ENGLAND STUNNED BY THE GERMAN ONSLAUGHT
The Second Round of matches at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa has started, as the English faced the Germans for the knock-out battle. The match was supposed to be a tough battle between the two European giants, who also had a good defensive record in the international arena. The good news for the Germans was that Bastian Schweinsteiger was back from an injury and ready to start the match against the English. England, however, had a few problems as Matthew Upson started in the defence, alongside John Terry, in the absence of Ledley King and Jamie Carragher.
Despite more possession in the beginning, the English remained on the back-foot, as the German showed aggressiveness in attacking. Nevertheless, the first goal did not come after some great attacking move; rather a slip-up in defence by John Terry gave an opening to Miroslav Klose, who put the ball in the net, showing his eagerness to score goals for Germany once again. Soon afterwards, another defensive lapse gave another opening to the Germans, as Thomas Muller made his way into the box, and played Lukas Podolski, who scored another to give a 2-0 lead to the Germans.
At that particular moment in the first half, it looked as if the match had already been decided. However, the Englishmen did not lie back, as they started attacking the Germans ferociously. It was Steven Gerrard who provided a cross to Upson, who got a goal back for England with a sweet header. After that goal, England tried hard to get the second one as well, as the Germans looked shaky in defence as well. In the closing minutes of the first half, the biggest controversy of the World Cup arose, as a long distance shot by Frank Lampard hit the post and went in, but the referee’s assistant saw it differently. The goal was not given, despite the protests by the Englishmen, and the half ended with the advantage to Germans at 2-1.
In the second half, England continued the good work as they pushed hard to find openings in the German defence. All of a sudden, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, both started performing really well, despite the initial problems at the World Cup. However, it were Germans who found another goal on an incisive counter attack, as Thomas Muller found himself on the score-sheet. The game was not over yet, as the Germans put the final nail in the English coffin in the 70th minute, as another counter-attack saw Thomas Muller scoring another goal for Germany.
Muller, without a doubt, was the best player on the field, as he scored two goals and provided an assist to Podolski. He made good impact on a very important game for Germany, and led his team to the Quarter Finals of the World Cup. England did not have a bad game either, especially in the attacking. Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney all seemed to work well at the front. It was the English defence that let them down in this particular fixture, and maybe the denied goal played its part as well in the English demise.
There is no doubt that this was the most controversial match in this version of FIFA World Cup that would spark the debates about the use of technology in the games. Also, the credit would be taken away from the German side, as this controversy would be spoken about a lot. However, there is no doubt that the blame has to be put on the shoulders of none other than the English themselves. The lack of concentration at the back gave Germans a lot of opportunities to score. Also, the English looked tired and were unable to chase down the Germans in the counter-attacks. Also, Rooney and Defoe did not prove themselves to be good finishers in this World Cup. The Germans only faced considerable threat from the long range shots of Frank Lampard and the crosses by Milner and Gerrard. After this huge defeat, the English management needs a lot of thinking to do, as the English fail once again, to shine at the big stage.
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