An experimental England side gave a decent performance in a 2-2 draw with Ecuador, who equalized through a superb strike by substitute Michael Arroyo before both sides were reduced to 10 men in an incident-packed World Cup warmup match on Wednesday.
Arroyo had not been on the pitch long when he unleashed a fierce right-foot drive from 20m in the 70th minute that gave goalkeeper Ben Foster no chance after Rickie Lambert had put England 2-1 in front following a mazy run by Ross Barkley.
Tempers frayed nine minutes later when England’s Raheem Sterling, who replaced Wayne Rooney just past the hour, flew into a tackle on Antonio Valencia. Ecuador’s captain retaliated by grabbing Sterling around the neck and both were sent off.
Photo: AFP
“It [Sterling’s red card] was harsh. It was a rash tackle, but I thought Raheem was unlucky because of the way Valencia reacted like he did,” England coach Roy Hodgson told reporters. “I’m disappointed that a senior player like Antonio reacted in that way, but Raheem will learn from that.”
Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda said Valencia had overreacted and had apologized to Rueda and the team.
“He’s a leading squad member, very important in attack. Let’s hope this [reaction] is not repeated. He’s already made his apologies to the group and to everyone,” Rueda told reporters. “It’s another experience to keep maturing even though he’s one of the veterans.”
Photo: AFP
Ecuadorean media said Valencia’s reaction was the result of the players being badly affected by injury to teammate Segundo Castillo against Mexico on Saturday. Castillo had his leg broken in a tackle by Mexico’s Luis Montes and will miss the finals.
There were also concerns over Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who suffered a knee injury and is set to have a scan today, with Hodgson saying he may have suffered ligament damage.
Rooney, the only England player retained from the 3-0 win over Peru on Friday, had equalized from close range just before the half-hour after Ecuador had taken an eighth-minute lead when Enner Valencia powered home a close-range header.
“It was a very young lineup and there was almost a complete 11 players rested from the previous match,” Hodgson said. “But I thought we acquitted ourselves quite brilliantly and played some very good football at times.”
Both teams made wholesale changes, with Hodgson casting his eye over an experimental lineup, while Ecuador’s Reinaldo Rueda made five alterations from the team who lost 3-1 to Mexico on Saturday.
Ecuador, who had won only two of their previous 13 matches, looked lively in the opening exchanges and took the lead when Enner Valencia got above Chris Smalling to head home after a fine left-wing cross by Walter Ayovi.
Rooney, who kept drifting into the middle from an unfamiliar role on the left, brought England level after 29 minutes when he fired into the net after Lambert, who appeared to have first handled the ball, saw his cheeky back-heel rebound off the post.
Both World Cup finalists made multiple substitutions, but it was England who went ahead through Lambert’s low drive after the impressive Barkley sliced through the Ecuador defense.
A lean-looking Rooney, who despite scoring his 39th goal for England never really stamped his authority on the match, was withdrawn after 64 minutes and replaced by Sterling.
Ecuador were chasing an equalizer and almost got one when Enner Valencia’s mis-hit shot hit the post and they eventually leveled through Arroyo’s wonderful strike 20 minutes from time.
ITALY, LUXEMBOURG
AFP, PERUGIA, Italy
Italy were stunned by a late goal from minnows Luxembourg on Wednesday as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in Perugia in their final friendly before the World Cup.
Illness and injury forced Italy coach Cesare Prandelli into an experimental 4-1-4-1 formation, with Andrea Pirlo and Marco Verratti playing together in the midfield in front of Daniele De Rossi, leaving Claudio Marchisio and Antonio Candreva to support lone frontman Mario Balotelli.
Prandelli’s tactic soon reaped rewards as Marchisio, who initially played in Balotelli on the right, headed home the AC Milan man’s cross after just nine minutes.
However, a series of defensive lapses and wasted opportunities allowed Maxime Chanot to seal an impressive result for the team who sit 120th in the FIFA rankings in the 85th minute of the game.
Despite the poor result, Prandelli was optimistic ahead of the World Cup, but did see areas which need work.
“We tried a few different solutions,” Prandelli told Rai Sport. “But there are a few things that we need to improve on. At times we had too many players in the center of midfield and were left exposed in the wide areas. But we’ll keep working and we know that we can have a great World Cup.”
“I have no doubt after this game about how we will play,” he said. “We tried a system that worked for an hour. Verratti is ready, both mentally and physically, and can play together with Pirlo.”
“Players who are going to the World Cup tend to manage their performance. We weren’t aggressive enough and didn’t take any risks at 1-0. We thought we could manage the game,” Prandelli added.
As was to be expected, Italy started the match on the front foot and dominated possession, before Juventus midfielder Marchisio’s header beat visiting goalkeeper Anthony Moris.
Moments later, Candreva played Balotelli in on goal, but a last-ditch challenge from Mario Mutsch prevented the hosts from doubling their lead. Balotelli and Verratti both saw shots go off target, while Candreva also fired high and wide from the edge of the penalty area. Then, as the first half came to a close, Pirlo forced Moris into an excellent save from a free-kick just outside the penalty area.
Ten minutes into the second period, Antonio Cassano, earning his 36th cap for Italy, replaced the impressive Verratti and made an immediate impact on the game.
The Parma striker’s through ball split the Luxembourg defense and found Balotelli, who evaded the challenge of two defenders, but saw his shot come back off the bar.
Then, seconds later, a Balotelli cross was met by the head of Candreva, who himself could only rattle the woodwork.
Late substitutes Lorenzo Insigne and Alessio Cerci added some width for the Azzurri in the final 15 minutes, with Cerci in particular looking lively, testing Moris with a low shot from the right edge of the penalty box.
However, just as the game looked to be heading to an expected end, Chanot lost his marker, Alberto Aquilani, and headed home a Mutsch corner, leaving the home crowd stunned.
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