England against Slovakia

With the game now over, English minds will be turning with not a little concern towards their options up front ahead of Wednesday's game against Ukraine. The wisdom of playing a meaningless friendly so close to an important qualifier will be debated as a result of the trio of injuries sustained by the England team today.

GOAL: Frank Lampard scores a wonderful third goal to wrap up the game. A shot across Senecky from Lampard as he raced in to the penalty area after nice work from Carrick.

Rooney is forced wide after Carrick's ball finds him. England have a corner though and Beckham once more delivers. Nothing comes of it but Terry is then caught late by Sapara - again.

Mintal comes on up front for Slovakia as they seek to get something out of this. They're running out of time though and a goal for them would be something of a shock at the minute.

Almost a clever one-two between Lampard and Rooney but the Chelsea man's ball is cut out as Rooney went in chase.

Sapara earns the dubious distinction of being the game's first recipient of a yellow card for a blatant hack on Downing.

Rooney this time tries to pick out Beckham but it worked better the other way round as his pass goes astray.

So, Crouch is off and Michael Carrick comes on. Most bizarre to lose three front men in the one game. Is there something of interest to England strikers on the TV at the minute or something?

Is there a curse on the England frontline today? Crouch now struggles after a challenge from Skrtel and, almost unbelievably, he too will now be removed from the game. Harry Redknapp now has a posse of irate Premier League managers to join him in picking bones with Mr Capello.

GOAL: A goal of delightful simplicity which highlights the outstanding crossing ability of David Beckham once more. Becks steadies himself on the right and then picks out Rooney who, with one swift twist of that sturdy neck, buries a header home from close range.

Crouch snatches at a shot with the result that it goes way off target.

Substitute Holosko executes a shot whose woeful innacuracy illustrates clearly why he did not start the game.

Rooney picks out Crouch with a fine ball but the Slovakian full-back Pekarik has tracked back well to head behind for a corner. All sort of merry hell then breaks out as first Rooney from close range (after Beckham's cross) and then Terry with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area almost make the Slovakian net billow. No second goal though - yet.

And almost 2-0 to England here. Beckham's free-kick finds the head of Crouch (who has to stoop to reach the ball) and when it breaks to John Terry he is marginally offside as he diverts the path of the ball into the goal. Terry seems to apologise to Crouch as the 'goal' is chalked off as the Pompey man's header was going in unaided already.

3-1 now to Northern Ireland at Windsor Park folks.

Skrtel cuts out a Beckham cross but then looks cumbersome once more under pressure from Johnson. It's a goal-kick to Slovakia though.

Becks floats in another of his delightful corners which breaks to Johnson about twenty-five yards out. His shot from long range fails to trouble Senecky though.

Erik Jendrisek finds some space behind the England defence and blasts a shot into the sidenetting from a tight angle when he should have squared it. A reminder for England that Slovakia are no slouches.

A glance to the screen looming in front of me informs me Northern Ireland are 2-1 up against Poland by the way. Meanwhile back here..

Corner to England and Beckham takes it. Not a vintage one though and Slovakia can break but they fail to put England under any real pressure.

Downing drifts inside and finds Rooney in acres of space. He has time to steady himself but his shot from twenty-five yards out with the outside of his boot is harmless.

Rooney's sends a slide-rule pass towards Beckham and it is only the Milan man's infamous lack of pace that leaves him unable to take advantage of Rooney's vision.

Downing gets his cross in at the second attempt but it is way too close to Senecky who collects comfortably.

Downing underhits a pass to Ashley Cole then plays a crossfield ball towards man-of-the-moment Beckham. He is clattered by Zabavnik and gets a free-kick to play with. Customary brilliance from Beckham with the delivery but Slovakia deal with his cross in and get it away.

(Downing is on too as Gerrard leaves us by the way but young Stewart hasn't broken any records today so not as impressive really).

David Beckham is coming on to win that 109th cap and earn the status as England's most capped non-goalkeeper. Huge cheers from the England fans (the ones that aren't still stuffing over-priced crap in their faces). Lennon plays his part in this piece of footballing history but getting off the pitch.

HALF-TIME: A thunderous start from England which eased off gradually as the first-half progressed. Slovakia look dangerous on the break now which is a hell of an improvement on how they were shaping up at the start of the match. Next goal could determine things as a second for England should see off the resolve of the Slovaks. C U in 15...

