England drawn in 'Group of Death'

England have been drawn in the dreaded Group of Death, facing France, Netherlands and Montenegro in Group C.

CSA EuroCup 12 Draw

Group A

Russia

Denmark

Italy

Belgium

Group B

Spain

Croatia

Sweden

Norway

Group C

England

Netherlands

France

Montenegro

Group D

Germany

Scotland

Czech Republic

Greece

Baz and Woz star as England see off Italy

England 2-0 Italy

Barry celebrates his strike

England coasted to victory over Italy at the Vodafone Stadium, with Kevin Warhurst and Adam Barry scoring the goals.

England coach Marco Garibaldi made seven changes to the side that beat Argentina 4-0, including Saturday's hero Chad Blake, and Real Birmingham striker Barry was one of the four survivors.

Kevin Warhurst's first England goal in a while was a traditional right-footed 20 yard rocket which left Andrea Rossi, the Italian keeper gazing.

Adam Barry made it two after a slick passing moves that finished with a through ball from Danny Defranco, and Barry slotted home on a break-away.

Italy had their moments, London Town striker Andrea Romano crashing the crossbar, but it was about the only time that Simon Herding was seriously tested in the England goal.

England: Simon Herding; Danny Miller, Mark Strickland, Daniel Perry, Liam Cole; Kevin Warhurst; Ryan Welch, Danny Defranco, Martin King; Adam Carter, Adam Barry.

Italy: Andrea Rossi; Emiliano Tournetti, Giuseppe Guilacci, Emanuele Novara, Paolo Lupatelli; Cristian Cozzin, Gianni Riccoli, Enrico Pagliani, Andrea Pagliani; Nicola-Andrea Di Salvatore, Andrea Romano.

Referee: Vladimir Vutkov (Russia).

Blake's heaven as England bargy Argies

England 4-0 Argentina

Blake celebrates his first goal

Teenage forward Chad Blake scored his first two goals for England, as the reigning European and World champions crushed Argentina 4-0 under the closed roof at Vodafone Stadium.

Bristol Pirates starlet Blake, 18, scored two crackers. The first from a James Douglas' cross which Blake belted from 25 yards, and the second a mazy solo run which confounded the Argentine defence.

Real Birmingham midfielder Douglas then made it three after the break from the spot after Blake was hauled down by Diego Carmano.

John Carey, the London Town striker, rounded off the scoring with ten minutes' left.

The youngster Blake's performance, will give Marco Garibaldi, who imposed an England exile before EuroCup 2012 for Edward Redwood following the Monsters attacker's sending-off in Wales, a lot to think about, although changes are expected to be made to the forward line when they face Garibaldi's native Italy on Tuesday.

Much talk before the game was the lethal threat of Argentinian playmaker Alberto Núñez, but the Barcelona Bullfighters star was disappointing throughout the whole 90 minutes, as the England defence, led by co-captain John Macdonald, played outstandingly well.

Argentina were disappointing throughout the contest, leading to their 2,000 fans who travelled all the way from South America to jeer them off at full time.

England: Simon Herding; Danny Miller, Mark Strickland, John Macdonald, Ashton Reid; Garry Stratford; James Douglas, Craig CraiCo; Chad Blake; John Carey, Adam Barry.

Argentina: Fabián Caballero; Diego Carmano, Facundo López, Daniel Hernán Ruiz, Francisco Boschmann; Julio Marconi, Hector Norquera, Nicolas Rodriguez; Ricardo Quesada, Alberto Núñez, Diego Darowski.

Referee: Mariusz Stankowski (Poland).

Sneak peak of the EuroCup 12 shirt revealed!

This the new England shirt for next year's EuroCup 12. It will make its début in next week's friendlies against Argentina and Italy.

The shirt is white as ever with a navy collar and red insert and the popular white shorts make a return after a short-lived return to the traditional blue shorts this year. The socks will also be white.

England decimate San Marino in Bologna

England destroyed poor San Marino as the visitors rounded off their qualifying campaign with a crushing 7-0 victory in Bologna, Italy.

Goals came from Adam Barry, Martin King (2), Craig Palmer, Mark Strickland, Garry Stratford and Kevin Warhurst, and San Marino only had one attempt on goal, which prompted an easy save from back-up keeper Chris Kolinski.

More to follow later.

