Slovenia 0 England 1

After a nail-biting game, it finishes 1 - 0 to England a slender lead that takes England into the next round as group runners-up, with USA going through in first place as they grab a late winner against Algeria... it was looking like England could go out at this stage based on the first two performances, this however was a different England - dare I say, a NEW England?

The slender lead belies the fact that England peppered the Solvenian goal with chances, Defoe volleyed from close range after a cracking cross from Milner for the only goal of the match on 22 mins, but chances came and went for Gerrard, Rooney, Defoe and Lampard. Two chances could so easily have been converted, a parry from the 'keeper went back to Defoe who put it on a plate for Gerrard - again the keeper got a paw to it and just managed to gather the ball as it crept goalwards. Later Rooney was put through one-on-one and again the keeper managed to get enough on the ball to force it onto the post. If it weren't for the keeper (who also saved a goal-bound header from Terry) it could have been a scoreline reminiscent of Englands qualifying campaign.

Not that Slovenia rolled over, they had their break late on in the game, three chances in the box in quick succession had every England fan gasping for breath. First Terry blocked a shot, Johnson swept the rebound shot away (as Terry desperately dived head-first to get to it) and the third shot narrowly missed the goal - hearts in mouth time, but in the back of your mind you knew that this was their one chance - we always give them one chance...

This game started with Defoe and Milner who combined for the goal, Heskey replaced Defoe late on, and Rooney picked up a knock and was replaced by Cole in the dying stages of the match. Both Rooney and Cole earned themselves rapturous applause at the change-over. Upson took his place alongside Terry and the usual suspects. Johnson picked up a booking which sees him out of the next game - I am guessing Carragher will be in for him in his favoured right-back role.

Well, we knew they had it in them, they didn't have to leave it so late, but as they say 'better late than never...'

England expects..

The time draws near, the final chance to show the world that the England football team are a force to be reckoned with - so far they have been unrecognisable as the same team that waltzed through the qualifiers scoring goals (and letting a few in) for fun...
Whatever happens this afternoon, we can take solace in the fact that we have more points than France, and have not yet been beaten...

I still have hope that we will pull it out of the bag today, and if so, I am sure all will be forgiven and we can look forward to the next stage. We know that the ability to go further is there, we just need a break, a goal and the confidence should come flooding back. My feeling is that England need to go out and think about playing football more than they need to think about beating the opposition - the longer a game goes on, the harder it seems to beat a determined opposition - however if they just go out and play, they should win easily...

England 0 Algeria 0

With only one win (Slovenia) in their group to date, England had a prime opportunity to stamp their authoity on the World Cup, an opportunity that was squandered with what can only be described as an uninspired and uninspiring performance. From the dug-out, the manager was perplexed as was Beckham in his smartly pressed suit.

Even Rooney seemed not to care whether England put in a performance, content to shoot from range, and seemingly content to lose the ball after a bad touch without much hope of getting it back again... James stood up well in goal, there was a punch that went a little awry, but in circumstances where he was unprotected by his defenders, I think that is forgivable. There was a poignant moment towards the end of the first half when a local bird, a little like a scruffy brown pigeon, decided to perch on the Algerian goal presumably safe in the knowledge that it would not be troubled by balls flying into the net from the England team. The pigeon was right, it is difficlt to find words or excuses for such a seemingy lacklustre performance - all I can say is... one more chance, that's all otherwise it is USA and Slovenia going through to the next round...

