INTERVIEW
Ratings on England Vs Argentina
24 Feb 2000
ENGLAND
David Seaman Rarely troubled but alert to the danger when Argentina came forward. Make a couple of important stops. Poor distribution will ensure a continuation of the controversy over whether he or Nigel Martyn should start. 7 out of 10
Kieron Dyer A quiet but promising display. Overmatched physically and had his defensive frailties highlighted by Gonzalez, but looked pacy and brave going forward and showed some nice touches. 6
Gareth Southgate Calm and composed as always at the back. Read the play well and showed Keegan he is the ideal man to play the central role in a defensive trio. 7
Dennis Wise Showed moments of great vision and kept the play moving with sensible one-touch play in midfield. Picked out Heskey and Shearer with a selection of excellent long balls. Picked up a booking. 8
Sol Campbell Did what he had to in no-nonsense fashion, and again got into advanced positions on occasions. 7
Martin Keown Got some important early headers in, but England were in control with Keown at the back in the first half before he limped out of the game with an ankle problem. 7
David Beckham Unspectacular but impressive in the first half, looking dangerous from set pieces and spraying some intelligent passes into key areas. But, after falling victim to some harsh tackling, began to force things too much and faded. 7
Paul Scholes Either explosive or anonymous for England - this was one of his anonymous nights. Diego Simeone had him in his pocket throughout. 5
Alan Shearer Squandered England's best chance of the game when he headed Beckham's first half corner wide. Didn't get the breaks, but remained positive and alert until his substitution. 6
Emile Heskey A revelation in attack alongside Shearer. His power and pace surprised the visitors in the first half but couldn't crown his excellent work with a goal or a killer pass. 9
Jason Wilcox Started brilliantly with two teasing left-wing crosses but drifted out of the game and found himself occasionally caught out in defence. 6
Substitutes Rio Ferdinand 7, Philip Neville 7, Ray Parlour 6, Andy Cole 7, Kevin Phillips 6
ARGENTINA
Pablo Cavallero Did nothing wrong. England didn't work him as hard as they might have. 7
Roberto Ayala The strongest and most solid of the Argentine back three. Positional play was excellent. 7
Rodolfo Arruabarrena Suffered under England's early domination but settled down as game went on. 6
Roberto Sensini Caught cold early in the game by the pace of Heskey. Substituted after 35 minutes and replaced by Mauricio Pochettino. 6
Diego Simeone Screened his defence well, quietly breaking down England's breaks through the centre. Kept Scholes under control. 7
Jose Chamot Rarely involved but was unlucky to collect a booking for a foul on Heskey. 6
Christian Gonzalez Tricks and pace wide on the left. Gave Dyer problems and was often Argentina's best outlet. 8
Javier Zanetti Not the usual all-action display from Inter's wing-back. 7
Gabriel Batistuta Strangely subdued performance from Batigol. Didn't have a sight of goal. 6
Ariel Ortega Showed glimpses of his ability, dropping off the central defenders but couldn't conjure the necessary magic. 7
Juan Veron Lazio's highly-rated midfield dynamo was largely anonymous on the Wembley pitch. 6
Substitutes
Mauricio Pochettino 7, Nelson Vivas 6, Gustavo Lopez 6, Hernan Crespo 6
HESKEY LOOKS CLASSY BUT ENGLAND DRAW BLANK
England 0 Argentina 0
STRIKER Emile Heskey proved there may be life without - or even instead of - Michael Owen at Wembley as he spearheaded an England side who finally sowed some seeds of hope ahead of the European Championships against Argentina.
The game certainly lacked the drama of the two World Cup encounters when England fell victim to Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' in 1986 and then a penalty shoot-out in 1998 after David Beckham's infamous red card. Indeed a friendly was something of an apt description, with chances relatively few and far between. However, even though a draw was a respectable result, the scoreline was in some ways less important than the performance - especially as the lifeless display against Scotland had left Kevin Keegan desperately needing some fuel for his fire of optimism. And while his pupils did not manage to answer all of the question-marks hanging over them, with the game petering out towards the end as substitutions disrupted the flow, there were at least finally a few hands being raised in the classroom.
The revelation was certainly Heskey, with the Leicester centre-forward bustling with determination on his full debut, shrugging off a back injury and a painful blow to the head to be overwhelmingly voted man of the match. His goalscoring record at club level may still be questionable, but he was bursting with running in providing the movement up front that England have so often cried out for. And with the fitness of Owen and Robbie Fowler still in doubt, Heskey certainly played himself into the final squad of 22 and he can no longer be considered simply as an outsider in the running to partner Shearer.
Perhaps the key was his willingness to pull unselfishly wide out left to stretch Argentina's defence and clear the path for Shearer in the centre. Indeed, the greatest satisfaction for Keegan must have been that his side finally seemed to discover a sense of balance, with almost all of their most positive moves coming from that left flank.
So often it has been the Bermuda Triangle of the national side, where players have gone and never returned, yet along with Heskey, Jason Wilcox also provided much cause for optimism in his wing-back role on that flank with a number of telling crosses. Within the first couple of minutes, Wilcox had sent over two dangerous crosses from the left wing - probably the sum total of service that Shearer received from that flank in both games against Scotland.