Rooney - found wonderfully with a chipped reverse ball from Gerrard - blasts a shot well over the goal as England look for a second goal to seal what was a decent first half performance.

Gerrard raises his hand in anticipation of a handball inside the Slovakian penalty area but the referee is not a waiter bearing tasty morsels at will and ignores his pleas.

Slovakia do nothing of note with the corner and then Gerrard puts them under pressure with a shot which has Senecky stretching low to make a good save.

Cole will not be popular with the home fans after a pass across goal which is then missed by Upson. It puts the home defence in danger and they concede a corner once more but Upson was at fault there.

Rooney sees Gerrard ahead of him but the Slovakian defence read his intentions well and moves up to leave the Liverpool skipper stranded in a marginally offside position.

Lennon again sprints away down the right and decides to shoot as the angle invites him to have a go. Senecky again puts it out for a corner which England fail to make the most of. Should Lennon have crossed that though?

Some lovely triangular passing from Slovakia to advance through the middle and England can only watch as Kahran receives it in a dangerous area. Perhaps they knew his shot was going to be a weak one.

Look like the damage was done when he stretched for that shot and the result is a brief period on the park for Carlton Cole which ends with the arrival of Peter Crouch. Third time lucky then...

Surely that isn't a limp from Carlton Cole? In fact he has just collapsed on the Wembley turf and looks to be in quite a bit of discomfort.

Slovakia are definitely back in this game. They look much more settled and have found their rhythm. At the other end though Skrtel once more looks short as England attack and Cole goes close with a shot.

David Beckham is smiling on the bench at the minute. Nice. He won't be now though as Slovakia win themselves another corner. And he will be positively snarling as a Karhan shot stings the fingertips of David James. The Pompey man excels once more as he comes to take the resulting corner.

Lampard's shot is well saved by Senecky who puts it behind for a corner. From this, Gerrard comes inside and then executes a cheeky little backheel which has just to much on it to find Aaron Lennon.

Almost a wonderful pass from Barry who looked up and saw Wayne Rooney. It was just a couple of yards too far ahead of the United man.

Cech pounces on a poor piece of control from Johnson but lacks the support to carry on with the move.

Terry cuts out a pass from Hamsik and with a swing of his boot gets the ball up the other end of the park.

Frank Lampard seems to think the play is happening fifteen yards further away than it is and once more he overhits the ball in from the free-kick.

Johnson is blatantly tripped on the edge of the penalty area by Marek Cech who seems to have somehow avoided a booking. Perhaps England can punish him in a different way from the free-kick...

Rooney seizes on an error from Skrtel and chases a ball which Senecky comes out to deal with before the crazy man can get there. Glenn Johnson then fires in a cross which is just over the head of Cole (Carlton to his mother).

Lennon puts the ball out for a Slovakia throw and is doing a fine job down the right. Danger though! Sestak has a shot from the edge of the penalty area which is off target but so far is the highlight of the visitors attacking endeavours.

Heskey has damaged his hamstring apparently which will no doubt delight Martin O'Neill given his side's current form.

Crunching covering tackle after a sprint back from Ashley Cole to deny Stanislav Sestak. Slovakia get a corner but not much comes of it. They appear to have woken up though. About time too at half five on a Saturday.

Lennon puts in another decent cross but Slovakia are able to head it away. Who says this boy can't cross a ball?

Lampard curls it in and way over everyone in the Slovakia penalty area. Meanwhile Heskey is removed, presumably due to injury and not as a result of a particularly harsh punishment from Capello for that earlier miss. Carlton Cole replaces him.

Slovakia manage to string together a series of at least five passes which given their start to this game represents something of a triumph. Heskey has won a free-kick though at the other end.

England are rampant here and if they carry on like this Slovakia could be on the end of a demoralising whooping ahead of their crunch qualifier against neighbours the Czech Republic.

Dear oh dear Emile Heskey!! He fluffs his lines terribly when presented with an open goal from two yards. Rooney once more was the creator and his cross only needed the slightest of touches from the Villa man for England's second. Clearly Heskey had not recovered from the excitement of his goal as he heads over the bar.

