage of an inefficient new league to go around Europe expressing their dominance through violence and territory. Barcelona v Liverpool could become the new West Ham v Millwall.

Perez did promise big changes when he was up for election for the Madrid presidency but the billionaire clearly needs to have a sit down and rest his head for a little bit. He may well be getting carried away with the fact that he is physically having an impact on the power shift in Europe. When you sign the best players in the world and money is no object it would take a special person not to be buoyed by this and try to develop an idea in another area.

However, just because Real Madrid can spend hundreds of millions of Euros on one or two players does not mean that Perez can go about trying to change football completely. Someone at FIFA should maybe get on the phone and have a chat with him for a little bit before he gets too carried away and thinks up ideas such as using two footballs in a match or something similarly mad.

In essence, it is a very good idea that could develop at some point in the future, but this point will not come for a long time. The leagues of each country would not allow it to happen and it would take something special for a Super League to be up and running within the next decade. The beauty of football is that you slug it out in the domestic leagues each week before having a special European night against another team that you would otherwise not play. It is these type of strange beauties that people in football value so much more and is just another reason why a Super League may not happen.

When you are at the very top of the game it is easy to try and make predictions and come out with statements that you believe will help to take the game forward but what Perez is not thinking about is how League One or League Two teams in England would cope when the Premier League is changed because there will obviously be a knock on effect. If someone somewhere can come up with a package that suits and helps all involved then there is no reason why a Super League cannot happen soon.

I watched a tape of the England vs Germany 1966 World Cup Final the other day and the thing that struck me the most was how many of today’s players can’t make a solid tackle without leaving their feet. And some players, such as Paul Scholes and perhaps David Beckham, are actually pretty brutal when it comes to tackling. In fact, there is way too much tackling from behind going on in today’s game and it’s no wonder half of the teams’ best players are out game after game with injuries.

A well placed, and timed tackle can often be the difference between winning and losing a game of football. Tackling is a very important part of the game in all areas of the pitch. It’s essential for good defense and good offence as it stops the opposition’s attack and enables you to gain possession of the ball to launch a counter attack.

The most important factor of tackling is the timing. If your timing’s off, you risk fouling the opponent Just ask Scholes about this. This could be disastrous if you do it in your own 18 yard box as the inevitable penalty kick is bound to be called. In some cases, you may not have to tackle the opponent if you’re skilled enough to slow the ball carrier down or contain him/her and limit their options by guiding them away from the goal.

You shouldn’t really attempt a tackle in the box unless you’re sure you can win the ball. If you’re not positive, you should try to jockey the ball carrier by staying between them and the goal. You need to bend your knees and lean forward slightly to lower your center of gravity. You should always face the attacker at an angle so they can’t slide the ball between your legs, nutmeg you, and run by you. This will also force the opponent toward the sideline.

You should remain on your feet when tackling if possible. This way, you’re in position to counter attack after winning the ball. To do this, make sure your feet are firmly planted and use the foot closest to the ball to tackle with. You can also try to stab or poke the ball away from an oncoming attacker if enough of the ball is visible and reachable. So many players make a tackle and end up on their ass, therefore giving possession right back to the opposition.

When slide tackling, you’re actually leaving your feet and lunging at the ball carrier with your foot. You should never slide tackle with both feet as it’s very dangerous and of course against the rules. You must always tackle with the studs of your football boots down or you could easily break a player’s leg. While slide tackles may look good to the fans, they should really only be used as a last resort, especially close to your own goal. Slide tackles are however, generally the most effective type of tackle to use against opponents attacking down the sideline.

When you make any type of tackle in football, there’s no reason at all to place your hands on the opponent. This is another aspect of the game that is getting way out of hand. You’re supposed to tackle with your feet, not your hands.

England had a lot of the ball in today’s (June 29th) final of the U21 Euro Championships in Malmo, Sweden. The problem was, they didn’t really know what to do with it, and Germany did. However, there probably weren’t too many people out there who would have bet on a 4-0 Germany victory. To those who did, then congratulations.

England were behind the eight ball from the get go, due to the suspension of strikers Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell, along with number one goalkeeper Joe Hart. But that’s the nature of football, and sports in general for that matter. You need to be prepared for anything and England clearly weren’t. While Theo Walcott, and James Milner are players with some admirable offensive skills, they’re not pure strikers.

In fact, England didn’t have any other strikers to suit up in the final and that shows the sorry state of football today as well as terrible management by England’s Stuart Pearce and his staff. How you can only take two strikers out of a squad of 23 to a major tournament is beyond me. But that just goes to show you how much importance is placed on scoring goals in today’s game.

Scott Loach, who played with Watford last season, started in goal, while many supporters thought Peterborough United’s Joe Lewis would have been a better choice. But in the end, it doesn’t really matter as you’re not going to win any football games if you don’t score at least one goal.