Overall, much work remains to be done before the start of Euro 2000 yet, with Dennis Wise and Beckham prompting intelligently, this was at least an England team playing - as a team. In the heart of midfield Wise and Beckham were darting about like terriers, with the Chelsea captain's passing of his Champions League standards and the Manchester United midfielder full of running and prompting. Beckham, in a new, deeper central playmaker's role, certainly seemed to have a point to prove in the wake of his weekend bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson, even if he never quite found his range with his balls through the centre.
While the hearts of many England fans were in their mouths whenever either of the partners in crime went headlong into tackles - with both of them booked and Beckham limping off injured - neither self-destructed.
After a minute's silence had been only partially observed following the death of Sir Stanley Matthews, a man for whom the term footballing legend was surely coined, England certainly came out full of determination - led by Heskey. When his strength took him to the byline, Shearer, who had earlier headed just wide at the far post, was apparently sent sprawling as he attempted to meet the 22-year-old Leicester striker's cross. To Shearer's disgust, no penalty was the German referee's answer yet Heskey was undaunted and his marker - Argentina's captain Roberto Sensini, no less - was substituted after just 35 minutes. The centre-forward's pace still managed to take him around Jose Chamot soon afterwards though and although he had a sight of goal from a tight angle, he choose to cross again and this time Roberto Ayala legitimately intercepted just ahead of Shearer.
With Beckham also striking a free-kick narrowly past the post, Keegan's side had nevertheless failed to make the most of their advantage. And they certainly had cause to beware the swift counter-attacks of the visitors, who were inspired by the vision and invention of Ariel Ortega, even if he was booked for an outrageous dive in the penalty area.
David Seaman had only one save to make in the first-half - parrying Gonzalez's snap-shot - but the warning signs were there not to commit too many men forward at once, especially with Rio Ferdinand on for Martin Keown at the break. Argentina certainly then started to apply more concerted pressure, with Seaman down smartly to save from Gonzalez, who then rifled a fierce drive just wide. Yet with Gareth Southgate probably the pick of Keegan's defenders, the visitors never fully imposed themselves and Batistuta's departure hardly helped them.
As for England, what they were patently lacking was a player of the calibre of Ortega to occupy the space behind the front two, with Paul Scholes struggling to make any impact. Their passing was improved but still inconsistent and with Beckham being replaced by Ray Parlour, the left-flank continued to be their most productive avenue, with Heskey heading two crosses by Wilcox wide.
The substitutions continued apace, with Phil Neville, Kevin Phillips and Andy Cole all coming on and the Manchester United forward's first touch was a strike on target which was scrambled away. However, while the final 15 minutes were unconvincing, perhaps that just proved what the starting line-up had achieved in the opening stages. Nothing conclusive was achieved, admittedly, but there was certainly cause for some degree of cautious optimism - and at least it did not go to a penalty shoot-out.
TEAMS
England: Seaman, Dyer, Southgate, Wise, Campbell, Keown, Beckham, Scholes, Shearer, Heskey, Wilcox. Subs: P. Neville, Martyn, R. Ferdinand, Parlour, Sinclair, Phillips, Cole.
Argentina: Cavallero, Ayala, Arruabarrena, Sensini, Simeone, Chamot, Kily Gonzalez, Zanetti, Batistuta, Ortega, Veron. Subs: Burgos, Vivas, Pocchettino, Husain, C. Lopez, G. Lopez, Crespo.
Referee: M Merk (Germany)
POST MATCH QUOTES
Alan Shearer hailed a battling England performance against Argentina - and paid tribute to football legend Sir Stanley Matthews, who died tonight. After Kevin Keegan's troops fought out a 0-0 draw with Argentina at Wembley, skipper Shearer said: ''We wanted to put on a good performance for Sir Stanley Matthews. Our sympathies go out to his friends and family. It was a shame we couldn't get a win for him. I think we merited a win. We were really on top in the first half and one or two chances were flying around and that was the time to punish them. The trip on me was a penalty. It was like in a dream, I couldn't get to the ball - but it was a penalty. We went a long way to getting the Scotland game out of our systems, we restored a lot of pride.''
Man of the match Emile Heskey said on Sky Sports: ''I enjoyed every minute. It was good to get a start. It would have been nice to get a goal. I had a couple of chances. There is something left in the tank for the Worthington Cup final.''
Dennis Wise said: ''We're a bit disappointed not to win the game. ''The fella clipped Alan Shearer's ankles in the first half and it was a penalty.'' Asked how he felt the midfield trio of himself, David Beckham and Paul Scholes had worked, Wise replied: ''It's very hard at international level, especially against a team of their class, but we worked hard and gave it a go.''
Keegan said: ''I think we deserved to win. In the first half there was a possible penalty on Alan Shearer, a couple of half chances. It was always going to be tight. They created one chance which David Seaman covered. Argentina will be a major force by the time the World Cup comes round. The lads can be very proud of the way they played.
''Emile Heskey answered his critics on the field, Jason Wilcox was terrific. We shouldn't overlook the quality of Dennis Wise. There were a lot of plusses. Heskey won everything in the air. They had a problem handling the stature of Heskey. I am sorry I had to play him because of Leicester being in the Worthington Cup. David Beckham will admit he gave it away (the ball) a few times. We know David can do it out on the right, we have that in the bank. There are things David knows he can do better, though. But he just wants to get on the field and play.