England make history
Have your say on England, Republic of Ireland, Wales and N.Ireland
Last updated: 15th October 2008
England have made their best start to a World Cup qualifying campaign and now skysports.com wants to hear from you.
Wayne Rooney was again the star of the show as the Three Lions made it four wins out of four in qualifying Group 6 with victory in Belarus.
Is the Manchester United star now back to his best in an England shirt or is there still more to come?
And what about Steven Gerrard? Did the Liverpool captain answer his international critics? How did Frank Lampard perform in midfield?
How do you rate Fabio Capello's 100 per cent record in competitive games? Is the Italian proving his managerial credentials or are improvements still needed?
Wales suffered a 1-0 defeat to Germany, but they battled their hosts all the way in Monchengladbach.
Can John Toshack's side still reach South Africa in two years' time?
Republic or Ireland recorded a 1-0 victory over Cyprus at Croke Park and sit second in Group 8. Has Giovanni Trapattoni had a positive impact? Can the Republic qualify?
Northern Ireland recorded their first win of the qualifying campaign as they defeated San Marino 4-0. Where do Nigel Worthington's side go from here?
Let us know your thoughts using the form below.
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Comments
Mike Cody (Liverpool fan) says...
I find it laughable that people keep banging on about how poor the opposition have been, during the last 4 qualifiers. We've won 4 out of4, have 12 points & are top of the group. The issue here is that simply that our country love a good loser. Play well but if you get beat never mind. What a joke, people used to worship Tim Henman who never won a grand slam and was an average tennis player. I guess my point is this, we are not saying we are going to win the world cup but we are going in the right direction. Capello seems to have installed a winning mentality which was missing under sven and was never seen during McClarens joke of a spell! Lets be happy, positive and look forward to the next qualifier! Oh and everyone stopong going on about Lampard/Gerrard, both are top draw players and will work it out!
Posted 17:38 16th October 2008
James Gormley says...
brilliant result. just what the whole nation needed to lift our spirits. Rooney is back to his goal scoring best, and the midfield barry and lamps in the middle with gerrard on the left worked well. correct me if I'm wrong but when we play a 4-4-2 formation we get results. :) great opening goal by gerrard. and even when they made it (1-1) i wasn't worried as you just knew there was more to come. The whole sense and feeling for the england team is looking good and improving in every way so far under capello. i feel very happy and proud and so should all the lads in the england camp. It amazing what effect football can have on peoples lives. just looking around today people are smiling. i was because of the football, but for those who don't really care about football, its probably due to the lovely weather we are having today. Which to me seemed fitting and made me think. Maybe someone up there is smiling down on us and this is his way of showing it. :) I'm feeling really positive about englands future. it may take time, but things are looking up. p.s I hope becks beats shiltons record for number of caps for england and is part of the team for the world cup 2010. He class and deserves it.:)
Posted 16:56 16th October 2008
Chris Ingham says...
At the end of the day 4 from 4 is what really matters. Gerrard is in a different league to lampard, who is merely an average player in a good chelsea side. Heskey been great since his come back, superb at the little things like holding the ball and plying well with Rooney. Hargreaves in for me and gets lamps out!!!
Posted 15:30 16th October 2008
John Clarke says...
Did the North West of England get a different game to us in the south? Gerrard had a good game for a change and Lampard quielty went about his game in an excellent manor and performed well. Even the critics on TV were singing his praises for a change. Good England performance and 12 points, not a bad way to start the campaign.
Posted 15:30 16th October 2008
Andy Turley says...
What is it with England fans? Why do we have to be judged as either world beaters or complete rubbish? Why can't we accept that we're an previously underperforming team who are simply getting better with each game under a new manager (who happens to have an A* track record). You can only beat the team in front of you and so far we've beaten two form teams away from home in hostile atmospheres pretty convincingly (best record in Europe at the moment). So you don't have to dream of winning the world cup or worry about not getting there, simply support them in their next game and help them win it - its not rocket science.
