Gordon Strachan in the Grauniad:
‘Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren made a great decision in playing the three strikers. The system got the best out of Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, who had his best international for many a year, but another massive factor in England's attacking was having Rio Ferdinand back.
‘The fact that England passed so well allowed Rooney and Owen to get into positions where they could create problems for Wales, and Ferdinand was the player behind that.
‘A big criticism of England at the European Championship was that they played too many long balls, and the reason they could change was because of Ferdinand, who's probably the best centre-back in the world at the moment.
‘Ferdinand's not like most British centre-halves, who have been taught only to clear the ball upfield. Whenever he can, he will bring the ball down and hit a first-time ball to one of his midfielders.
‘When Ferdinand's playing passes, others follow his example. Cole and Gary Neville can both do it and it helps Rooney and Owen so much. Probably the weakest is Campbell but as a one-for-one defender he's fantastic.’