Beckham News

Well unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you will know that David Beckham got injured in March this year, and the World Cup is now well and truly under way without Beckham as a player.
In case you have been under a rock or living without Sky News, the BBC and CNN... I will do my best to bring you up to date. Beckham has joined Fabio Capello's back-room staff in South Africa and has been giving individual coaching, advice and encouragement to the team. He was there for the Wembley warm up against Mexico, but did not travel to the Austrian pre-tournamant training camp, instead opting to visit British Troops in Afghanistan.
He arrived in South Africa on the same day as the England team to resume his role as mentor and liaison for the England team. Of course, Capello is well aware of what Beckham has to offer having managed him when they were both at Madrid. Beckham does not have any official coaching 'badges' so he cannot be part of the technical coaching staff as such, nevertheless the presence of the ex-captain is no doubt appreciated by the players.
England have faltered against the USA, and face Algeria in a few days time - there can be no more slip-ups, emphatic wins in the next two games are vital to qualify, and hopefully win the group thus avoiding Germany in the next round. I don't mind admitting that I don't think England are ready to meet the German team just yet, especially after their emphatic win against Australia...
Naturally, this blog is struggling for actual 'Beckham' news at the moment, so we will follow the progress of England through the World Cup, and then concentrate on Beckham's rehabilitation back in LA, through to the European qualifiers in which Beckham now hopes to have a pivotal role as a player once more - and to be honest, on current showing, he is sorely missed.

England have an uphill task ahead..

There are two certainties that we take with us through the week until it is time to face Algeria on Friday:

1. England are capable of doing better
2. No game is a forgone conclusion

England and Capello face some tricky barriers this week - none so pronounced as what to do about Rob Green... No England keepeer of the modern era has proved themselves immune to identical errors, yet somehow confidence has to be restored in the man and in the team. It is almost certain that David James will have to start the next match even though he is no stanger to seemingly mindless errors himself.
James will inspire confidence in the defence, Rob Green despite the fact that such an errror is unlikley to recurr, will need to gather his thoughts and move on - but this is not the time to play mind-games, his rehabilitation is not Capello's concern whilst he has 'keepers that are fit and ready to step into the breach.
It is time to reflect and look at the consequences of a draw with the US - there is now a very real chance that England may qualify for the next round in second place, which will most likely mean a meeting with Germany - whilst we might normally relish a clash with the Germans, right now our fragile defence can hardly be considered ready to meet the challenge. All we can do now is go at the next two games and get as many goals as we can to ensure that we meet the runners up from Group D rather than the winners.

England 1 USA 1

Captain Gerrard got England off to a great start before 4 minutes were on the clock, combining with Rooney and Heskey to put England 1 up - exactly the sort of start we were looking for...
However, the first half didn't really take off and in the closing minutes, it was Clint Dempsey who managed a shot which Rob Green fumbled into the net bringing the scores level at 1-1. Milner was taken off after 30minutes after getting a yellow card, Capello maybe nervous that the yellow may turn red at some point... he was replaced (rather surprisingly) with Sean Wright Phillips. Ledley King came off at half time, replaced by Carragher, but it was only in the last 10 minutes that Cappello decided to bring in the much-missed Peter Crouch - I say much-missed because every cross that came into the box was met by a US defender, until Crouch arrived... However, even the arrival of Crouch did not bring any further goals. Rob Green pulled off a great save, Rooney tried a couple of long-range shots, and in the second half (as in so many other England games) they began to dominate. Sean Wright Phillips squandered a chance, as did Heskey one-on-one with the keeper, but despite the disappointing result, I think there is a lot more to come from England, and they showed flashes of it from time to time.
How Rob Green will be affected by his error will show in time, once again the curse of the fumble strikes England..

Platinum Stars 0 England 3

England 1 - 0 up through Defoe after 3 minutes, Platinum Starts won a (fairly questionable) penalty which they missed... replays show little reason for awarding a penalty.
10 changes in the second half...
Rooney got booked after about 15 mins - almost inevitable, he doesn't do 'friendly'...
Joe Cole scores a second goal for England, Rooney is over-generous in the box, passing to Heskey who wanted too much time when he could have blasted it in himself...
Never mind, Rooney took a nice half-volley on the canter and bagged himself a goal anyway... 3 -0 to England.
Ashley Cole wastes a chance to make it four in the closing seconds, cutting inside and dragging it wide with his less-favoured right foot.
In conclusion, it was probably a useful exercise, but everyone is relieved not to see any dramatic injuries - the start showed a lot of the pace that Capello has been promising us, but we are still left wondering what the line-up will be on Saturday. Crouch, Defoe and Gerrard combined in the first half with back-up from Joe Cole Wright-Phillips and Lampard- Rooney, Joe Cole and Heskey with Lennon and Milner in support were on show in the second half. I think Joe Cole was the only player to remain on the pitch throughout the match - I guess Capello feels he needs the game time.