Redwood handed two-match ban

Redwood looks despondent following his sending-off

England striker Edward Redwood will miss the opening match of the EuroCup 12 finals as well as England's last qualifier against San Marino in Bologna as the CSA handed the Monsters man a two-match competitive ban after his sending off against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

England coach Marco Garibaldi has announced that he will not use Redwood between now and the start of the EuroCup as he looks to find a way for England to play without the 26-year-old.

England play Argentina and Italy in friendlies before the tournament starts next June.

Don't blame Redsy - Macca

England captain John Macdonald has told critics to lay off Edward Redwood's back, following the 26-year-old striker's dismissal in the 2-1 defeat at Wales, branded 'abysmal' by BTN soccer pundit Geoff Howard.

London United defender Macdonald, standing in as skipper for the injured Daniel Perry, said of Monsters hitman Redwood's red card: "It was just one of them things."

"Redsy got frustrated and lashed out and if I were him I would've done the same thing," added Macdonald, 24.

But England coach Marco Garibaldi pulled no punches.

"I've seen the replay and he deserved it," said the Italian.

"In games like this you must learn how to control your temper.

"The bad news for us is that he probably misses the first game of the EuroCup. But I'll try and find a way to cope without him."

BTN co-commentator Geoff Howard condemned the red card saying: "He's (Redwood) caught him (Wales midfielder Jamie Harris) round him the shins, silly boy. Redsy, why? Why would you lash out like that? Absolute abysmal stuff."

England lose in Wales

England experienced defeat for the first time since 2009 when they lost 2-1 against Wales in Cardiff.

Adam Owens put Wales in the lead before Adam Barry equalised, but Karlo Krzystofski's brilliant free-kick was enough to seal an amazing win for the home side, who are edging closer to a play-off place.

To add insult to injury, Edward Redwood was sent off for England after lashing out a kick at Jamie Harris with three minutes left, and the Monsters striker is likely to miss England's opening CSA EuroCup 12 game next year in Russia.

More to follow later.

England qualify for EuroCup 12

England 2-0 Austria


Stratford shook off an ankle injury to score against Austria

Goals from Garry Stratford and Adam Carter proved to be the decisive factor as England booked their place in next year's EuroCup after they beat Austria 2-0 on Tuesday night.

England: Simon Herding; Danny Miller, John Macdonald, Daniel Perry, Ashton Reid; Garry Stratford; James Douglas, Craig CraiCo; Edward Redwood, John Carey, Adam Carter.

Austria: Juergen Pfeiffer; Andreas Andrzejczyk, Ferdinand Hoegl, Otto Griechel, Michael Mayer; Wolfgang Babatz; Klaus Hauger, Peter Pfertzl, Walter Freund; Benni Bauer, Mark Pingel.

Referee: Constantin Doianu (Romania).

Daniel Perry happy that England are almost qualified

Perry celebrates England's victory

England competitive captain Daniel Perry is happy his national side have nearly secured their place in next year's EuroCup 12 finals, after a comfortable 3-1 win in Bosnia-Hercegovina on Friday, after Austria and Wales could only draw 0-0.

England have won all their qualifiers so far, sitting on top of Group A with 28 points, and will secure qualification if they beat Austria on Tuesday, and Perry, 30, believes the defending European and World champions will be difficult to stop.

"Great stuff," said London Town defender Perry. "There's no stopping us. Everyone will find it tough.

"All the lads done well, especially CraiCo, and the manager's got the best out of us and it's just brilliant when you win with ease.

"Now we can look forward to the match against Austria at the Vodafone on Tuesday without any problems."

However, England do have one problem. Perry's team-mate, midfielder Garry Stratford limped off after 23 minutes with a sprained ankle, but England coach Marco Garibaldi said: "It is only a niggle.

"I'll give him a couple of days off, but he will be fit for the game against Austria."

On man-of-the-match Craig CraiCo, Perry said: "CraiCo's such a massive player for us. He's gotten better since he left London United for Spain (at Madrid Magic) and he's the absolute backbone of the England team.

"You saw him set up the goal for Macca (John Macdonald), as well as score the goal in the opening minute. He, for me, is still the greatest footballer in the world."

Striker Edward Redwood was happy to break his England duck - he hadn't scored since the Home Nations Championship against Wales in June, his longest wait without an England goal.

"I'm happy to be back in this sort of form after a torrid past few months," stated the Monsters striker, 25. "It's important we keep this going; we could be unstoppable in Russia next year. "

England win in Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-3 England


Influential midfielder CraiCo was named man-of-the-match

England won with ease against Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 3-1 victory on Friday night in Sarajevo.

