South African teenagers in red Liverpool jerseys and Manchester United sweatshirts jumped up and down with vuvuzela-blowing compatriots wearing Bafana Bafana shirts. They were all shrieking the names of England’s players: Gerrard. Rooney. Terry. Especially John Terry.
“I think we realized today it’s another step up actually in game mode,” said Terry, the Chelsea captain. “Coming here, getting changed in the kit, and the stadium as well. We’ve enjoyed that part of it.”
Chelsea is big here. The Premier League champion is an international brand with well-known African spokesmen: Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel. The latter two won’t be playing in the World Cup, and Drogba might not either, but Terry will. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and the host team have little chance to win the championship. But England might.
The older South African fans here at Moruleng Stadium in North West Province, a mining area, were mostly men, dressed in slacks or jeans and collared shirts. They were supporting the local team, Platinum Stars, who were given a dream assignment: Give the guys from England a run around.
Firm applause and baritone chants greeted the Stars every time they pushed forward or ventured a shot on goal, of which there were a few. The Stars, who finished 14th in the South African Premier League last season, did their best, but they were no match for the Premier League players of England.
“It wasn’t a case of us coming here and wanting to win 8- or 9-nil, or 4- or 5-nil,” Terry said after England won, 3-0. “We were coming here to get the right preparation and take a lot of things from the game.”
“I’m sure the manager will look back on the first half, especially, and not be happy with that,” said Terry, who was among 10 starters substituted at halftime. “I’m sure we’ll sit down and go through it like we do every game and dig a few holes in our performance.”
There were more than a few, and they did not escape the notice of the United States assistant coaches watching from the stands. The Americans will face England on Saturday in nearby Rustenburg.
“I feel like I know these guys so well already,” one U.S. assistant coach said before making his way out of the stadium ahead of the crowd.
The scouting report he will deliver to Coach Bob Bradley won’t say anything new, but it will confirm some suspicions:
*Center back Ledley King, who has chronic knee problems and trains only two days a week, is less intimidating than Rio Ferdinand, the injured England captain.
*Michael Dawson, King’s Tottenham teammate and Ferdinand’s replacement on the roster, might have had a great season with Spurs, but he needs to find his international footing with his England teammates.
The game re-emphasized other things:
*Aaron Lennon is more dangerous on the right wing than Shaun Wright-Philips because he can run at defenders and effectively cross the ball, while Wright-Philips can only do the former. The pace of either Lennon or Wright-Phillips will be a challenge for the American captain Carlos Bocanegra, who is expected to play left fullback on Saturday.
England Coach Fabio Capello will give his players a detailed assessment of their performance, and he is likely displeased.
Each time a ball was misplayed or an England player was out of sync with a teammate, one of them looked over to the bench at a visibly perturbed Capello. This happened often. England was slow, which was what this mismatched game prescribed. Is that the best preparation five days before the start of the World Cup?
“The manger is a great coach and all he wants to do is win,” said Jermain Defoe, who scored England’s first goal. “He gets you fired up before the games.”
The only England player who didn’t seem to care what the coach thought of him was Rooney. He came on at halftime and played as if it were a cup final. Rooney has no dimmer switch – it’s either on or off. He worked the referee, went in for tackles when he lost the ball and even earned a yellow card before scoring England’s final goal.
Rooney is a known quantity. Unknown is who will start alongside him up front against the United States. It was Emile Heskey on Monday, and he was active. But Defoe scored, in the third minute, and Peter Crouch is a tall, complementary player who won’t get in Rooney’s way. He likes to play higher up, while Rooney, who prefers to get a lot of touches on the ball, prefers to come back into the midfield to get it.
The only field player who played both halves of the game was Joe Cole, on the left flank. James Milner, who came on in the second half, was quick, but appeared to occupy the same space on the field as Cole. It’s unlikely that they will be in the same lineup, but both could play against the United States.
What do you expect from England on Saturday? Does Capello have the team wound too tight? Or will he get them in sync and match ready?
www.nytimes.com
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