[Int’l Friendly] England 1-1 Brazil
Jun 1st, 2007 by Ashley
[updated]
The first England match at the New Wembley.
and a long-waited (for the past season), sharp as knife JT header gave England a 1-0 advantage in the second half.
However, bizarre was McLaren’s substitution strategy. Taking JT off at 72 minute was unimaginable for me. (He could have taken JT off at 89 min if the purpose was to allow JT to receive standing ovation. So that excuse doesn’t stand.) But then I thought, well, it’s just England (though I believe JT values England quite much) not Chelsea. I’d expect JT to play full time for Chelsea; for England? nah… the most important thing is to stay healthy and uninjured. And I further comforted myself, if Brazil somehow manages to score, 1) it will show McLaren and the world how crucial JT’s presence is and 2) it wouldn’t be JT’s fault at all. Guess what, in the second minute of injury time, Brazillian Diego headed in an equlizer making McLaren looked really bad.
(I don’t mind England losing at all, especially when JT, J Cole, LP, Bridge are not on the pitch.)
Oh well, SkySports reported that JT being taking off the pitch 2 minutes after his goal wasn’t because there’s something wrong with McLaren’s brain but something wrong with JT’s hamstring. To ensure that JT can be on the starting lineup for Euro 08 qualifier next week against Estonia, he’s taking off early.