Downing Out Of His Depth In Spain!
Last updated : 12 February 2009 By Boro Mad
He featured in the first half but only played a pedestrian roll, looking well out of his depth even in a poor England side that struggled against the European champions.
Why England took on the fixture is a mystery because it was a game they were always going to suffer.
The team was disjoined, and no-one came away proving anything other than a poor performance, with Downing one of the worst.
David Beckham equalled Bobby Moore's record number of 108 caps for an outfield player but England suffered a 2-0 defeat in Sevilla.
David Villa opened the scoring at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, then Fernando Llorente replaced Fernando Torres and sealed the friendly win, Fabio Capello's second defeat as England boss.
Beckham came on at the break and saw plenty of the ball but Capello's men struggled to create clear-cut chances until Carlton Cole came off the bench for his debut and had an effort cleared off the line.
With Xavi a class above anyone else on the pitch, Spain were simply too good and too effective in too many areas for the visitors.
Capello said: "Spain play with the same style and the same players that won Euro 2008.
"They play very naturally because they know each other so well. It is almost as though they are playing from memory.
"They wait when they have got possession and they punish you as soon as you make a mistake.
"Without doubt they are one of the teams who could win the World Cup."