England got off to a good start, but Gonzalo Castro put Germany ahead with a beautifully timed run and an excellent pass from Mesut Ozil. Castro neatly slid the ball past the oncoming Loach. That goal held up until half time, but once the second period started it didn’t take Germany long to double the lead as Ozil let a screaming free kick go from 35 yards, that Loach totally misplayed and while he got his hand to it, the ball dribbled over the line.

That seemed to take the starch out of England, and while they did create a few chances, Lee Cattermole nicked the crossbar with a long-range shot in the 57th minute and two others were cleared off the line, but none of them actually forced the keeper to make a save, and Germany punished them further with goals by Sandro Wagner in the 79th and 84th minutes. He could have had a hat trick, but blew a sitter in the 77th minute after being set up by Ozil, who was a thorn in England’s side all night long.

The game was definitely decided by this point and it was just a matter of how many goals Germany might bang in. But, the scoring was over and Germany added the U21 title to go along with the U19 and U17 championships which they currently hold as well.

While Pearce will be seen as some type of hero in many experts’ eyes, let’s look at the facts here. He didn’t bring along enough attacking strength and paid the ultimate price for it after his strikers were suspended. And his team didn’t respond well in the big games. After taking a 3-0 lead against Sweden in the semi final, England then surrendered seven straight goals. So they didn’t look too good in the defensive end of the pitch either. I’m no expert, but that’s no way to win a championship.

The fact England beat Sweden on penalties after a 120-minute, 3-3 draw didn’t really come as much of a surprise as many experts thought it would go down to the wire, (including England manager Stuart Pearce), but the way the game played out took quite a few people off guard.

In what looked like to be a walkover for England, after taking a 3-0 lead into the dressing room at half time, suddenly became a game of life and death for them as they blew the lead and looked certain to go tumbling out of the European U21 Championship semi final in a most humiliating way.

Martin Cranie silenced the Swedish crowd after just 53 seconds with a goal off a corner from James Milner. Then Nedum Onuoha doubled the lead in the 27th minute on another Milner corner. Sweden has been brutal all throughout the tournament on set pieces and in the 38th minute they failed to clear another corner and Mattias Bjarsmyr eventually ended up putting it in his own net for what looked like to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

The second half started with England looking adventurous. Theo Walcott made a brilliant run in the 51st minute which showed why he’s so important to England’s future. Pearce had no choice but to play the speedy youngster today as it would have shattered Walcott’s confidence. Here’s a kid who is good enough to score a hat trick in a World Cup Qualifier away in Croatia for the senior team, but isn’t always getting into the U21 squad. He has to play for the U21s or he’ll obviously begin to have doubts about his ability. There’s no way England can afford to screw with this guy’s mind. When he’s healthy and available, he has to play. It’s as simple as that.

Sweden cut the lead to 3-1 in the 68th minute when Marcus Berg was left unmarked in the box and he right-footed a shot home. It was his sixth goal of the tournament. This brought the crowd back to life

The stadium got a lot louder just seven minutes later as England gave up a ridiculous free kick just outside of the box and Ola Toivonen slammed it home.

Berg then raised the roof off of the stadium with his seventh goal of the event as he leveled the score at 3-3 in the 81st minute. England had completely lost the plot and Pearce’s substitutions need to be questioned as he couldn’t leave things alone when they were going well for the team. As they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Sub Fraizer Campbell, who came on for Gabriel Agbonalahor in the 59th minute, darkened the skies more for England as he was sent off in the 84th for his second yellow card in 25 minutes.

It was one-way traffic from then on as Sweden opened the floodgates, but couldn’t find the winner, even though Berg came close to scoring his third of the game in extra time, but his header ricocheted off of the crossbar.

England managed to hang on until the final whistle and Pearce’s prediction of a penalty shootout came true. I’m not sure if he was dreading it though, as he’s been on the losing end of them twice as a player and once with the U21s in that marathon 32 penalty shootout to Holland in the semi finals two years ago, or if he was actually looking forward to it, to finally get the monkey off his back.

Either way, Milner stepped up to take the first kick and promptly ended up on his ass while taking one of the worst spot kicks in the history of football. But English keeper Joe Hart saved Sweden’s first penalty to even things up. Hart then took the next penalty and got England on the board. Things were level at 4-4 after five penalties each. Kieran Gibbs, put the visitors ahead 5-4 and then Guillermo hit the post on Sweden’s sixth shot and that what all she wrote. England had won a rare penalty shootout and will now face Germany, who beat Italy 1-0 in the other semi final, in the championship game on Monday June 29th.

Things won’t bee easy though as Hart, Agbonalahor, and Campbell will all miss the match because of suspension.

