Referee:Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
LINEUPS
England (442): James, Johnson, Cole, Terry, Upson, Barry, Lampard (Wright-Phillips 61'), Milner, Rooney, Defoe (Heskey 73'), Gerrard
Algeria (433): Bohil, Yahia, Bougherra, Halliche, Lacep, Yebda, Khedir (Mansouri 67'), Belhadj, Djebbour (Saifi 82'), Ziani, Matmour (Ghezzal (61')
Ashley Cole was 50/50 after he picked up a knock during England's game against the USA, but the England fans were very happy he made it as he put in a man of the match performance. And it was him leading by example in defense that England needed in the first half as Algeria were playing at a high tempo, testing David James on multiple occasions while their opponents looked inept and without any ideas.
If Bougherra, Djebbour or Ziani had taken at least one of their chances then the upset may have been well and truly on, but the game turned at halftime and Algeria would not get another good look at goal. Instead a controversial goal from Wayne Rooney sunk their opponents. Glen Johnson had run the length of the pitch and with a deft flick split the defense, finding the striker a yard offside but missed by the linesman.
There was a suffocating blanket covering the Algerians from that point on and England only generated another two chances of their own: Gerrard shooting high with the goalie beaten, and Milner not giving Bohil too much to worry about with his very long ranged effort.
England 1 - 0 Algeria
Goalscorers:
ENG Rooney 47'
Discipline:
ALG Yahia 28'
Man of the Match:
ENG Ashley Cole
| GROUP C | ||||||||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| England | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| United States | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Algeria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
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