FIFA World Cup 2010 Special Report: 10 Things England needed to make sure they were out
From the group stages to the pre-quarter finals, everyone was criticizing Capello’s team for not playing as good as they actually were. They started their World Cup with a disappointing draw against the USA. Later, they went on to draw against the underdogs, Algeria and getting a win against Slovenia, with a single goal. England’s squad had the ability to become the Champions this year, but they failed to impress anyone throughout. Below are the ten things that England carried along with them to make sure that they are not a part of the World Cup for a longer period of time.
1. Poor Team Chemistry
Let’s start with the aspect of their poor team chemistry. It was seen by football fans and specialists that England was not passing the ball around as they should have been. The team lacked chemistry while defending and attacking while the midfielders were doing a better job. However, Lampard failed to give his best while the team’s captain Gerrard did the most he could and tried to move the ball around as much as he could. The defenders of the England team did not give their all, except maybe Glenn Johnson who kept trying to move forward and find spaces. The forwards could not connect with the midfielders to finish the ball into the net and this lack of cohesion proved that the team did not have the right chemistry going for them.
2. First Knock-out game against Germany
Another one of the reasons why England is out of the World Cup is due to the fact that they had to face the Germans. Germans have always been an attacking team, and if England would have performed well in their group, they would have ended up facing Ghana, which would have been relatively easier. Germans throughout the group stages were highly impressive; they played their first match against the Australians and smashed them with a 4-0 win. Later on, they topped their group and went on to face the English side and beat them. One of the reasons the Germans are such an extraordinary side is because of the fact that they have amazing team chemistry unlike the English.
3. Referees in FIFA world cup 2010
We cannot count out the fact that the referees in this FIFA World Cup have not been up to the mark. There have been many wrong decisions. A certain referees, who was a part of the match between USA and Slovenia, was barred by FIFA and he will not be allowed to be a part of this World Cup because he counted a goal scored by the USA as an offside and disallowed it. England, suffered from this ‘Extraordinary Refereeing’ as well, as a goal by Lampard was disallowed by the sideline referee, although the ball crossed the line clearly. If that goal was allowed, England would have tied the match 2-2, thus, applying pressure on the German side.
4. Robert Green's butter fingers
No one can forget this World Cup’s biggest blunder, committed by the England goal keeper Robert Green. If he was not the keeper for the English side in their first match, and if he did not make that mistake, England would have topped the group and would have faced Ghana as their opponents, as said before, a relatively easier side. Ghana however cannot be underestimated; as they have qualified for the quarter finals by defeating the USA. But, if England were to go head to head with an easier opponent, they would have had a chance to qualify for the next round.
5. John Terry and the freedom of speech
The Ex English Captain, John Terry, who was in the starting lineup of the English side, actually had a little exchange of words with his coach, Fabio Capello. He told him that his strategies were not working for the team and considering Joe Cole as a player in the team was a big mistake. Therefore, there were differences between Terry and Capello. Maybe this attitude was because he was stripped of his captain’s armband, but regardless of why, it definitely affected the performance of the team and weakened their defense.
6. Leaving Crouch out of the starting lineup
People who have followed England as a team would know how good Crouch has performed for his country. He scored eight goals in twelve appearances, yet he was not in the starting line-up. No one knows why he was not introduced into the team at such a crucial time. His absence could have been one of the reasons why England could not make it to the next stage of this World Cup.
7. Keeping faith in Heskey
Another reason why England failed was because Heskey had been the least impressive forward in the history of the English. He had sixty two appearances and scored just seven goals, which is relatively low, considering the fact that he is a centre forward. People began to question why he was even part of the English team.
8. Expecting Wayne Rooney to perform without Manchester United
The England star player, Wayne Rooney who was the best striker of Man U was expected to contribute more than what he did in this World Cup. He left South Africa goalless and English fans disappointed. Rooney was lacking that ‘spark’ throughout the tournament. He did nothing with his feet but his mouth kept running: he was upset at english fans booing him but that was the fans way to reward his performance.
9. The Italian coach Fabio Capello who did not learn what worked in qualifying had to be changed
The Italian coach, who has decided not to resign from his post, was the least impressive of them all. His managing skills and his lack of confidence in most of the players led the team to failure. His old strategies, the 4-4-2 formation and the counter-attacking football strategy just did not work for him in this World Cup.
10. Lady luck only favors the brave and England squad was anthing but that
Of course one cannot totally blame the English side. The Lady Luck was no where around; players and the coach did nothing to intice her to come. This was just not England’s World Cup, beside Lady Luck, Mr. charm, Miss Strategy and Miss Team Chemistry all did not believe the England squad had the heart of the Champions and rewarded them accordingly.
The biggest losers of the this world cup are the English Fans who did everything in their power to support the team but were left stranded by the super stars who did not live up to the expectations. After the game there was silence in the UK; world cup is no longer the same. Fans now have to wait for four long years for Mr. Hope to return, until than Life goes on.
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