Craig CraiCo opened the scoring with after only two minutes, playing a one-two with John Carey and then firing into the back of the net just inside the area.

John Macdonald made it 2-0 with a header from an inswinging CraiCo corner.

Edward Redwood made it 3-0 with a header of his own, from a cross from Danny Defranco, before Bosnia replied straight after the restart, fast breaking and unravelling the England defence before Zlatan Fahidović scored.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Edin Bajramović; Andrej Tosić (Elvir Manić 82'), Marko Mrhadović (Rehadžić 82'), Muhamed Vlahović, Sergei Nikolić; Tamir Salidović (Asmir Hasanović 59'), Samir Muslimović, Bosko Stanković, Hasan Hasanović; Zlatan Fahidović, Ahmet Bosniak

Subs not used: Asmir Ibrahimović, Robert Konjić

England: Simon Herding; Gary Mitchell, John Macdonald, Daniel Perry, Liam Cole; Garry Stratford (Danny Defranco 23'), James Douglas, Craig CraiCo, Kevin Warhurst; Edward Redwood; John Carey

Subs not used: Chris Kolinski, Adam Carter, Steven Tweed, Martin King

Referee: Guus Honkensteen (Netherlands).

England ease past Norway

England defeated Norway 3-1 in a friendly at Barnsworth FC's Barns Park stadium.

James Douglas, Adam Carter and Garry Stratford got the goals for England, while Marcos Mora scored a penalty for the visitors.

Head coach Marco Garibaldi had debuted a new 4-3-3 formation, with John Carey and Carter on the wings and Edward Redwood in the 'false number nine' role.

And already the Norwegian defenders couldn't handle with the pace of the three combined, skipper Bjørn Terke being left for dead by Carey on more than one occasion.

Midfielder James Douglas was left in acres of space and he tried his luck from 30 yards and it zoomed into the top corner after 12 minutes, 1-0 to England.

A brilliant bit of skill from Redwood saw him one-twoing with Craig CraiCo, nutmegging Stig Gunnar Sundevahl and then crossing for Adam Carter who volleyed into the net. 2-0 after less than 30 minutes.

In the second half, the Norwegians at this point decided to stop hoofing long balls out to no-one, and suddenly changed to an attacking, pass-oriented game.

And they created some good chances, striker Erik Lyngstad hitting the bar after good wing play from Christian Eggen.

Marcos Mora also had a free-kick acrobatically saved by Simon Herding.

Eventually, English resistance was finally broken when full-back Danny Miller needless hauled down Dan Gravstad in the area, and Mora slotted the resulting penalty to make it 2-1 with less than an hour gone.

But Norway were denied a comeback when Garry Stratford's free-kick curled into the top corner 14 minutes from time.

England: Simon Herding; Danny Miller, Mark Strickland, Daniel Perry, Ashton Reid; James Douglas, Garry Stratford, Craig CraiCo; Edward Redwood, John Carey, Adam Carter.

Norway: Tore Sigfridsen; Ola André Ibsen, John Andersen, Bjørn Terke, Daniel Gravstad; Christian Eggen, Stig Gunnar Sundevahl, Daniel Olsen, Marcos Mora; Erik Lyngstad, Eirik Lund.

Referee: Simon LeClair (France).

CSA England Cup Final 2011: London United 1-2 Monsters

The 2011 CSA England Cup Final

From the Vodafone Stadium, London

Goals from Craig Wisniewski and Edward Redwood gave Monsters FC the victory in the CSA England Cup Final, beating London United 2-1.

After a slow start to the game, the deadlock was broken after 12 minutes when Scot Wisniewski traded passes with strike partner Redwood, playing in an unfamiliar out and out striker role, before firing into the net on the 'D' of the penalty area.

United had a few chances of their own - Craig CraiCo hitting the bar with a free-kick, and John Macdonald's header from a corner slapped away by Monsters keeper Igor Kuljman - but it was Monsters who dominated most of the play.

At the break it stayed 1-0 to the Monsters. United manager Bobby Hutchinson must have said something to his players at half-time, as from the restart, the Men in Black looked the more dominant team.

And it took only four minutes for them to equalise. Craico playing a "Hollywood" through ball to Danny Defranco, who crossed for Carlos Torres Pizarro, who hit it first time and bulged the onion bag with Kuljman all ends beaten.

London United dominated the next ten minutes, with chances by Rodrigo Santos, Ergun Taykin and CraiCo all required good saves from Kuljman.

