Well, isn't that just the wonders of Football. One moment can change everything. In this instance, it was one half.
After a horrendous first 45 minutes, England responded with five goals in the second half. The score-fest began on a corner in the 52nd minute, when Rio Ferdinand headed the ball into an open net following the mistimed read of the ball by goalkeeper Alexandr Mokin.
Thirteen minutes later, England made it 2-0 as Frank Lampard curled a free kick into the area that slid off of defender Aleksandr Kuchma's head and into his own net.
But things got interesting as left back Ashley Cole, made a disastrous decision just three minutes after. Cole attempted to bounce a ball back to goalkeeper David James, but the ball lacked pace and Zhambyl Kukeyev alertly pounced on it and struck well-hit ball passed a helpless James.
It appeared that Kazakhstan was poised for a comeback but any thought of that was crushed when in the 77th minute, Wayne Rooney made it 3-1 with a clinical header as he was left unmarked on a cross from Wes Brown.
England just added to the scoreline as David Beckham, who had come on as a sub for Theo Walcott a minute after Rooney's goal, put in picture-perfect cross after picture-perfect cross.
Becks was cheered every time he touched the ball, and in the 86th, the fans were rewarded. The L.A. Galaxy Captain put in one of his trademark crosses that bounced off of a falling Frank Lampard's thigh and into the path of Rooney who hit home his second of the night.
The scoring wasn't finished however as in the 90th minute Jermaine Defoe, who had come on for Rooney, was sent clear by a clever header from Emile Heskey. Defoe went 1v1 with Mokin and he calmly curled the ball around the Kazakhstan keeper.
It wasn't all pretty though as the Lampard and Steven Gerrard duo struggled to play well together and the Ashley Cole give-away could be a cause for concern. The game wasn't nearly as easy as the scoreline indicates, but the Three Lions fans can rest assure that their team is in a good position thus far in qualifying with three wins in as many games. Up next for England, Belarus on Wednesday.
What did you think of the game? How about Wayne Rooney's second half performance? What about Ashley Cole's give-away? Should the Gerrard and Lampard duo be split once and for all? Share your thoughts below.
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