England taught an Italian lesson

WE MAY have seen the end of a proud record at Wembley on Wednesday night, when England lost a World Cup match on home soil for the first time, but we were also privileged to witness the birth of a dynasty.

After their team's masterful performance, it would take a fool to bet against the Maldinis of Milan building on this platform and taking their campaign all the way to the Stade de France and the final itself.

An England team full of creative young players and good intentions learnt a few of the facts of life when confronted by a superbly-organised team sent out with a very clear plan in mind.

Cesare Maldini may be 65 years old, but his close relationship with the players - and not just his own son, the captain - is very obvious. They listen to what he has to say, and they go out and do it.

All the confidence engendered by England's unexpected renaissance of last summer and the perfect three-out-of-three record in the qualifying campaign for 1998, not to mention the enthusiasm of a full house hoping for a replay of the thrashing of Holland, leaked away as England's players realised what they were up against.

The best thing that can happen to England is that Glenn Hoddle and his squad learn something from Wednesday's experience. They are still young enough to absorb its lessons in time for the tournament in France.

The first lesson is that it is not enough to select a group of talented players and then send them out to do their own thing.

In their second match under the new coach, the Italians looked as though they had been turning out together for years.

Deprived of the injured Christian Panucci, Maldini's first choice for the sweeper role, the defence was reorganised around Alessandro Costacurta, with Fabio Cannavaro and Ciro Ferrara taking it in turns to mark Alan Shearer and Matthew Le Tissier, hustling, shepherding and intercepting for all their lives were worth.

Yet, as their coach pointed out on the eve of the match, this was not a purely negative strategy. Playing the nippy Angelo Di Livio at wing-back is hardly the decision of a fearful manager.

There were times in the second quarter of the match when Italy did not sit back on their lead, but flooded forward into the English half. Paolo Maldini's lone assault on the entire England defence after half an hour was one of the highlights of the match.

"They knew when to carry it and when to play it one-touch" Graeme Le Saux said afterwards, which made a lot more sense than Glenn Hoddle's claim that "we restricted them to one or two chances". One or two chances are all that a really good Italian side is likely to need.

Of course, Gianfranco Zola had to score the goal that mattered. At 30, he must feel reborn. The move to Stamford Bridge has revived his zest for the game. As a result, Maldini finds himself with a player utterly changed from the forlorn figure who put that vital penalty so tamely at the German goalkeeper in their final Euro `96 group match at Old Trafford last summer. And the truly terrifying thought is that Maldini's trust in Zola's experience and current form deprives him (and us) of Alessandro Del Piero, probably the most gifted young forward in Europe.

"We didn't have the run of the ball," Hoddle said, but that was hardly the point. Italy made their chance, and took it. Shearer, so feared by the Italians, did little to justify his standing. Le Tissier, on the other hand, reinforced his reputation for failing to live up to the occasion. The careless flick after 35 minutes that presented Le Saux, of all people, with a hospital ball was bad enough. The lazy cross that eluded Shearer on the hour may have been enough to ensure that Le Tissier never wears an England shirt again.

One defeat should not be allowed to overshadow all the gains England have made since Shearer buried his header against Scotland last summer, putting England on the road to revival. But Wednesday night's match provided a different perspective, reminding England that a bigger task lies ahead.