The past 7 days have brought both trial and tribulation in a way that Charles Dickens would have been proud of. After the tie against USA, which was in itself not the worst result that we could have started with, England was looking to have a bounce back against Algeria finishing strong with Slovenia. It was not to be.

England 0 - Algeria 0

I was going to write the Algeria game immediately after, but I was so disappointed and weary I decided I’d wait until the Slovenia match in case this blog ended up finishing all to early. The match was dire in the rate of work-effort and passion, the two qualities that England is revered to have in abundance. Some question the technical skills of some English players, but to question their passion and work-rate for a game? Never.

Until this game. The lads just didn’t seem up to it, when you consider that all of the players are playing Premier League football week-in-week-out for their careers, in the most physically demanding schedules and leagues in the world: how could that be? It was as if they lost the luster and the fight, both things I was not expecting in the least. And neither was Algeria based upon their post-match comments.

There were opportunities for us to score, yes, but this match can be summed up about heart; and England lack there-of.

England 1 - Slovenia 0

Now this game came back with a vengeance. The sweaty palm syndrome was at it’s height for all England fans that took the time off work at Limericks in Calgary. It was a much improved performance from the lads, despite some (and very few) critics still picking it apart. However Shearer, McNulty, and the other pundits from England’s camp seemed to see the difference and I agree.

Gerrard had another good game after his steady start against the USA, as well as Milner who came and finally delivered (literally) what we have seen from him at Aston Villa and in England’s Under-21 European campaign. And then there was the big call by the coach to leave out Heskey, which undoubtedly paid dividends in the first-half goal from Defoe.

It is likely that we will see a similar line-up when we face our competitors in the next round. Rooney showed glimpses of what I expect from a world-class player, and the claimed offside after his run and pass was wrong; and his turn and shot that was finger-tipped to the bar was also good to see.

Despite a nervous start from our goalkeeping in South Africa, it appears that David James is ready to take the bull by the horns, and made numerous saves from mid-air. The whole defense looked great, and I fully expect that Upson will continue to keep his position after a inspirational performance from the West Ham man.

Next Up - Germany

A lot will be in the press about the history between our sides, but to be fair, over the past 20 years there has been no history to speak of. 1990 was a bitter disappointment, and most recent in the memory, but that is due to penalty kicks. It is more penalty kicks themselves that are our greatest rivals, rather than any individual team, just ask Portugal. They couldn’t break us down for 60 minutes after Rooney got sent off!

If we can ensure that over the 90 minutes we give it our all, and I expect the lads to be right fired up after the silly comments by Beckanbauer over the past few games. I’m not sure why these ex-players/managers do these tirades, it is either a way to get them over-passionate and make mistakes or get carded, or just because they have to say “something” and that is undoubtedly going to be some sort of nonsense.

Either way I am hesitantly confident that we do indeed have the players we need to overcome Germany, the past two friendlies (and most recent competition in the past two years) have ended in a 5-1 and 2-1 victory, and both of those games were held in Germany’s back yard. Here’s hoping that the pressure gets to their young team.

Our Path

So what a difference that one goal scored by a weepy Donavon against Algeria! Instead of facing the fearsome foursome of South Korea, Uruguay, or Ghana (who are good teams, don’t get me wrong) we will instead face Germany, Argentina, and then a semi-final possibility of Spain, Chile, or Brazil. Well… as they say, you only win a final by beating the best.

Unless you’re Greece, and it’s a Euro I guess. Yet one thing is for sure, as I told my brother, what would be better than putting our Germany and then a Diego Maradona’s Argentina? Nothing; was his response.

GO ENGLAND!

The opening match for England did not go the way we would have hoped as a nation, however there were some positives to take out of it, as Capello suggests. When you think that Rooney, Lampard, and Lennon were all relatively quiet and Milner and Wright-Philips did not get much time on the pitch, it shows the attack can improve. Also when you consider that King was retired early, it makes sense that that can also improve. The goal was a freak accident, one all too familiar when we think of England at tournaments.

England 1 - USA 1

The game could not have started better, with a great build up and neat finish from Gerrard. The game lacked the cutting verve and movement that it required, and I’m not sure what that is down to. There were some great opportunities spurned, the Heskey shot and the Lennon pass come to mind immediately. In the end, some of our key players had a relatively quiet night but I expect that to wane and peak as the tournament progresses either way.

The goal the Americans scored could not have been more freak, and most of the people I watched the game with could not believe it had happened. Another goal keeping error in a high-stakes game, perhaps we can be grateful it’s out of our system at this early juncture of the tournament… or so we hope. Comments have been made rampantly about the ball, and the trajectory it delivers, but I would say that Green’s positioning of his body behind the ball was the real problem for England.

If we can get more fluid movements, and take a page out of Germany’s book with their exquisite movement off the ball against Australia, then I can see us doing much better. I have to agree somewhat with Beckenbauer that the long-ball tactic is an old and bitter attempt to win a game, but it is something of a Plan C, after the pass and move or crossing game has failed us.

Only thing is, I didn’t see anywhere near enough of the pass and move, too much of the poor cross or missed final ball. The midfield was tight, and most of the game was contested there, but there were at least 5-7 chances that England spurned, and I expect them to become more clinical, especially Rooney as we move through the group.

Next Game

The game against Algeria will be altogether different than the USA in playing style. The Americans have a very familiar style in regards to England, perhaps due to the large portion of players plying their trade in the English leagues. The Algerians will be a different prospect, but if we can truly push our passing and rushing game; including wing-play from Joe Cole and Lennon; then it will make all the difference.

