After England's 1-0 win over Sweden Fabio Capello seemed happy with his team's display with one exception: their tendency to pass the ball back to the goalkeepers, Joe Hart in the first half and Scott Carson in the second.
This is part of a wider trend for England and the other home nations. In the Euro 2012 qualifiers, 3.04% of England's passes went back to the keeper, the second-highest percentage of all 51 countries. Only Liechtenstein had a higher proportion. The Republic of Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland were all in the top seven.
This suggest an inability to retain possession under pressure in midfield and defence, with British players taking the easier option of passing backwards for the keeper to kick long rather than shield the ball or pass to a team-mate who is marked, as David Pleat explained on Friday.