The Telegraph also wrote a fair article: Having talked the talk over the last few weeks – with his Twitter teasing, his declarations and very public courting from a host of Premier League clubs – Hazard walked the walk. He was, on occasions, a class apart from England. Playing as a ‘false No 9’, the role taken with such accomplished élan by Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Belgium’s No 10 showed why comparisons with the Argentinian are premature but not outlandish. Technically, tactically with speed of thought and flight of foot, he provided numerous problems for his opponents. In a sense, this was the perfect workout for England and for the Chelsea-dominated defence – even right-back Glen Johnson used to play for the club – fielded by manager Roy Hodgson. It would appear to be the combination the manager is heading towards when he puts his team out against France in that first Euro 2012 group game in just eight days’ time. England lost one of those players, Gary Cahill, early on after a clash with Joe Hart when he was pushed into the goalkeeper, but they also, at times, lost their sense of equilibrium. For all the defensive rigour and team shape demanded by Hodgson, this England were too rigid, too formulaic and not able to comfortably deal with the fluidity of their opponents whose crime was to lack a cutting edge. Like England’s forthcoming opponents France, with Franck Ribéry, and Sweden, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Belgians possessed a ‘special player’ in Hazard. How would England cope? The Belgium coach Marc Wilmots initially set the 21 year-old in that relatively unfamiliar position of being the furthest forward. It was the first time he had played there for his country but he took to it with ease, interchanging across the front-line and dropping off to damaging effect. They call it playing ‘between the lines’ and it is the most dangerous place to play. Unfortunately England are short of players who can fulfil that function and despite Hodgson’s protestations, they do not appear to be encouraged to do so either with this approach. It remains a very flat 4-4-2 so when Hazard played up through the middle he was dealt with easily by John Terry — with one strong challenge early on — but when he slipped out wide he skipped around first Johnson and then Ashley Cole. Moments later Cole, as a form of retaliation maybe, hacked him down. Welcome to Chelsea, Eden. Hazard’s danger had been recognised even before the game kicked off. His name was roundly booed when it was read out but he brushed that aside with an air of a young man who knows how good he is. In movement and in possession he exuded that sense of confidence and the words of his now former Lille team-mate, Joe Cole, rang true. “Hazard is different class,” Cole said. “He’s still only 21 and has definitely got another few gears to go up. He’s got the same attitude as Wayne Rooney at that age – he’s fearless. He knows how good he is.” In style, even in gait and appearance, Cole may indeed be the closest England possess to Hazard, although he is not as quick and does not move the ball as intelligently as when the Belgian opened his opponents up with a wall-pass to Marouane Fellaini or delivered a superb weighted pass into the path of Dries Mertens. England went ahead but it was hugely flattering. In fairness, Belgium lacked that goal threat and paid for it, just as they had in not qualifying for Euro 2012 and although Hazard took to his new role, he was more effective when he dropped deeper. His team needed another striker but it was a problem position for them as it has been for England. That lack of a finisher was shown early in the second half, when Hazard teed up Fellaini, after he again ran at the England defence, only for the midfielder to shoot weakly at Hart. Again the weight of pass had created the opportunity. As prettily as they played, Belgium struggled to get in behind England. That was partly because Hodgson’s tactics meant his defence, in particular, dropped very deep while Scott Parker appeared to be struggling for fitness and the rest of the midfield was overly concerned about stopping their opponents who patently dominated possession and used the ball more cleverly. England’s approach to the forthcoming European championships is clear. They will sit back, they will protect their goal, soak up pressure and even allow their opponents to take more possession — and then try and counter quickly and directly. Belgium altered things by pushing Fellaini furthest forward and allowed Hazard to be the team’s creative hub. However, Hazard’s and Belgium’s neat build-up play continued to go unrewarded.England became increasingly stoic and the only criticism of Hazard might be a concern over whether he has the physical strength to break down such rugged defending. That will be the hope that England take with them to Poland when they prepare to face other special players such as Ribéry and Ibrahimovic.It won’t be pretty but it might be effective. Hazard, meanwhile, has the capacity to be both. Even Dail Fail were pretty fair: His style is more Joe Cole than Luka Modric but Eden Hazard did everything he could to prove his worth at Wembley. The stats added up for the attacking midfielder in his first performance after saying he is joining Chelsea from Lille, too, but an end result was missing: Hazard took 90 touches in his 90-minute appearance, 27 more than the busiest England player. Attempted and completed more passes than any other player - 62 of 71 on target. Fired the most shots - with two on target and two wayward. Created six chances as he roamed around the England half. The Mirror on the other hand: Hazard warning: Wonderkid fails to shine at Wembley The title says it all, they are a bunch of clueless idiots.