GOAL: Can you say 'that's been coming' after only six minutes? Gerrard swivels sublimely after a neat pass from Rooney and his low cross is met by Heskey six yards out who does the rest. A yard for every year since his last England goal. Well done big man.

Lampard produces either the worst corner ever or the most peculiar one, hitting a ball to Gerrard who is forty yards from goal. The resulting ball in confuses everyone it seems and the 'idea' comes to nothing.

Plenty of noise around the national stadium today as England attack once more. Lennon cuts in from the right again and on the far side England have earned themselves another corner.

Cole wins a corner after a neat pass from Rooney down the left. Lampard swings it in but Slovakia cut it out. Terry then gets it in towards Rooney but his shot is blocked. Bright start by England here.

Lennon gets involved straight away and his great cross is cut out as Heskey lurked. Good start by the Spurs man who showed a clean pair of heels there.

Terry wins his 50th cap today by the way so well done on reaching the half ton JT - and we are quite literally off. No booing today please!

The England team have removed theirs as 'God Save the Queen' sounds out to reveal a sports/casual style shirt. Hmmm. Not sure it's a winner to be honest. Looks more like something Andy Murray would don at Wimbledon.

Both teams are out and 'enjoying' the obligatory round of handshakes. They are apparently currently sporting 'anthem jackets'in the modern day parlance as they await their respective national anthems. What's wrong with the term tracksuit tops eh? Whatever they are called they need them - it's chucking it down in west London.

At some point today David Beckham is expected to win the cap that would see him sit top of a thick-based tree that grows upwards from the likes of David Nugent and which is currently crowned by both Bobby Moore and Beckham. Becks would become his country's most capped outfield player should he make an appearance for his 109th cap.

Martin Skrtel is the most familiar name amongst the Slovakia line-up but their danger man is the young Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik who operates on the flank. Slovakia are top of their qualilfying group and this could be a tricky one for England today.

The full England team is: James, Johnson, Cole, Barry, Upson, Terry, Lennon, Lampard, Heskey, Rooney, Gerrard.

Wayne 'wild man' Rooney is the second of the attacking duo. Four corner flags cower in fear. Poor old Stevie G is shunted out to the left following his devastating club form for Liverpool just behind Fernando Torres.

Capello continues his admirable policy of selecting players according to form by handing a start to Aaron Lennon. Mind you, the presence of the currently-lumbering Emile Heskey somewhat shoots down that notion.

Matthew Upson is the preferred choice at the back in the absence of Rio Ferdinand. Alongside him John Terry will be hoping for a win bonus which may help pay for any costs incurred by this week's alleged incident at the local shopping centre.

News of Ledley King's withdrawal from the England squad this week (too lazy to train or something) nestled somewhere between headlines declaring Sun Rises In the East' and 'Bankers Really Not Very Popular At The Minute'. Capello's decision to even include the defender in his squad has further soured his hate-hate relationship with Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

England are at home and, whilst most of the world?s nations are drawn into meaningful footballing conflict, Fabio Capello's men are left with a friendly against Slovakia at Wembley to warm them up before the more pressing visit of Ukraine for Wednesday's qualifier.

The preponderance of barrel-chested blokes heading in a westwards direction on the London Underground this afternoon can only mean one thing.

Join Joe Duggan for this international friendly at Wembley as England prepare for a crucial qualifier against Ukraine. Kick-off is at 17.15 and Chris will be along with his pre-match musings.

3-1 now to Northern Ireland at Windsor Park folks.

Skrtel cuts out a Beckham cross but then looks cumbersome once more under pressure from Johnson. It's a goal-kick to Slovakia though.

Becks floats in another of his delightful corners which breaks to Johnson about twenty-five yards out. His shot from long range fails to trouble Senecky though.

Erik Jendrisek finds some space behind the England defence and blasts a shot into the sidenetting from a tight angle when he should have squared it. A reminder for England that Slovakia are no slouches.

A glance to the screen looming in front of me informs me Northern Ireland are 2-1 up against Poland by the way. Meanwhile back here..

Corner to England and Beckham takes it. Not a vintage one though and Slovakia can break but they fail to put England under any real pressure.

Downing drifts inside and finds Rooney in acres of space. He has time to steady himself but his shot from twenty-five yards out with the outside of his boot is harmless.

Rooney's sends a slide-rule pass towards Beckham and it is only the Milan man's infamous lack of pace that leaves him unable to take advantage of Rooney's vision.