The England Under 21s will have their hands full when they take on hosts Sweden in the European championship semi final on Friday night. Sweden booked their spot in the playoffs with a convincing 3-1 win over Serbia today (June 23rd) in front of 20,500 fans.

Sweden had two wins and a draw to finish in second place in Group A, while England topped Group B with two wins and a draw. Sweden missed out on first place today when Italy beat Belarus 2-1 in the other Group A match.

Marcus Berg got Sweden off to a quick start as he put them up 1-0 after just eight minutes. He added a second just seven minutes later on a penalty. However, Serbia looked like they were going to make a game of it when they pulled one back through Gojko Kacar to make it 2-1 in the 28th minute.

But Sweden would have none of it and just 60 seconds later regained their two-goal lead when Ola Toivonen bulged the net. Serbia might have been able to come back from a couple of goals down, but their self discipline let them down and the game was basically put to bed when Nenad Tomovic got his second yellow of the match and was sent off in the 45th minute.

Sweden figured they had the game wrapped up and didn’t press the issue in the second half. Serbia self destructed though in the 69th minute when Nikola Petkovic was sent off with a straight red for an elbow to the head of his opponent when going up for a header.

Italy’s win means they will have to take on Group B runners-up Germany on Friday night (June 26th) as well. They had a bit of a scare today though as Belarus took the lead just before half time on a goal by Sergei Kislyak. But just moments later Italy was level as Robert Acquafresca slammed home a penalty kick after Mikhail Afanasiev was ruled to have handled the ball in the box. The Italians wrapped up the win when Acquafresca scored his second of the match in the 75th minute.

Both semi final matchups look good on paper and let’s hope they’re as good on the pitch once the whistle blows. England might find it hard to keep Sweden off of the score board as they have banged ina tournament-leading nine goals in their three games. They play a more wide open style than England and have also conceded four goals. England have score five and let in only two.

Italy have scored four and let in two, while Germany have scored three and only let in one. So on paper, we’d figure that the Italy vs Germany game might be a low-scoring affair, while the England vs Sweden encounter could feature a few goals. It’ll be interesting to see what happens and how much of a factor playing at home will be for Sweden. Whatever happens on Friday night, the matchup for the final on Monday (June 29th) should also be an interesting one.

England Under-21s have secured their place in the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championships with a 2-0 win over Spain Under-21s.

With Germany having earlier moved top of the group after beating Finland 2-0, manager Stuart Pearce knew his side would regain control with victory over the Spanish.

After a relatively low-key first half, which saw James Milner miss a penalty, Pearce’s men came back out and goals from substitute Fraizer Campbell and Milner saw off their opposition, who now look like joining Finland on the road home.

Campbell, a first-half replacement for the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor, capitalised on some woeful Spanish defending as Mario Suarez’s misplaced pass sent the Manchester United forward through on goal.

He still had work to do, however, as he cut inside Javi Garcia onto his left foot before drilling an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner past the heroic Spanish keeper Andres Sergio Asenjo.

The introduction of Theo Walcott, who was surprisingly left on the bench, galvanised the English youngsters and he was instrumental in Milner’s strike which effectively wrapped up the points.

Walcott used his electric pace to beat the Spanish defence down the left flank before squaring for Milner, who made amends for his earlier miss, as he thumped the ball past Asenjo.

It was just the response Pearce wanted from Walcott, and Franco Baldini, who was scheduled to attend, will probably send a glowing report back to England boss Fabio Capello.

Pearce will be praised as well because his youngsters are now in the semi-finals, with a Group B match against Germany to spare.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who was strongly opposed to his youngster travelling to Sweden after representing the seniors against Kazakhstan and Andorra, cannot complain either as Walcott has only played 75 minutes in the tournament so far.

Pearce battled to keep Walcott in his squad, dismissing fears of burn-out ahead of next year’s World Cup, but then responded by removing the highest-profile player of the tournament after a quiet 45 minutes against Finland.

“Reputations and being well-known count for nothing,” Pearce said on the eve of the finals, and he kept his word by replacing Walcott with Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson against Spain.

Pearce’s attitude is that players may have to “fall on their sword” for the good of the team, so Walcott started on the bench and Mark Noble retained the captaincy despite the return of Nedum Onuoha from a thigh complaint to replace suspended Michael Mancienne.

As he admits himself, Pearce is still learning as a manager and his decision not to train at the ground almost cost his youngsters an early goal.

Onuoha over hit a backpass, misjudging the pace of the turf, with Joe Hart racing back and clearing on the line. Even then, it required England to hack away as the Spaniards closed in.

Hart also sent a clearance along the floor straight to Javi Martinez, a possible Manchester City target, but the Spain midfielder could not direct his finish. Milner’s crosses appeared England’s most likely route to goal.