Although Milner is a hard worker, he was sick last week from what I read, and did indeed look a yard off the pace. The usual mentality was there, without any of the timing. And Shaun Wright-Phillips is definitely a good impact substitute, but in this game we already had pace on the right and it wasn’t delivering so why not bring on one of our trickiest players, Joe Cole? I, unlike the tabloids and media, will not presume to know better and for all I know Joe Cole was carrying a knock.

I predict a solid 3-0 win for the Three Lions on Friday, and I hope that Slovenia can pressure the Americans; as they do not have the most adept attacking lineup, but do have a great work rate. Yet, just ask Heskey, that won’t score you goals.

Well it’s here, and it came so fast I can scarce believe it. It was only 4 years ago I was out in Germany watching the games from the pubs and bars. I was celebrating Switzerland making it out of the group stage with the Swiss in a pub; screaming number 1 in Baden Baden as England made it through; and flying home as Argentina crashed out: all great memories.

I watched the concert and the opening ceremonies, as well as the Mexico vs South Africa game. The South Africans played like a team with something to prove, and those darn horns drove me nuts as I’m sure the commentators will agree. The France vs Uruguay result was close and it looks like that group has reset itself and lays on the edge.

I won’t be watching the Greece vs South Korea matches, nor many of the subsequent ones as I will be working. I’ve setup recording for some though, and I can’t wait for the opening England match against the USA.

England vs USA

Saturday, 12/06/2010. Kick off 19:30 BST (12:30 MST) at Royal Bafokeng

It should be a great game, considering the similarities in the way the two nations play their football. You only need to have a look at the USA rooster to see many players who started their careers, built them, or took loans in the English leagues to realize the commonalities.

In the end- England are the favorites, which gave way to some players in the USA team drubbing the game ”easy“ in regards to the pressure they will feel on the pitch. England always feels pressure, regardless of which they are playing against, that’s just the way expectations always ride on our lads.

A lot has been made about Rooney’s contribution, and Gerrard as a leader and captain of England. The loss of Rio Ferdinand is indeed a problem, and perhaps not so much a shock due to his problems last season. Having someone like King or Carragher able to step in does definitely help, but Rio and Terry have been working together for quite some time now on the international stage.

A read some comments that Fabio has built ”quadrants“ into the England quad, where as you have Chelsea left defense/midfield centre left of A. Cole, Terry, J. Cole and Lampard. He tried to temp Scholes, and surely would have used Hargreaves and Rio along with Rooney as the central quadrant. That’s where it get’s a little flakey as we have two Tottenham strikers each vying to pair Rooney in attack and winger Lennon, which may or may not play with each other. Perhaps the odd man out is Gerrard in the centre/left and Johnson on the right for Liverpool. Yet that there is only 4 teams as outfield players (Tottenham, United, Liverpool, and Chelsea) and 3 of the 4 in the Top 4 of England, it does seem somewhat true.

I would have liked to see some experimentation with the 4-4-1-1 with the following players: Green; A. Cole; Terry; King; Johnson; J. Cole; Milner/Carrick/Barry; Lampard; Lennon; Gerrard; Rooney. This may or may not happen, it might depend if Capello wants a mid-game shuffle to get the best out of Rooney. He’s used to this method of playing, and it was no surprise how lethal Rooney appeared when Gerrard was playing further up in qualifying.

Capello on England

“Usually the first game is hard because the expectation and pressure is really big,” he added. “But we’ve been here for eight days, trained very well, and I thought our best training session was this evening [Friday].”

“I think the players are really happy at this moment - physically and mentally. We’ve had nine days of real focus on this game and we’re sure we will go forward in this competition.”

“On Saturday, more than anything, I want to see the spirit of the team - the English spirit - that I saw during qualifying.”

quotes from BBC

South Africa: The Location

Well, it has got off to a relatively good start, other than the sad death of Mandela’s great-granddaughter. I hope no violence occurs during the games, and if South Africa were to go out at the group stage, South Africa quickly adopts new teams to support and enjoy as they move through the tiers much like the Korea/Japan cup.

England has drawn quite a comfortable group, with USA being the only team that can offer a high position in the FIFA Rankings and in general player quality. Algeria struggled to get into the Cup, and so did Slovenia. We have already beaten both USA and Slovenia in friendly matches this year and in the prior year, so we can be confident of those victories.

The groups are listed below:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece

Group C: ENGLAND, United States, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana [Tough!]

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal [Group of Death]

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

And the fixtures for England’s opening group matches are:

12 June v USA, Rustenberg

18 June v Algeria, Cape Town

23 June v Slovenia, Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth

Alan Shearer: “Fabio Capello will be sat in his seat in Cape Town, and inside he will be absolutely delighted with that draw. I can see England doing well in all of their group games. I don’t think anyone can be anything other than delighted with that - if you’d offered that group to Fabio this morning, he would have bitten your hand off.”

David Beckham: “It’s a very interesting group, you don’t get easy games at the World Cup. As a country we’re very honoured to be here and very honoured to play a part in such a historical time in South Africa.”

Mark Lawrenson: “That couldn’t have gone any better. Privately, Fabio Capello will be absolutely delighted with that.”

Who does that mean England will face in the Round of 16? 1C or 2C will play Germany, Australia, Serbia or Ghana. If we come top as 1C I presume we’ll play Serbia. 2C and we will meet Germany; let’s hope we don’t come 2C!

Below is a picture of the countries involved and their location, and the stage 2 knock-out fixtures.