ENGLAND FAILED TO break down 10-man Honduras in Miami during the final World Cup warm-up. One of the only pleasing aspects, from a game England boss Roy Hodgson says he hopes he soon forgets, was the lack of serious injury to both sets of players.
England, however, were not happy with some of the wild tackles and rough treatment handed out to several of their stars. Daniel Sturridge and Ross Barkley were among the English players targeted and the Liverpool striker was on the receiving end of two indiscretions, in two seconds, by Emilio Izaguirre.
The Celtic player tripped Sturridge after he was wrong-footed and proceeded to boot the ball into his mid-section [to use a WWE parlance] from point-blank range.
Sturridge did well not to react but England captain Steven Gerrard was quick to slam the incident in a post-match interview with ITV. He said, “I thought there were some horrific tackles for a friendly. I got caught with a bad one.”
Gerrard added, “I don’t understand refs seeing balls slammed into players’ chests… It’s a clear red card.”
Honduras defender Brayan Beckeles was sent off for leading with the arm when contesting a header with Leighton Baines. England’s three best chances all fell to Sturridge but he failed to find the target each time.