Posted 15:30 16th October 2008
Paul Bastin says...
After going to the Khazakstan game and watching last night on tv Cappello must decide on Lampard and Gerrard, pushing Gerrard up behind Heskey worked against low opposition but against the better sides we will be leaving massive gaps in the midfield. On saturday both Gerrard and Lampard were missing in the first half and only improved slightly when Rooney stopped coming deep to pick the ball up and run with it. They both can't play against good opposition, against minnows even I would get a game in midfield. Its decision time for Capello!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 15:20 16th October 2008
Glen Mcevoy says...
What more can England do? England beat Croatia and Belarus AWAY where great teams have failed and England have not won by a lucky goal but by scoring decent goals and outplaying their opponnents. I said before the croatia game that Rooney has to show some form to even be considered as a world class player and some of the skill,passing and finishing he showed last night was world class. Anybody who says that ''oh if spain or Argentina played Belarus it would of been 5 or 6'' are speaking rubbish because they have something against England. Every team have problems, spain is its power in midfield, Italys is pace, Germanys is its none existent mobility of its centre backs and teams like Brazil and Argentina have too many individuals. So anybody who says England are crap or over rated just be quiet because we are as good as anybody.
Posted 15:19 16th October 2008
Andrei K says...
I'm from Belarus. And I want to congratulate English fans on the win and the confident leading in our group. It was a great experience for Belarus team. For sure, we hoped for the positive result. For sure, it could have happened only if our team had shown it's ever best and England had been bad. But it wasn't so. England was all right, very confident in the second half. And we had no chance. It was a masterclass, a perfect lesson for our fans. Our stadium never saw such massive and organised support. Even guys from our fan sector admitted that English fans were the best. My only hope that our young team and our fans will progress and are on the right way. I think now it's not a time to think if England can win World Cup or not. Few people really believed Spain can ever do something at the top competitions. But they became a strong team and won Euro. May be this is a turn for England to do that on the eve of World Cup?... Good luck for all of you and for English team!
Posted 15:16 16th October 2008
Steve Corry says...
Did i see a different game last night!! Yes Gerrard played well but the team looked very unbalanced when he decides to move inside! We still need a left midfielder and that will surely go to Joe Cole once fit! So again it will be Lampard and Gerrard fighting to play alongside Barry! Pick players on current form and that would be Lampard! As Gerrard has OPENLY ADMITTED he needs to stop trying to do everything himself, ie shooting to much, too many glory passes etc! Still a good result tho!
Posted 14:58 16th October 2008
David Kirby (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
A fine performance, but England must learn to use Walcott if he is picked. He needs a ball to run on to, while Wright-Phillips needs a ball to his feet. It is a subtle change of tactics but a quality team can adapt to that.
Posted 14:32 16th October 2008
Willie Casey says...
Relax. They are improving. Rooney as we all know is better playing up front as a striker and Sir Alex should do the same. England were out played in the middle at times but that is to be expected. They will cruise to the finals. Being a Liverpool fan I think Gerrard must play. Also I was delighted for Heskey. He may not score a lot but Eangland have so mant people to score it may not matter. He sets up a lot of chances and deserves his place in my view.
Posted 10:51 16th October 2008
James Barry says...
Once again England beat third rate opposition and the country rises to another false dawn. Yeah, yeah, yeah they beat Croatia but the world cup?? Come on!! This is now a vehicle to give a one trick pony more paper caps so he can pass the greatest players England have ever had.... The FA and Capello should be ashamed.
Posted 10:51 16th October 2008
Stuart Bird says...
let's face it, we haven't met a decent team yet in the qualifiers. England are an average side with average players. One or two moments of pure class have overshadowed what has been an ordinary series of performances. I love my team but i am not getting over excited yet.
Posted 10:31 16th October 2008
Yme Reniad (West Ham United fan) says...
