The man to whom England were indebted for instilling a sense of disharmony in the Argentinian back line

The man to whom England were indebted for instilling a sense of disharmony in the Argentinian back line with his fiendishly wicked runs directly into their heart was Owen, just as he had four years previously at St-Etienne Argentina were almost cavalier in their lack of caution. The Liverpool man never looks anything like the player he can be when surrounded by a phalanx of defenders, as Sweden demonstrated. And Butt, in particular, displaying the creative impulses that we do not always observe from him at Old Trafford, picked Owen out continuously with astute balls to his dancing feet.One of the best of the match was the raking pass which Owen controlled before driving it through the legs of Roma’s Walter Samuel against a post. Then the penalty, which one must admit into the Owen academy of dramatic art. “Clever”, he describes the gaining of such awards, and though there was some element of contact the defender appeared to be attempting to remove the offending leg.Beckham should care about such niceties.

He put away the kick with the venom of a man given licence to exact retribution against a sworn enemy. “I took deep breaths before I took the penalty,” he recalled “I had to. At one point I nearly stopped breathing.” He was asked what went through his mind. “Probably different flashbacks from four years ago, especially when the ball went in the net.”The second half was all about disciplined retreat as the substitute Pablo Aimar harnessed attacking forces that had been beyond the replaced Veron.

England maintained their shape, which became 5-5-0at times after Owen departed to be replaced by Wayne Bridge, as such, with the defence alert and brave. Ferdinand led the way with a consummate exhibition of defending, but Mills, a man who tends to commit himself but is also swift to correct his errors, performed above himself as he augmented the central defensive pairing.”You have to defend well against Argentina,” said Eriksson. “If they have space and time, they will put the ball behind you every time.” The coach was asked about his apparent lack of concern in the closing moments. “I can tell you, I was not calm at all in the last 10 minutes, even if it seemed like that. You can’t be if balls are coming from everywhere and your team are getting tired.”England tried to work the ball out wide to relieve the pressure, through Bridge and Sinclair, who gave his marker, Javier Zanetti, no respite. “Zanetti is regarded as one of the best players in the world,” said Sinclair. “So I thought: ‘If I don’t try to put him on the back foot, he’ll do it to me.’ So I got in first.”So, enter Nigeria, who may just provide a sterner examination.