Goals in either half from Fraizer Campbell and Craig Gardner gave England U21 a comfortable 2-0 win over Czech Republic U21 at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night. It was England’s first win over the Czechs at this level.
Campbell, who is currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur ,opened the scoring in the 10th minute, coolly chipping the ball over Jakub Divis after Czech defender Jan Halama failed to deal with Joe Lewis’ huge downfield kick.
Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard will miss England’s international friendly against Germany after tearing his leg muscle in the Reds’ 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers yesterday. Gerrard, who also scored in that game, has tore his adductus magnor muscle in his right leg, and could be out for anywhere between 7-10 days.
In FIFA’s latest rankings, England have climbed up one place from fifteenth to fourteenth thanks to their wins over Croatia and Andorra. Brazil have moved up two places to fourth, while the Netherlands and Croatia have fallen down one place to fifth and sixth respectively.
The top three remain unchanged- Spain, Italy and Germany. However Spain have managed to extend their lead over the Italians- they have 1643 points to Italy’s 1365.
Scotland lost 156 points as they fell to 26th, a drop of 10 places.