But Monsters suddenly took control of the match, when an elegant pass from Darren Watkinson found Wisniewski, who then crossed for England hitman Redwood, who headed the ball past a hapless Simon Herding to make it 2-1.

United never recovered from that goal, despite the introduction of speedy wingers Ian Parker and Bobby Bricke later on, and the Monsters held on for the victory.

London United: Herding; Mitchell, Tweed, Macdonald, Weibel; Warhurst; Taykin (Parker 77), CraiCo, Defranco (Bricke 86); Rodrigo Santos, Torres Pizarro.

Subs not used: Knott, Haynes, McGrady, Szymanowski, Davies.

Goal: Torres Pizarro 50.

Monsters: Kuljman; Crandall, Bentley, Broskovic, Schweitzer; Matsson, Watkinson, Riko (Pancu 65), Morgan (Bernhardt 80); Wisniewski; Redwood.

Subs not used: Miller, Freeman, Flansky, Noriega, Mykendaal.

Goals: Wisniewski 12, Redwood 64.

Perry blames lack of preparation for Toronto disaster

England captain Daniel Perry has said the 2-2 draw against Canada is down to a lack of match practice.

The BritLeague and E-League seasons are a month away and London Town defender Perry, 30, has admitted that England were "not ready enough" in Toronto.

"Obviously we can't keep making excuses but I think we've under-prepared for this game," he said.

"That and bad defending is the only explanation for that result."

"But I guarantee we will get better for the games against Iceland next month in quali (for EuroCup 12)."

England held to a shock 2-2 draw in Canada

A sloppy England side defended rather poorly and they were made to pay as hosts Canada secured a sensational draw in Toronto.

Canadian skipper Paul Gray, a defender, gave his side a shock lead on only three minutes after poor English defending from a corner.

But Barcelona Bullfighters striker Adam Carter equalised for England on the half-hour mark.

Despite their defensive flaws, the CSA World Champions played their flowing, attacking football to perfection, throwing absolutely everything at Canada keeper Ross Rogers until they were eventually rewarded when James Douglas scored from the spot after Erik Ouellet handballed in the area.

But once again, their defensive frailty was once again exposed when Marco Giontarella's pass found Danny Bellamy. England defenders tried to play offside but Bellamy was left unmarked and slotted the ball past custodian Chris Kolinski to cap another famous night in Canada's football history.

England: Simon Herding (Chris Kolinski 45); Danny Miller, John Macdonald, Daniel Perry (Steven Tweed 45), Ashton Reid; James Douglas, Garry Stratford (Kyle Johnson 68), Craig CraiCo (Kevin Coleman 82); Adam Carter (John Carey 72), Edward Redwood (Martin King 68).

Canada: Ross Rogers; Erik Ouellet, Brian Groves, Paul Gray, Danny Olsson (Nick Vassilidis 45); Hayden Thompson (Joe Smajto 62), John-Paul Fletcher, Marco Giontarella, Bobby Bricke; Danny Bellamy, Mike Szymkowiak (Kevin Maguire 86).

Referee: Matthew Stojanovich (Australia).

Garibaldi names squad for friendly against Canada

England team manager Marco Garibaldi has named his 25-man squad for Wednesday's friendly against Canada in Toronto.

FC Nottingham right-back Danny Miller wins his first call-up, while teammate Hugo Watson returns to the England fold for the first time in three years.

Newcastle Geordies' Kevin Coleman, Real Birmingham's Kyle Johnson and the Monsters' Adam Morgan are more fresh faces in the England set-up.

Goalkeepers

Simon Herding (London United)

Christian Watson (FC London)

Chris Kolinski (South Coast Rangers)

Defenders

Liam Cole (Real Birmingham)

John Macdonald (London United)

Danny Miller (FC Nottingham)

Gary Mitchell (London United)

Daniel Perry (London Town)

Ashton Reid (London Town)

Steven Tweed (London United)

Charlie Vickers (Sheffield Strikers)

Midfielders

Kevin Coleman (Newcastle Geordies)

Craig CraiCo (London United)

James Douglas (Real Birmingham)

Kyle Johnson (Real Birmingham)

Adam Morgan (Monsters)

Craig Palmer (London United)

Garry Stratford (London Town)

Kevin Warhurst (Real Birmingham)

Forwards

Adam Barry (Real Birmingham)

John Carey (London Town)

Adam Carter (Barcelona Bullfighters, Spain)

Martin King (South Coast Rangers)

Edward Redwood (Monsters)

Hugo Watson (FC Nottingham)