Your comments on Sven's biggest win in charge of England?
I think it will get the squad really fired up for the World Cup.

It can only give them confidence so it's all good in my book!!

Really pleased that Owen scored and as for Crouch!! WOW!!

Only niggle... please practice penalties!!!

Brilliant game !!!! It will give them a big boost for Germany

I love Crouchbot.

If the injuries to Terry, Cole and Beckham aren't serious, then this was a great day for England. Lets not kid ourselves that Jamaica are a good side, but it was a decent run out for the players and no doubt confidence is now high.

The Crouch and Owen partnership looks like the best one from England's point of view (without Rooney that is). The big man/little man combination is rarely used these days but it works for England. Delighted for Crouch as he has taken alot of stick this season from opposition fans, and we often find ourselves defending him, but now he's doing that with his performances.

Wasn't that impressed with Sol Campbell to be honest, I'd be worried if England had to rely on him at any stage in the World Cup, despite being 4th choice centre back.

I don't think practising penalties is useful, to be honest. It all comes down to who is confident on the day and who is mentally tough enough to take it on. Confidence is the key.

Yes.. I see your point, confidence is definitely a big factor but if I was a professional musician and had a big concert coming up I would practice and practice until I knew I was confident to do it without thinking on the big stage with everyone watching!!

Maybe that's a bad comparison but I do think they should at least have a go at practising

I get what you're saying and technique is important but these guys train everyday, I don't think they'll forget how to take penalties!

If you were to list England's best penalty takers they'd probably be:

Lampard
Beckham
Rooney
Ashley Cole
Hargreaves
Terry
Gerrard
Owen
J Cole

It's good to have a list like that, then when the time comes you analyse each players performance in the game and ask them do they fancy taking one. If they do and they've played well then let them take it. Otherwise save them for sudden-death! If England get that far without screwing up

I think practising them would help, obviously they can't recreate the atmosphere, but if they perfect hammering a ball just inside the posts as much as possible then surely it'll give them a boost.

Yes, you're right Ciara... and seeing those players listed has made me feel better

I just hope that the Liverpool players in the England squad are giving the rest of the players tips on penalty shoot outs under pressure

If you guys were lining up to take a penalty for England in the WC, what would you do?

Go for power and hammer it down the middle? Or go for the placement?

I guess power and placement is the key but hard to execute. If I had the ability I'd give the keeper the eyes and place it into one of the top corners as hard as I could.

Don't think I would have the bottle to step up though.

I'd power it.... do a Gerrard!!

The players were dropping like flies today! What a bunch of girls! I know they were supposed to be taking precautions but, honestly!

And it really is sod's law that they'll all get themselves injured apart from Owen Hargreaves. Someone really should stick their foot out in the locker room or something. I mean, it's for the good of the team

Watched the game in the Scottish Highlands in a pub full of Anyone but the f@@ing English supporters who were very quiet by the end.

Those of you buying the News of the World south of the border may be interested to know that north of the border they are giving away DVD' s of Scotland's 1967 3-2 at Wembley which enabled the Scotland's to claim that they were the World Champions (Yawn!)

There is a major debate going on up here in the papers about Scots being arrested for racist remarks to the English..... in reality.... it isnt going to happen.

Over 2000 Poles now live in Inverness area so the game v them is going to be interesting if I choose to watch it in the pub.

They are predicting that to be the game when the Polish hooligans emerge to do battle with the English in Germany.

Hope not

We shall see........

Did Peter Crouch forget that he has about as much skill and touch as an anvil when he was taking his penalty? It was embarrassing. I can't stand the walking anorexia. If he didn't play for a "top" team, he'd be nowhere near the England squad. And that dance makes him look like an even bigger gimp than usual.

Peter Crouch is no world beater but you are selling him short with your description of him - "he has about as much skill and touch as an anvil when he was taking his penalty?" Crouch's touch and skill on the ball are two of his main assets. You can criticise his penalty taking, his inability to head the ball for such a big guy and the fact that he doesn't score enough goals, but you can criticise his touch or his skill on the ball. He is no Ronaldinho when it comes to tricks or skills but he's shown on numerous occassions that he can pull different things out of the bag.

You are right he wouldn't be in the England squad if he didn't play for Liverpool but based on this seasons form and his ability to link up with Owen, he deserves his place in the squad. Only Darren Bent can feel aggreived at not being in the squad, maybe Defoe too as Eriksson should have taken 5 strikers. (Walcott not included).

