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A to Z of WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 - England
ENGLAND:
There was a time when, for every school boy and girl, the digits ’66 meant The Battle of Hastings and the start of the Norman Conquest (that’s 1066 in case you’ve forgotten!). Then came 1966 and with it a sporting occasion which has been burnt into the Nation’s collective memory. Who can forget Geoff Hurst scoring a hat-trick, Nobby Stiles dancing toothlessly round the pitch and Bobby Moore lifting the World Cup for the first and, so far, only time. The ’66 tournament, when England were hosts, is one of their 12 appearances in the World Cup Finals. It all began back in Brazil in 1950 when, as one of only 13 nations taking part, England lost 1-0 to Spain and amazingly by the same score to the USA. Many newspaper readers back home assumed this latter score to be a misprint! The team fared better in the’54 tournament in Switzerland when they reached the quarter-finals before losing 4-2 to Uruguay. The 1958 Finals were notable for the first and only appearance of all 4 Home Nations but sadly little else – England drew all 3 of their first round matches and were eliminated. Another quarter-final appearance followed in ’62, this time Brazil running out 4-2 winners. Automatic qualification as winners saw England contest the 1970 Finals but unable to hold on to a 2-0 lead (courtesy of Alan Mullery and Martin Peters) losing 3-2 in extra time to West Germany. Further disappointment followed in both ’82 (Round 2 elimination) and ’86 when Diego famously lent The Almighty a helping hand! Rome 1990 saw the first of a trio of quarter-final penalty shoot-out misses that would shred the Nation’s nerves and unfairly condemn the names and reputations of those who failed to score. West Germany won 4-3 here and Argentina by the same score in France ’98. These events were split by another last eight appearance and another defeat, this time at the hands of Brazil. The curse of the missed penalty shoot-out returned in Germany 2006 when Messers Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher failed to score and so allowed Portugal to progress to the Semi-Finals. So of the 12 appearances in FIFA’s premier tournament, 5 have been quarter-finals, 1 semi-final spot and of course the victory in 1966.
The current England squad have to contend with the probably unwelcome tag of ‘The Golden Generation’. For some certainly this may well be their last chance as professional footballers of getting their hands on the World Cup. Under the stern authority of manager Fabio Capello, they sailed through their qualifying group culminating in a 5-1 thrashing of Croatia. That said the makeup of the side is by no means settled and there are many who believe that the eventual squad will lack quality in depth. The current Captain is John Terry of Chelsea, a certainty on the team-sheet but not perhaps for the arm-band, given the latest concerns about his private life. The spine of the side is likely to be Terry, Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney. As for the rest, endless hours of your life can be spent speculating as to who the other 7 will be. Who will be in goal? Who will partner Rooney up front? What happens if he gets injured/sent off? Seeing as how ‘our Wayne’ is 14/1 with Coral to be the Tournaments top scorer (and 11/4 with Boylesports to be England’s top marksman) there is justifiable anxiety about Rooney’s future well-being. Frank Lampard is seen as the team’s next best hope of goals, on offer at 6/1 with Betfred to be England’s top scorer and at distant 80/1 with Skybet for the Tournament’s top spot.
England, ranked 9th in the World by FIFA, have been drawn in Group C alongside Algeria, Slovenia and the USA. This was seen by many as a very favourable draw for England. Algeria imploded in their recent African Cup of Nations tie with Egypt – ending the game with only 8 men and losing 4-0 into the bargain. Slovenia will be no pushover however as their September 2009 defeat (2-1) ultimately hinged on a dubious Wayne Rooney penalty. England’s opening match on June 12th is against the USA in Rustenberg, some 1,400 m above sea level. Altitude, as much as attitude, will be a factor. According to Arsenal doctor, Gary O’Driscoll, who travelled with the British Lions on last summer’s tour “players need at least 14 days to adjust to playing at altitude”. Capello, noted for his meticulous attention to detail, will choose a high- altitude base for the team’s pre-tournament preparations. Despite the caveats above, none of the opposition in this group are seen as serious stumbling blocks to England’s progress. Certainly bookmakers are of that opinion: PaddyPower are offering 7/2 on a quarter-final elimination, William Hill 9/2 on a semi-final exit and Bet365 have a runner-up spot for England at 6/1. Many see this as the team’s best chance of joining the ‘Immortals’ of 66. England, as they say, expects!!
Posted: Thursday, February 4th, 2010 @ 12:02 am by Mark
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