A great set of results for Fabio Capello, the team is marching in the right direction and growing in confidence and tactical awareness. This has been highlighted in the way they play, and react to a change in formation or players. one point i must make is the team is weak at the back without John Terry, who provides that little bit more confidence needed when under pressure. i think only the back four can safely be picked without hesitation, but with the wealth of attacking options england have at their disposal, the players pickedfor attack and midfield will be a reflection of the opposition or the situation within a match.
Posted 10:27 16th October 2008
Paul Edwards says...
Did anybody see Frank lampard last night? Eh? no.. thats because Stevie G ran the show. 4 wins out of 4 great! 22 points will win the group, which means when we win all our home games we will be through! Results matter and our standing at the top of the table makes for perfect reading. You can discuss whether Heskey should play, where's Rooney best position, Can Lampard & Gerrard play together, who should play on the left, all day long.. winning is all that matters to get this country to the finals!
Posted 10:06 16th October 2008
Henry Coates (Stoke City fan) says...
Never really rated Heskey in an England shirt before,but at the moment he da man
Posted 09:59 16th October 2008
Mark Speers (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Another good result, another steady performance, why are people always looking to pick out negatives in england`s performances? we are heading in the right direction, Capello has barely just taken over and is trying to mould this team into a unit that can adapt to different styles of play. which he seems to be doing very well, fortunately for England we seem to have the players to be able to do what he requires. I think Heskey has been awesome since his recall, and we seem to be getting the best out of Rooney because of his presence. We actually look like we have the makings of becoming a very strong side, and i do feel time and patience will see Capello bring our national side success!! Lets all just be positive!!
Posted 09:57 16th October 2008
Stefan Gauci (Manchester United fan) says...
Well done to England and all the players who have done fantastically well to achieve this feat. Capello is undoubtedly a great manager as he has proved time and time again at club level where he was a winner anywhere he's been. And now he's bringing the winning mentality that has been lacking for too many years back into the England fold. Well done to Rooney. He has finally got a good scoring break and it pays off for the tireless displays that he puts every time he plays for club and country. One word of caution at this stage to the media. The British press has a habit of getting carried away. Every time the English team does well the media is quick to put on the player's shoulders or sorts of pressure that "this is the time England will win the tournament". Hold the horses of enthusiasm back. Let's allow the players to focus on achieving the good results game after game and build on every success game after game. That is the recipe for success. Some people might have their mings already in South Africa. Wrong. We'll get there, but we're not there yet. Let's take it slow but secure and help the players along the way by supporting them without creating any unnecessary burdens. Each game is a final and a means to the ultimate goal - a second star on the England Shirt. Keep up the good work lads. Fabio, thanks for making England fans smile from the heart once again.
Posted 09:26 16th October 2008
Darren Scott says...
Steven Gerrard proved last night that he is one of the best in the world in position. Frank Lampard was anonymous last night contributed nothing to the midfield, I would put Hargreaves in when fit and let gerrard play where he wants, just behind Rooney! This would make Lampard up his game and make the player compete for his place. And that is from a MAN U fan!
Posted 09:11 16th October 2008
Jon Curtis (Liverpool fan) says...
Yet again, a decent scoreline hides the fact England gave a poor performance against a side we should easily beat!! Lack of accurate passing, ball control, possesion, and another none clean sheet should show the fact we still need to improve drastically if we are to be able to compete against the bigger teams.. Of course we are top of the Group.. we should be looking at the other teams in it!! Some players are getting stick just to point the finger at individuals, where we should be blaming the whole team for lack of quality... Stevie G. is not lacking form, and showed it last night.. lets not single any one player for praise or fault, but the team as a whole!!! we need characters like Gerard and Rooney to be focused on playing their game not worrying about the media blaming them for playing a poor game... This is just a start, we need bigger stronger performances before we can prove we are good enough for the World teams...
Posted 09:07 16th October 2008
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