Preparation more important than score. We're unlikely to meet as robust a side as the French next week and we stood up to them. So this was best kind of warm up.
What was the atmosphere like? Looked too sparse at central area in rain.
Clever of Frank to take Muscat off - he needs to be there for both qualifiers.
Zidane stamped class in first half but over whole game Harry my motm.
Eight times out of ten we would have got penalty for that clumsy push in box.Had it been a neutral ref it may have been easier to give.
I'd start Harry where he plays for Leeds and after first fifteen minutes give him license to roam.
Okon did exceptionally well given his lack of games. But he could do with another game before next week.
Viduka given very difficult job - he'll have significantly more chances next week.
Did Emerton overdo the back-heels?
Overall great run for team but we'll be more focussed next week.
written by Alex Stephenson
I'm mildly surprised at the outpouring of praise for harry. I thought tonight he was ordinary until the last half hour when he DID look very good.
Muscat is a liability. Nothing more than a thug. He should have been sent off at the end of the first half and also for that foul which resulted in dugarry going off. Against Sth America he will be off before half time. Well done to FF for taking him off immediately he was booked
Zidane? Oh what a player.... he is sublime. Tonights performance from him only lacked a goal. Dugarry also impressed me more than he ever has before.
Penalty? ABSOLUTELY UNQUESTIONABLY. Only ONE man in the entire world thought no. And his assistant FAILED to assist because he should have signaled it immediately. No red though...it was the last minute of a friendly!!!!!
I hope Frank has learned from tonight. Play Ago & Viduka up front with harry on the left. When he moved there after Aloisi came on he was excellent
twice this year oz has played the Worlds no 1 for a win & a draw ...yet the road to the WC finals is still very very dodgy. FIFA stinks.
written by David Paton
Observing from the telly (while a good old Brissie thunder storm precipitated down outside). I felt we could have done with a game or two more with this team together. There were a few signs, especially later on, presumably when fatigue and the wet surface contributed, that our old problem of giving it away reared its ugly head again. Safe passing is so important and a couple of times you could see that the passer thought he knew where the intended recipient would be, but he didn't. The French anticipated and intercepted quite a few very expertly too. I hope the South Americans are a couple of grades lower overall. If so, we may see us more able to push a little further up the field overall. I hadn't realized it, but I rang my brother in Cheadle Hulme at half time and he watching on Sky who had never seen us before (well, nobody had seen that team before) said he was disappointed that we were playing 9 behind the ball and at home. In the second half I was watching out for it and it wasn't quite that bad, but they are the world's best (? Argentina) after all.
I suspect we can do well on the 20th.
Hooray for the Grape!!
BTW, why didn't we have a neutral ref? Did an Englishman officiate in their friendly against Sweden? It seems a local will always run the risk of bending over backwards to be fair to the visitors - which is not fair to us.
written by David Marshall