International Friendlies
Jun 7, 2014 9.45pm
0
0
HT : 0 0
FT Sun Life Stadium, Miami
  • Adam Lallana 61' yellowcard
  • Gary Cahill 69' yellowcard
  • Leighton Baines 77' yellowcard
  • yellowcard Luis Garrido 26'
  • yellowcard Emilio Izaguirre 31'
  • yellowcard Victor Bernardez 49'
  • yellowcard Brayan Beckeles 51'
  • redcard Brayan Beckeles 65'

England labour in stormy Honduras draw

England labour in stormy draw

England struggled to show a cutting edge as they drew with Honduras in their final World Cup warm-up game, which saw the players forced off the pitch due to an electrical storm in Miami.

Roy Hodgson's side struggled to find their feet in the opening minutes and went closest to an opener when Daniel Sturridge's shot trickled just past the post.

It was at this point in the game that referee Ricardo Salazar decided to bring the players off for their own safety, and England's squad found them cocooned inside the dressing room at Sun Life Stadium for around 30 minutes while the thunderstorm moved overhead.

Once play resumed, the Three Lions nearly found themselves trailing when Jerry Bengston poked a hopeful shot at Joe Hart after Adam Lallana was caught in possession.

Honduran players were unafraid to throw themselves into tackles and Luis Garrido quickly found himself in the book for a rash challenge on Steven Gerrard, although the England captain managed to avoid any injury.

The game became more bad-tempered as Emilio Izaguirre soon picked up a booking for kicking the ball at Sturridge, seconds after bringing down the Liverpool striker.

With the interval approaching, Lallana nearly gave Hodgson's men the lead when his deflected shot was only inches wide of goal.

After the break, England looked more threatening in attack as Ross Barkley linked up with Lallana before unleashing a shot from 25 yards that nearly crept inside Noel Valladares's post.

Sturridge then tried to break the deadlock himself on 54 minutes when he found space in the Honduras area, but his audacious chip was wide.

England's quest for victory before flying to Brazil was boosted when Brayan Beckeles was sent off for a second bookable offence as he caught Leighton Baines with his arm.

Soon after Honduras were reduced to 10 men Sturridge was in the thick of the action again, but he couldn't steer Glen Johnson's cross goalwards when he found himself unmarked in the area.

England tried to find a late winner in the dying moments, but a deflected Barkley effort was as close as they came to victory.

They will now prepare for their World Cup opener in Manaus against Italy next Saturday.

Author photo

Written by

Share this article:
Subscribe to our newsletter

Get FREE daily news and in-depth previews for games from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football — straight to your inbox.

Subscribe