Robbie Savage is glad he missed it!!!!

The first meeting between Wales and England in 20 years will definitely be a hiding they won't forget in a long time.

Really, had Wayne Rooney pulled back a pass rather than shoot, and had Beckham scored the easier of his two chances, we could have beaten the Welsh 4-0! I liked the 3 up front in Rooney, Defoe and Owen, and despite my recent criticism of Michael Owen I thought he played a very good game. I wouldn't be keen on seeing this formation against tougher oppostion though as England did lack width, and despite Nicky Butt's solid display I am more inclined to see football played with a 4-4-2 and I don't think there will be room for him by the time we play a team of such a calibre.

I'm looking forward to seeing the trio bombard the Azerbaijan defence. I think 2 goals would be satisfactory, but given the performance against the Welsh, England fans will be looking for at least 3 or 4 goals to show the world what we have got going for us! It would be nice to see Owen get one too because despite the stick he gets, he is Englands top scorer and best out and out striker since Gary Lineker. I'd like to see Shaun Wright Phillips start the game but I imagine that Sven will pick the more workmanlike Owen Hargreaves to line up against Carlos Alberta's side.

Owen did play well, however his finishing was rather lacking. Still, an all-round good result for England, although I noticed the commentating team of John Motson and Graeme Le Saux were trying as hard as they could not to be biased against Wales, unlike Alan Shearer :lol: (Did anyone else pick up on how Le Saux referred to his England career more than once? :p)

As for Azerbaijan, I'm in two minds as to whether Hargreaves or Wright-Phillips should start. This is because I'm thinking Wright-Phillips' pace could be devastating if he comes off the bench against tired Azerbaijanis.

Also, I wonder how safe the England team and fans will be in Azerbaijan. I don't know if it's anything like Turkey where they despise us, but I doubt it. Or maybe even a terrorist attack could happen. But I'm probably just being paranoid :p