Having been postponed for 20 hours because of a waterlogged pitch – a situation that was described as a farce and a shambles – England finally met Poland for their fourth World Cup Qualifier. The postponement had come after torrential rain had turned the pitch into a quagmire, causing fans to wait in the stadium for over two hours before it was finally called off. The stadium at Warsaw has a roof but couldn’t be shut last night due to the weather conditions. A spokesperson for The National Sports Centre, who own the stadium said: “It takes 15 minutes to close the roof but we cannot do it in temperatures below zero, in high wind, or while it is wet. If we closed it while it was wet, the roof could fall.” The roof was on for today's match.
The rearrangements meant that many travelling England fans were unable to attend the game as they had flights back home to catch. However the Polish FA has said those who missed the match will be fully refunded for their tickets. The lack of England fans in the stadium was apparent as the home supporters were deafeningly loud every time their players touched the ball.
It was an intimidating atmosphere to play in and England looked sloppy from the start. The passing was poor, especially in midfield, and Jermaine Defoe was isolated upfront as Rooney played deep. The best movement came from Glen Johnson and James Milner down the right wing, but a lot of the other players were unspectacular. Conversely, Poland looked dangerous, especially Robert Lewandowski who regularly troubled Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott in defence.
It was against the run of play then when England took the lead. With half an hour gone, Steven Gerrard worked hard down the left wing and won a corner. His resulting in-swinging cross was well placed and found Rooney who was completely unmarked. It bounced off his head and shoulder, and then took another deflection of a Polish defender, before ending up in the back off the net. It wasn’t the greatest finish in the world but it gave the visitors the lead that they held on till halftime. It was also Rooney's 3rd goal in two games, suggesting his form for his country may be returning.
Just two minutes into the second half Poland had a chance to equalise when Phil Jagielka failed to deal with a tame cross into the box. The ball bounced through his legs and it was up to Johnson to rescue the situation by knocking the ball out for a corner. Poland had another chance on goal when Obraniak hit a shot from thirty yards that Hart had to parry over the crossbar.
The Polish pressure continued and England were forced deeper and deeper into their own half. Rooney was pulled so far back that he was often helping Ashley Cole and Lescott deal with the Polish threat created by winger Lukasz Piszczek. This resulted in Defoe being even more isolated than before, sometimes sitting 30 yards away from his nearest teammate.
After being on the defensive for quite some time England found themselves attacking at the midway point of the second half and should have gone 2-0 up. A Gerrard costless kick found Defoe in space at the back post but the Tottenham striker hit his shot wide. He was then substituted for Danny Welbeck. Then, minutes later, the substitute connected with teammate Rooney who somehow scooped his shot over the crossbar. These mistakes proved costly as Poland soon equalised from a corner. Joe Hart came out to meet the in-swinging ball but got nowhere near it and Glik scored with a powerful header.
The result is a disappointment for England and a blow to their World Cup qualifying campaign. They have now two and drawn two.