England will look to get back to form on Friday as they take on San Marino at Wembley Stadium in London.
The English got off to a tremendous start in the qualifiers with a 5-0 win over Moldova. That momentum was halted, however, as they drew 1-1 to Ukraine prompting questions regarding their form. They were massively outplayed in the match and only scored the equalizer on an 87th minute penalty. If not for that, they would've probably lost the match.
England is already in one of the tougher groups as Montenegro, Poland, and Ukraine are all capable of making runs to the World Cup, so wins against the two weaker squads are not imperative but required. Another important factor is that a win against the weaker squads is not enough; a blowout is necessary. San Marino is one of the weak squads as they proved in a 6-0 trouncing at the hands of Montenegro. That gave Montenegro sole spot of first place with a +6 goal difference. England has a + 5 difference, but Ukraine is taking on Moldova and they could easily put four or five past Moldova.
England needs to not only win against San Marino, but score five to six goals in the process while giving up none.
Through two games, Frank Lampard has 3 goals. Fortunately for them Wayne Rooney, who was invisible in the match against Ukraine, is back in form after some solid games with Manchester United. If he is at his optimum level, then this should be an easy match for the English.
Prediction: England is home against a weak squad. 6-0 win with Rooney scoring and Lampard adding more goals to his current collection.
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