England's win over Tunisia in Marseille yesterday was not only a thoroughly professional and sound performance but, in the circumstances, it was the best response the players could give to the disturbances provoked in Marseille on Sunday night and again near the stadium yesterday by a small minority of English fans.
The hooligan behaviour has provided the first sour note at these finals but it is an issue about which players can do little, other than get on with the game as best they can and that is what England did yesterday.
I thought they got exactly the start that coach Glenn Hoddle would have ordered. They won easily without any real hiccups along the way. They picked up only one yellow card (defender Sol Campbell) and they showed that the squad is fit and well and raring to go. Furthermore, their win immediately puts their major Group rivals, Colombia and Romania, under pressure since they now know they can expect no easy passage against England.
Hoddle's decision to drop Manchester United star David Beckham in favour of Tottenham player Darren Anderton may have surprised some, but the result proves the coach right. Against more serious opposition than Tunisia, Anderton may be exposed as a defender, but when he is allowed to go forward, as he did yesterday, then he is a useful player.
Hoddle probably sees Anderton as a more direct player than Beckham, someone who will get on the end of more stuff down that right wing than Beckham, and, in the context of yesterday's game against frankly poor opposition, that analysis was justified.
One intriguing aspect of Anderton's inclusion is that it now leaves (or should leave) Beckham bursting with frustration and impatience to get back into the side. Creating that type of healthy competition for team places within the squad is not a bad thing. If and when Beckham returns to the team, he would be a fired-up player desperately keen to prove a point or two.
In a minor way, the same observation applies to Liverpool striker, 18year-old Michael Owen. He came on for only the last five minutes yesterday in place of Teddy Sheringham and looked very bright and busy and keen to get into the action.
Among the many positive aspects of the England performance was the showing of Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes. Not only did he score a superb 90th-minute goal, but he showed once more that he can go some way to compensating for the absence of Paul Gascoigne. Above all, Scholes is a player who will always get into the penalty area, ready to score and that is something that Gascoigne has not done for at least two seasons now.
My final thoughts on England are not new but worth repeating: the tactical line-up of this side makes them difficult to beat. If you play with three central defenders (Campbell, Southgate and Adams) behind two solid defensive midfielders (Ince and Batty), then you have created a very solid platform for yourself, a platform that gives little away even if you are having a bad patch in a game.
Another intriguing aspect of yesterday's game is that England's main man in attack, Alan Shearer, hit the mark to score the opening goal. Along with Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), Davor Suker (Croatia), Roberto Baggio (Italy), Marcelo Salas (Chile), Raul (Spain) and Anton Polster (Austria), he joins the list of big-name strikers who, so far, have lived up to their pre-tournament reputation. Much of the credit for this must go to the refereeing which, quite clearly, offers strikers more protection than at previous World Cups.
Mention of Suker brings me to Croatia's 3-1 defeat of Jamaica on Sunday night. After initial difficulties and a Jamaican equaliser, Croatia eventually won quite easily against what was all too obviously a very inexperienced side. The Croats still have those wonderful midfield ball players, men like the captain Zvonimir Boban, Roberto Prosinecki and Aijosa Asanovic, and they are clearly a side of terrific footballing potential. However, I'd be worried about their defence when they come up against more serious opposition. The defence looks slow, with a tendency to watch the ball rather than the incoming striker. However, that is a thought for another day.
(In an interview with Paddy Agnew)
