England (Andy James, @UEFAcomAndyJ)

A deft first-half finish from Danny Welbeck secured England a 1-0 victory in their final pre-UEFA EURO 2012 friendly against Belgium. Despite the win, there were mixed reactions in the media. On the positive side, the Three Lions kept another clean sheet and looked solid throughout, recording a second consecutive success under new coach Roy Hodgson. The concern, however, is that England's goal came from their only shot on target. Chances were a rarity and the Belgian visitors enjoyed the run of the Wembley turf for long periods.

Hodgson nonetheless insisted the performance bodes well for his side’s Group D opener against France. "Of course I’m very pleased," said the 64-year-old. "It's been a hard week and we used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second half – some forced upon us and some we wanted to do, but it's still a very good end to the week." One such forced alteration was that of defender Gary Cahill, who had to withdraw after just 19 minutes following a collision with his own goalkeeper, Joe Hart, while fellow Chelsea FC centre-back John Terry required a scan on a tight hamstring.

Meanwhile, Manchester City FC captain Vincent Kompany, who missed the game injured, felt England have plenty of reason to be optimistic, tweeting to his club-mate Joleon Lescott: "You guys look really well organised which is a key to success. Another good performance from you, well done!"

« Previous1234567891011121314151617Next »