Downing gets his cross in at the second attempt but it is way too close to Senecky who collects comfortably.

Downing underhits a pass to Ashley Cole then plays a crossfield ball towards man-of-the-moment Beckham. He is clattered by Zabavnik and gets a free-kick to play with. Customary brilliance from Beckham with the delivery but Slovakia deal with his cross in and get it away.

(Downing is on too as Gerrard leaves us by the way but young Stewart hasn't broken any records today so not as impressive really).

David Beckham is coming on to win that 109th cap and earn the status as England's most capped non-goalkeeper. Huge cheers from the England fans (the ones that aren't still stuffing over-priced crap in their faces). Lennon plays his part in this piece of footballing history but getting off the pitch.

HALF-TIME: A thunderous start from England which eased off gradually as the first-half progressed. Slovakia look dangerous on the break now which is a hell of an improvement on how they were shaping up at the start of the match. Next goal could determine things as a second for England should see off the resolve of the Slovaks. C U in 15...

Rooney - found wonderfully with a chipped reverse ball from Gerrard - blasts a shot well over the goal as England look for a second goal to seal what was a decent first half performance.

Gerrard raises his hand in anticipation of a handball inside the Slovakian penalty area but the referee is not a waiter bearing tasty morsels at will and ignores his pleas.

Slovakia do nothing of note with the corner and then Gerrard puts them under pressure with a shot which has Senecky stretching low to make a good save.

Cole will not be popular with the home fans after a pass across goal which is then missed by Upson. It puts the home defence in danger and they concede a corner once more but Upson was at fault there.

Rooney sees Gerrard ahead of him but the Slovakian defence read his intentions well and moves up to leave the Liverpool skipper stranded in a marginally offside position.

Lennon again sprints away down the right and decides to shoot as the angle invites him to have a go. Senecky again puts it out for a corner which England fail to make the most of. Should Lennon have crossed that though?

Some lovely triangular passing from Slovakia to advance through the middle and England can only watch as Kahran receives it in a dangerous area. Perhaps they knew his shot was going to be a weak one.

Look like the damage was done when he stretched for that shot and the result is a brief period on the park for Carlton Cole which ends with the arrival of Peter Crouch. Third time lucky then...

Surely that isn't a limp from Carlton Cole? In fact he has just collapsed on the Wembley turf and looks to be in quite a bit of discomfort.

Slovakia are definitely back in this game. They look much more settled and have found their rhythm. At the other end though Skrtel once more looks short as England attack and Cole goes close with a shot.

David Beckham is smiling on the bench at the minute. Nice. He won't be now though as Slovakia win themselves another corner. And he will be positively snarling as a Karhan shot stings the fingertips of David James. The Pompey man excels once more as he comes to take the resulting corner.

Lampard's shot is well saved by Senecky who puts it behind for a corner. From this, Gerrard comes inside and then executes a cheeky little backheel which has just to much on it to find Aaron Lennon.

Almost a wonderful pass from Barry who looked up and saw Wayne Rooney. It was just a couple of yards too far ahead of the United man.

Cech pounces on a poor piece of control from Johnson but lacks the support to carry on with the move.

Terry cuts out a pass from Hamsik and with a swing of his boot gets the ball up the other end of the park.

Frank Lampard seems to think the play is happening fifteen yards further away than it is and once more he overhits the ball in from the free-kick.

Johnson is blatantly tripped on the edge of the penalty area by Marek Cech who seems to have somehow avoided a booking. Perhaps England can punish him in a different way from the free-kick...

Rooney seizes on an error from Skrtel and chases a ball which Senecky comes out to deal with before the crazy man can get there. Glenn Johnson then fires in a cross which is just over the head of Cole (Carlton to his mother).

Lennon puts the ball out for a Slovakia throw and is doing a fine job down the right. Danger though! Sestak has a shot from the edge of the penalty area which is off target but so far is the highlight of the visitors attacking endeavours.

Heskey has damaged his hamstring apparently which will no doubt delight Martin O'Neill given his side's current form.

Crunching covering tackle after a sprint back from Ashley Cole to deny Stanislav Sestak. Slovakia get a corner but not much comes of it. They appear to have woken up though. About time too at half five on a Saturday.

