England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan

England Booed - Then Cheered

At the end this was a comfortable win for England, but for a long time it looked as though it might be a match they would struggle to win. The visitors had the best scoring chances in the first half, and there were some in the restless crowd, who were booing at the interval. The England fans were not sure that their side were delivering up to expectations.

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Kazakhstan nearly went in front shortly after the interval but Nusserbayey thumped a sitter over the bar. England took the lead in the 52nd Minute. Wright-Phillips came on at half time, and seemed to make a difference, with darting runs down the left flank. One such run produced a corner, which found the reliable Captain, Rio Ferdinand who forcefully headed home, to relieve the England squad.

England doubled their score in the 65th minute when Kuchma, harassed by Rooney, headed the ball past his own keeper. So, it was still all to play for until Rooney settled it in the 77th minute, when he smartly put away a smart cross from Brown.

The England fans were now a lot happier, and had managed to get back into cheering mode. In fact when David Beckham came on, in the 79th minute, he got the loudest cheer of the night. Quite rightly so, as it happened, because his pinpoint passes were as good as ever. Sure he hasn't quite the pace of days of old, but strikers need to be fed, and he's very good at that.

Beckham found Rooney in the 86th minute, and he made it two for himself and four for England. The Manchester United man had done enough and was immediately substituted for Defoe, who made it five for the home side in the final minute. It was a good boost for Fabio Capello who is doing well, and seems to be living up to his reputation, but it is still early days!

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England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan
soccer and football
England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan