England v Argentina player ratings

England v Argentina player ratings

ENGLAND

DAVID SEAMAN: Proved why he is the country’s best goalkeeper with a faultless display to cope with anything that Argentina threw at them and made a brilliant save late on from Mauricio Pochettino. 9.

DANNY MILLS: Again looked vulnerable in defence in the first-half and hardly got any success overlapping in attack, but was equally as heroic as his team-mates with an impressive second-half contribution. 7.

RIO FERDINAND: After a shaky start he settled down well alongside Sol Campbell to keep the Argentinian attack at bay with some good awareness and calmness. 9.

SOL CAMPBELL: Took time to settle after a lively opening from their opponents with an all-round impressive defensive display. 9.

ASHLEY COLE: Too eager in the tackles early on and was rightly booked. He looked more at ease going forward than he did with somebody running at him. 8.

DAVID BECKHAM: Looked a lot fitter than against Sweden with his constant chasing and passing and stood up as skipper to score England’s penalty. 7.

NICKY BUTT: After four months out of action he came back with a heroic performance in midfield to win tackles and set up his side’s forward moves. 9.

OWEN HARGREAVES: He was injured too early to make an impact. 3.

PAUL SCHOLES: Alongside Butt, his flicks, tackling and imagination put the Argentinian midfield to shame. 9.

MICHAEL OWEN: Despite failing to see the ball at times he made the opposition know he was there with his constant chasing. But when he had the ball Argentina again struggled to cope with his frightening pace and won his side’s penalty. 8.

EMILE HESKEY: Another largely ineffective game from the Liverpool man back in a more familiar central role, but he never stopped running. 6.

SUBS:

TREVOR SINCLAIR (ON FOR OWEN HARGREAVES): He was a shock choice to replace Hargreaves so early, but did England and his manager proud. 7.

TEDDY SHERINGHAM (ON FOR EMILE HESKEY): Went close with a brilliant second-half volley and brought some experience when needed most. 6.

WAYNE BRIDGE (ON FOR MICHAEL OWEN): Did well to stem the Argentinian tide late on. 5.

ARGENTINA

PABLO CAVALLERO: Was not tested enough by England with crosses and never did anything wrong. 7.

JUAN SORIN: Failed to make the same impact down the left flank as he did against Nigeria in their first World Cup game. 6.

WALTER SAMUEL: Had a fascinating duel against Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, but did well to cope with their pace and power. 7.

MAURICIO POCHETTINO: Committed the foul to give England their penalty and looked vulnerable against the pace of Owen. Gave England late scare but his header was well saved by Seaman. 7.

DIEGO PLACENTE: Was not tested enough down the left by England, but fortunately for England he was not as threatening in attack as he usual is. 7.

JAVIER ZANETTI: Was always a livewire down the right and always caused England’s defenders a problem with his runs from deep and shooting. 8.

DIEGO SIMEONE: After a promising start with England on the backfoot, he lost out in the midfield battle to Butt and Beckham. 7.

JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON: Tried to get Argentina going with his trademark flicks and passes, but he found England more difficult to break down than Nigeria and was substituted at half-time. 6.

KILY GONZALEZ: A constant menace on the left flank and had a great chance to put his country in front in the first half. 8.

ARIEL ORTEGA: Never stopped running at the England defence and trying to force an opening, but he found the opposition at their best. 8.

GABRIEL BATISTUTA: Looked far too fired up at the start of the game with some reckless fouls and was frustrated throughout by Campbell and Ferdinand. 7.

SUBS:

PABLO AIMAR (ON FOR JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON): Tried to unlock the England defence but found it as difficult as his team-mates. 7.

CLAUDIO LOPEZ (ON FOR KILY GONZALEZ): Also made a good contribution after coming on but was also left frustrated. 6.

HERNAN CRESPO (ON FOR GABRIEL BATISTUTA): Plenty of hard work, but like his team-mates just ran out of time.