ENGLAND COMES FROM BEHIND TO BEAT EGYPT

England’s soccer team gave up an early goal to overmatched Egypt, but withstood the boos of the Wembley Stadium crowd to recover and go on to win the World Cup tune up contest by a 3-1 score.  Tottenham Hotspur forward Peter Crouch scored twice after coming on as a substitute and may have played himself into a starting role.
 
Soccer betting enthusiasts who backed England as a -300 favorite were rewarded with the victory, though not without some anxious moments as the ‘Three Lions’ fell behind early.  The four combined goals scored went OVER the posted total of 2’.  The takeback price on Egypt was a whopping +750 with a +300 payout in the event of a draw.  England is the third favorite World Cup betting choice among soccer fans at +600 behind Spain and Brazil.

England played sloppy from the outset, apparently unhinged by the poor condition of the field and the cascade of boos that greeted former team captain John Terry upon his introduction before the game.  Terry was stripped of his captaincy by England manager Fabio Capello following a storm of controversy over revelations that he’d had an affair with a Chelsea teammate’s wife.  Terry remains the captain of the English Premier League powerhouse, but has been a fixture in the British tabloid press ever since.

As happens so often in sports, however, the fans rallied to Terry’s support as England began to take over the game.  After the contest, team manager Capello made note of this fact:

"Thank you for the crowd. They supported the team and John Terry. This was a most important game for him after what happened outside the pitch. He played a fantastic game like I know he can do at this level. When I chose him as captain, I knew the value of him as a player."

Egypt struck first when an England defender slipped on the wet pitch, allowing Mohamed Zidan to score at the 23 minute mark.  The African Nations Cup champions maintained this lead at the halftime, but England came roaring back after the break.  Peter Crouch scored the first of his two goals to even the score at the 56 minute mark, and Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips netted the eventual game winner 75 minutes in.  Crouch would add an insurance goal five minutes later to produce the final 3-1 margin of victory.

After the contest, Crouch lobbied for a starting spot on the England squad:

“Anyone who plays for England is going to feel under pressure, certainly in a World Cup year. You can only try to do your best and I did. Its up to the manager. All you've got to do when given your chance is try and take it and I've given the manager something to think about tonight."

England manager Capello has until May 15th to submit the final World Cup roster, though he will likely make a preliminary cut of the current group of players before eventually naming the final 23 who will wear the ‘Three Lions’ this summer in South Africa.