Three Lions dish out Isra-hell

[Blackleaf]

England took another step closer to qualifying for Euro 2008 after a magnificent win over Israel at Wembley. The win moved the Three Lions up one place to third in Group E on 17 points, just one point behind Russia who England play on Wednesday and three points behind group leaders Croatia.

Michael Owen, now fully recovered from the horrific injury he suffered in last year's World Cup, scored his first goal for his country since the goal he scored in England's 6-0 win over Jamaica in June 2006, and the outstanding Micah Richards scored his first ever England goal.

Euro 2008 qualifiers

SWP ... opening goal

England 3 Israel 0 (at Wembley Stadium, London)
Shaun Wright-Phillips 20
Michael Owen 49
Micah Richards 66

(Attendance: 85,372)

GAME STATS

Corners:
England 6
Israel 0

Goal attempts:
England 15
Israel 1

On target:
England 8
Israel 0

Yellow cards:
England 1 (Terry)
Israel 4 (Gershon, Benado, Zivkovic, Awat)

Standings

Group E

..............Points
Croatia......20
Russia.......18
England......17
Israel........17
Macedonia...7
Estonia.......3
Andorra.......0

Top 2 qualify for Euro 2008.

Next games in Group E:
Wednesday 12th September - England VS Russia (Wembley), Andorra VS Croatia, Macedonia VS Estonia

England
Paul Robinson, Ashley Cole, A, Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards, John Terry, Gareth Barry, Joe Cole, J, Steven Gerrard (Phil Neville, P), Shaun Wright-Phillips (David Bentley), Emile Heskey (Andrew Johnson), Michael Owen

Israel
Dudu Awat, Tal Ben-Haim, Arik Benado (Omar Golan), Shimon Gershon, Spungin, Bratislav Zivkovic, Walid Badir, Yossi Benayoun, Idan Tal, Itzhaki (Tamuz), Yaniv Katan (Michael Zandberg)

September 08, 2007

ENGLAND took a huge step towards Euro 2008 with a morale-boosting win over Israel.

Goals at Wembley from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Owen and Micah Richards left the Three Lions in a far more healthy position in qualifying Group E.

Boss Steve McClaren was delighted with the ease of the win ahead of Wednesday's crucial clash with Russia.

Recalled striker Emile Heskey missed the opening chances when he blazed over before nodding Steven Gerrard’s far-post corner wide.​

Owen then crashed a volley straight into the face of Israel keeper Dudu Aouate, who also saved well from Richards and Ashley Cole.​

Yet, for all the hosts’ dominance all they had to show for their first-half efforts was Wright-Phillips’ wonderfully crafted effort.​

Joe Cole was the architect, winning possession close to the Israel box before stepping on to his favoured right foot before picking out Wright-Phillips with a superb angled ball which dropped beyond the visitors defence.​

The Chelsea ace's finish was executed to perfection and though Israel were convinced the Chelsea man was offside, replays proved he had timed his run just right.​

McClaren’s half-time team-talk must surely have been for his team to kill the game off quickly.​

And the response was immediate as Owen proved 18 months of injury hell have done nothing to dim his predatory powers.​

Gareth Barry created the opportunity with a rolled pass into Owen’s feet. The Newcastle striker stood on the edge of the box with his back to goal and with an inspired first touch he gave himself the chance to turn and smash his 38th England goal into the top corner.​

If Owen is accustomed to finding the net, the most notable goal of Richards’ fledgling career prior to this evening came accompanied by a never-to-be-forgotten four-letter reaction on live TV.​

The Manchester City teenager will surely get many chances to atone for that mistake judging by the way he rose to power home Barry's corner.​

IN PICTURES: ENGLAND 3-0 ISRAEL​

Tribute to Luciano Pavarotti at Wembley before kick-off​

Ashley Cole and Yossi Benayoun​

John Terry and Barak Itzhaki

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Shaun Wright-Phillips scoring England's first goal

Gareth Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips celebrate

Joe Cole and John Terry celebrate

Michael Owen and Walid Badir

Shaun Wright-Phillips and Yoav Ziv

Michael Owen scores a magnificent goal to make it 2-0, a rocket from just outside the penalty area. Most of Owen's goal usually come from inside the box, and this was a rare occasion he scored from outside.

Michael Owen

The outstanding Micah Richards scores his first ever goal for England, a powerful header

 

[EagleSmack]

Oooo EXCITING!
Isn't there a BBC Forum where you could post your British stuff. No one really cares nor are we impressed.

 

[Toro]

"We made Israel look ordinary." - Steve McClaren.

Hey, Steve. Israel are ordinary.

 

[Outta here]

aw Blackleaf, I like your posts. Usually. I'm not the biggest sports fan, but I usually enjoy what you bring to the site. Thanks for taking the time to share your finds with us.

 

[Dreadful Nonsense]

is soccer popular?

 

[earth_as_one]

Soccer is the world's most popular sport.

The worst thing that can happen to a website like this is people stop posting. But Blackleaf should read monitor the strings he starts and add rebuttals when appropriate.

 

[Dreadful Nonsense]

Soccer is the world's most popular sport.

The worst thing that can happen to a website like this is people stop posting. But Blackleaf should read monitor the strings he starts and add rebuttals when appropriate.

I like blackleaf...some of the stuff he postsa gets huge coverage....
but kicking a ball around a field...largest sport in the world...yeah right!!!!

 

[Phil B]

Oooo EXCITING!
Isn't there a BBC Forum where you could post your British stuff. No one really cares nor are we impressed.

OMG like maybe there's an american forum somewhere........