Lennon puts in another decent cross but Slovakia are able to head it away. Who says this boy can't cross a ball?

Lampard curls it in and way over everyone in the Slovakia penalty area. Meanwhile Heskey is removed, presumably due to injury and not as a result of a particularly harsh punishment from Capello for that earlier miss. Carlton Cole replaces him.

Slovakia manage to string together a series of at least five passes which given their start to this game represents something of a triumph. Heskey has won a free-kick though at the other end.

England are rampant here and if they carry on like this Slovakia could be on the end of a demoralising whooping ahead of their crunch qualifier against neighbours the Czech Republic.

Dear oh dear Emile Heskey!! He fluffs his lines terribly when presented with an open goal from two yards. Rooney once more was the creator and his cross only needed the slightest of touches from the Villa man for England's second. Clearly Heskey had not recovered from the excitement of his goal as he heads over the bar.

GOAL: Can you say 'that's been coming' after only six minutes? Gerrard swivels sublimely after a neat pass from Rooney and his low cross is met by Heskey six yards out who does the rest. A yard for every year since his last England goal. Well done big man.

Lampard produces either the worst corner ever or the most peculiar one, hitting a ball to Gerrard who is forty yards from goal. The resulting ball in confuses everyone it seems and the 'idea' comes to nothing.

Plenty of noise around the national stadium today as England attack once more. Lennon cuts in from the right again and on the far side England have earned themselves another corner.

Cole wins a corner after a neat pass from Rooney down the left. Lampard swings it in but Slovakia cut it out. Terry then gets it in towards Rooney but his shot is blocked. Bright start by England here.

Lennon gets involved straight away and his great cross is cut out as Heskey lurked. Good start by the Spurs man who showed a clean pair of heels there.

Terry wins his 50th cap today by the way so well done on reaching the half ton JT - and we are quite literally off. No booing today please!

The England team have removed theirs as 'God Save the Queen' sounds out to reveal a sports/casual style shirt. Hmmm. Not sure it's a winner to be honest. Looks more like something Andy Murray would don at Wimbledon.

Both teams are out and 'enjoying' the obligatory round of handshakes. They are apparently currently sporting 'anthem jackets'in the modern day parlance as they await their respective national anthems. What's wrong with the term tracksuit tops eh? Whatever they are called they need them - it's chucking it down in west London.

At some point today David Beckham is expected to win the cap that would see him sit top of a thick-based tree that grows upwards from the likes of David Nugent and which is currently crowned by both Bobby Moore and Beckham. Becks would become his country's most capped outfield player should he make an appearance for his 109th cap.

Martin Skrtel is the most familiar name amongst the Slovakia line-up but their danger man is the young Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik who operates on the flank. Slovakia are top of their qualilfying group and this could be a tricky one for England today.

The full England team is: James, Johnson, Cole, Barry, Upson, Terry, Lennon, Lampard, Heskey, Rooney, Gerrard.

Wayne 'wild man' Rooney is the second of the attacking duo. Four corner flags cower in fear. Poor old Stevie G is shunted out to the left following his devastating club form for Liverpool just behind Fernando Torres.

Capello continues his admirable policy of selecting players according to form by handing a start to Aaron Lennon. Mind you, the presence of the currently-lumbering Emile Heskey somewhat shoots down that notion.

Matthew Upson is the preferred choice at the back in the absence of Rio Ferdinand. Alongside him John Terry will be hoping for a win bonus which may help pay for any costs incurred by this week's alleged incident at the local shopping centre.

News of Ledley King's withdrawal from the England squad this week (too lazy to train or something) nestled somewhere between headlines declaring Sun Rises In the East' and 'Bankers Really Not Very Popular At The Minute'. Capello's decision to even include the defender in his squad has further soured his hate-hate relationship with Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

England are at home and, whilst most of the world?s nations are drawn into meaningful footballing conflict, Fabio Capello's men are left with a friendly against Slovakia at Wembley to warm them up before the more pressing visit of Ukraine for Wednesday's qualifier.

The preponderance of barrel-chested blokes heading in a westwards direction on the London Underground this afternoon can only mean one thing.

Join Joe Duggan for this international friendly at Wembley as England prepare for a crucial qualifier against Ukraine. Kick-off is at 17.15 and Chris will be along with his pre-match musings.