On Friday evening, Carlton Cole hit his fifth goal in six games in all competitions this season in an energetic performance for England Under-21s. The 20-year-old controlled a Gary O’Neil free-kick on 32 minutes, span and struck a firm shot to put Peter Taylor’s side on course for a 2-0 victory against Austria. Peter Whittingham was on the bench, where Darius Vassell also sat 24 hours later as former Villa vampire David James (he hates crosses. And indeed shots, throws, headers, backpasses…) conspired to give Austria a share of the spoils with the sort of floor routine that would render Barry Davies orgasmic.
Pacifistic defence
Club captain Olof Mellberg had a more successful evening though, as his Sweden side crushed Malta 7-0 after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had hit a hat-trick before 15 minutes were up. Malta were refreshingly oblivious of the scoreline though, as they continued to launch attacks in search of a consolation, while their backline remained pacifistic: refusing to defend whatever Sweden threw at them. Unsurprisingly, Mellberg had little to do and was substituted in the second half in preparation for the more difficult task against Croatia in Gothenburg on Wednesday.
Danish duo
In Group Two, Sweden’s Scandinavian neighbours Denmark fared less well, with Thomas Sørenson conceding a second-half goal as Gusin earned Ukraine a deserved draw in Copenhagen. Martin Laursen was again sidelined with a knee injury and is a major doubt for his side's trip to Tirana on Wednesday to face an Albanian team on a high after beating European champions Greece on Saturday.
South American defeats
In South America, Nolberto Solano could not prevent Peru from succumbing to their fifth successive loss against Olympic gold medal winners Argentina, who came away from Lima with a 3-1 win. Fellow right-sided player Ulises de la Cruz also had a disappointing night when his Ecuadorian side lost 1-0 to a contentious Uruguayan goal.