The Aston Villa midfielder put one on Agbonlahor’s head which got deflected over, then from the corner Onuoha and Martin Cranie had close-range efforts blocked.

Milner earned and took England‘s penalty just after the half-hour mark. Spain lost possession in their own half and Johnson fed through Milner, who twisted his way past Javi Garcia before getting brought down.

It was a well-struck penalty but Sergio Asenjo was down sharply to his right to palm away.

Worse was to follow for England as Agbonlahor had to be taken off six minutes before the break but it was Campbell, not Walcott, who came on.

Hart had a rush of blood to the head 10 minutes after the restart, racing out to meet Martinez even though there was little danger.

The Spain midfielder rolled the ball towards goal and Cranie was needed to clear off the goal line.

There were jeers when Barcelona’s Bojan Krkic was taken off for Diego Capel just before the hour mark, with two of the biggest stars of the tournament on the bench at that stage.

That lasted until the 62nd minute, when Walcott was introduced for Johnson.

Five minutes later, England were ahead.

Milner won the ball in Spain territory and poked the ball through for Campbell, who cut inside Garcia before planting his finish in the bottom corner.

Smoke then came out of the stand at the end Campbell scored in, but the situation appeared to be in control.

Pearce danced down the touchline when Walcott set up the second goal, racing behind the Spain defence by outpacing Garcia, then cutting the ball back for Milner to smash home.

The only sour point was Milner’s late booking, which rules him out of the Germany game although it did appear as though the Villa man knew what he was doing.

Pearce has defended his decision to leave Theo Walcott on the bench in the wake of the winger’s second half demolition of Spain Under-21s.

Walcott’s introduction in the second half of the Group B clash prompted an explosion of life into the team as England opened the scoring just five minutes after he replaced Adam Johnson.

“I felt with the game going to be being stretched in the second half he’d have an impact – he proved me right,” Pearce said after the game.

“But then I know Theo and I know what he’s capable of and little Adam Johnson had done nothing wrong for me.

“He took the sting out of the Spaniards to start with and enabled Theo to come on and put on the virtuoso show that he did.

“I must mention at this stage Theo Walcott’s attitude.

“We spoke before the game about how he answers not being in the starting line up. You know, it’s difficult for him to understand how he’s played for the seniors and then he didn’t start here.

“The only way you answer a managerial team selection is to put in a performance of both attacking and defending that he did and credit to him, but I expected no less from him.”

The European Under 21 Championships kicked off in Sweden on Monday (June 15th) with a couple of pretty good games.

England got the three points they so desperately wanted with a 2-1 win over Finland. However, there were a few rocky moments for them a long the way, with the worst one being the sending off of Michael Mancienne in the 31st minute for a professional foul on Berat Sadik in the penalty box.

England were already in the lead by then though, as Lee Cattermole gave them an early lead in the 15th minute after Gabriel Agbonlahor set him up. Tim Sparv tied the game up at 1-1 in the 33rd minute as Mancienne’s red card had led to a spot kick for Finland. Sparv sent keeper Joe Hart the wrong way with a fine penalty.

England’s brightest star and national squad member Theo Walcott of Arsenal was taken off at half time and replaced by Fraizer Campbell.

Micah Richards scored on a fantastic header in the 53rd minute off of a corner by James Milner to give England the 2-1 win and they did enough the rest of the way to hang on to the win. They are a huge three points as Spain, and Germany are also in Group B with them.

While England manager Stuart Pearce was happy with the points, especially with 10 men, he said the team needs to get better if they have any chance of winning the tournament.

“What we need to show is more ability. That performance, for this standard of team, wasn’t good enough. They know it before I even tell them. We have to improve on that. I’ve got three points, I’m pleased. I’m delighted with the points. We need to get better than that and we are better than that.”

They won’t have to wait long to see if they are better as they take on Spain on Thursday (June 18th), and Germany will take on Finland.

In the other Group B game, Spain and Germany played to a 0-0 draw in a game that produced quite a few good scoring chances along with some pretty good saves. The result was actually the best thing England could have hoped for as it allowed them to sit atop the group on their own for the time being.

Spain had most of the possession in the first half, but the Germans’ counterattack was pretty impressive. Spain came close to taking the lead, but Jose Chico was beaten by a good save from keeper Manuel Neur, and Marc Torrejon, saw his powerful header slam off the crossbar.

Germany then hit the post just before the half time whistle as Marko Marin’s shot nicked the outside of the post.

Germany had the better chances in the second half, but Spanish keeper Asenjo pulled off a series of fine saves to earn his side a point. None of them were bigger than in injury time when Anis Ben-Hatira almost won it for Germany, but Asenjo again the hero.