“If the England national team was hoping to tilt the Wembley pitch and roll over Ukraine in their World Cup 2010 qualifier, those dreams evaporated quickly into the London haze. Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko’s side proved they are not pushovers as they produced their best showing during the tenure of their much-maligned manager.” (World Cup Blog)

Only Spain can deny England global supremacy (Times Online)
“To return from Wembley late on Wednesday night, turn on the television and find Argentina being mangled by Bolivia was to be reminded of just how close England are to world supremacy.”

Can England win the World Cup? (The Game)
“In his latest Times column, Patrick Barclay says England deserve to be considered as one of the early favourites for the 2010 World Cup.”

Axed Scottish Pair Shame The Nation (SoccerLens)
“What Scotland needed least of all following a morale-boosting victory over Iceland was a nightmare scenario which sees both the nation’s captain and a promising goalkeeper banned from ever playing for Scotland again.”

Bizarre Happenings In Wales v Germany (World Cup Blog)
“Craig Bellamy was left out of the starting lineup for a knee issue. At least that’s what they’re saying publicly. To open up the sans-Bellamy proceedings, Michael Ballack scored a fantastic goal in front of what looked to be precisely no one at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.”

Hot-headed Wayne Rooney (Guardian)
“Wayne Rooney’s two-footed lunge against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Aliyev was the latest in a long line of moments when he has lost his rag.”