Obviously you've seen him play much more often than me but I find his presence in the England team laughable. Sorry but he's not an international class footballer and his inclusion reminds me very much of Emile Heskey's run in the England side just because of the colour of his club shirt and the fee he cost. This is the same Peter Crouch who took months to score his first club goal, the player who managed to get a big money move based on a purple patch of about three months playing for a shockingly poor Southampton side and a man with about as much grace as bambi on ice. If he wasn't as freakishly tall as he is, he's be about as useful as tits for a nun. Bent, Defoe, Johnson and potentially Beattie all deserve to be recognised internationally at least as much as Crouch and I'm pretty sure they would be should any of them play for Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal.

I think he's a better player than Heskey to be fair. I guess it's natural that I back him but I think we'd see a better Peter Crouch if he had a decent partner alongside him, like Owen. For Liverpool he has played as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation and with Morientes in a 4-4-2 system. He got alot of criticism from people outside of Anfield because the whole team were going through a patch where we couldn't score. Crouch took most of the blame for that but because we weren't scoring goals alot of our attacking play, and Crouch's involvement in that, was ignored. We played alot of good football during that spell but no-one noticed because there was no end product.

When he played the lone striker role in the 4-5-1 formation it suited Gerrard more than it suited him, and with Gerrard scoring every other game he got all the attention. As a Liverpool fan, I can honestly say I'm very pleased with Crouch's first season at Anfield BUT we must find a striker who is able to play alongside him and who is able to bring out the best on him.

For England, you are right when you say he was getting into the squad based on the shirt he wore and how much we paid for him, but since he broke into the England team, he's stepped up to the plate and looked the part. The most important thing for England in Rooney's absense is to get the best out of Owen, as England will be relying on him for the majority of their goals. There's no better partner for Owen than Crouch IMO. Bent and Defoe are too similar to Owen to work IMO. They'll be making the same runs, attracting the same kind of passes and would probably be easier to mark out of a game. With Crouch's height he causes unrest amongst the opposition defence and his touch and ability to hold the ball up means he can link up the midfield to the attack - something Rooney is awsome at. He does it in a different way and not as well as Rooney, but he is probably the only player in the squad able to provide that link now Rooney is injured.

I'm not sure about James Beattie, to be honest. For me he is at his best when the team is built around him and playing to his strengths. England have too many players better than Beattie who they can build a team around. Crouch got his chance and he has taken it. Unfortunately, you can't say the same for Defoe, Johnson or Bent. Although that's probably harsh, as Bent and Johnson haven't really had much of a chance. If I remember correctly, Eriksson played Johnson out on the right in his last International appearance? And Bent looked to be out of his depth when he made his England appearance. If anyone should be dropped in favour of Bent, Defoe, Johnson or Beattie is Theo Walcott.

Could not agree more. Walcott's inclusion smacks as desperation on the part of Eriksson, IMO. The star player is injured so Sven is hoping that the unknown quantity that is Walcott will be able to step into Rooney's boots. Unfortunately, this is once again "big club syndrome" and the likes of Darren Bent, who was the highest English goalscorer last season playing in a middling Charlton side, is omitted. If Bent played for Liverpool, do you think he'd have been left out?

And Sven, if you're going to take an untried youngster as a forward, at least make sure there are enough experienced strikers to share the burden. An injured Rooney, a short of match practice Owen and the untried Crouch put a lot of pressure on the youngster to impress. Surely it would make more sense to omit Jenas, who is too much like our other midfielders only not as good, or Hargreaves, who has never done anything to show that he deserves being near the England squad, and include Bent, Defoe or Johnson.

Regarding Beattie, he's excellent at holding the ball up. A strong, rugged centre forward who has proven that he can score goals at Premiership level who will also run down everything. I think he would have provided a very useful alternative coming up against the more physical defences.

Yeah, I agree - I'd drop one of Jenas/Hargreaves and Walcott for Bent and Defoe. But Eriksson has made his bed - there'll probably be no more additions to the squad as Rooney will stay if he has any chance of being fit for the knockout stages.

I'd love to know what prompted Eriksson to take Walcott. He even admitted he had never seen him play, just a couple of times in a training session. It was because Wenger hyped him up a couple of weeks before the squad was picked. It's an incredible selection given the fact he has never played a game for Arsenal. It scares me that Eriksson picks someone who can't get into the Arsenal team ahead of Adebayor! Madness!!