England in training

The first training session in South Africa for the England squad this morning - Gareth Barry puts in an appearance, but Rio Ferdinand is taken to hospital for a scan after a clash towards the end of training. Beckham trains with the team although it has not been made clear exactly what role he is taking.
Meanwhile there are rumors of serious injury to Drogba after Ivory Coast play Japan...

England Squad announced

This is the official squad....

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).

Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).

Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

No Walcott is probably the biggest surprise, but even odder is the fact that Adam Johnson also didn't make the cut, I would have thought that one of those two would have made the squad. No real surprise to see that Leighton Baines didn't make it this time, he did not have a great game last week against Mexico, Warnock and Cole will look after the left side of defence adequately I am sure. Barry makes the squad despite recent injury, the full list of those that didn't make it is as follows:

• Walcott
• Johnson (Adam)
• Dawson
• Baines
• Bent
• Huddlestone
• Parker

The last game to be played before England meet the USA in the real competition will be a freindly against local South African side Platinum All-Stars, I am not sure whether this will be broadcast anywhere - If I find that it is, I may post details here...
Beckham's role is as yet unclear - maybe this will become clear when the players get to South Africa and settle in - We understand that he has been coaching Walcott in crossing techniques, but it seems like the coaching did not pay off.

England 2 Japan 1

On the road to South Africa, England take on Japan in their high altitude camp in Austria.
England started the first half with a look of a team that could put pressure on the Japanese, only to be stunned by a goal scored by Tulio from a corner after just 6 minutes. Japan had a second chance on goal just three minutes later as England resumed their habitual nervy look in defence. The one exciting moment of the half for England fans was Rooney putting the ball on a plate for Lennon (playing on the left), who failed to beat the keeper with his left foot.
Whatever England tried, Japan were there waiting for them hassling them off the ball and foiling every plan - in fairness there was very little invention from a ponderous England side. On 30 minutes, Bent got on the end of a lofted ball from Ferdinand, but headed wide, a little later Rooney improvised a back-heel from a Huddlestone shot that narrowly missed the target - these were brief glimpses of hope in a very disappointing half that finished with a one-goal advantage to Japan.
There were five changes and a new shape from England for the second half and just two minutes in saw the first attempt on goal from Gerrard. Ten minutes later Wright-Phillips scampered down the left hand side riding three tackles passing to Lampard who was brought down for a free kick. The kick gave England a penalty as not one but two players in the defensive wall handled the ball. Lampard took the spot-kick which was saved by the Japanese reserve keeper.
The frustration was visible as Rooney began to lose his self-control a little. Gerrard put a ball through the middle for Rooney leaving him one-on-one with the keeper, but the flag was up (mistakenly) for offside. Good shot from distance from Rooney on 63 mins, but not far enough away from the keeper. A few minutes later, Hart made a vital instinctive save which kept England in the game. More good work from Rooney as his next shot is parried away on 68 mins, but it was Joe Cole's cross from the right on 71 minutes that ended up in the net courtesy of Tulio's head. Just 10 minutes later, an Ashley Cole cross was again turned into the net by another Japanese player. Heskey also spurned a chance to get on the score sheet in the final minutes from a nicely whipped cross from Gerrard.
2-1 without an England player adding to his goal tally is fairly extraordinary, but this is a game where Frank Lampard missed a penalty, and Rooney had a bad off-side against him which would surely have otherwise resulted in an England goal.
This was one of those bad dress rehearsals that will hopefully lead to a decent performance at the World Cup - one more warm-up to go before meeting the USA - the 23 player final squad gets announced on Tuesday.

England 3 Mexico 1

Beckham watches from the stands as a new look England side takes the field to see if they can make an impact on a Mexico side who should be able to hold their own against most of the rest of the world. A shaky start saw neither team dominating, but Ledley King scored after 16 minutes from a set-piece which should have settled England down, but they failed to really get a grip on the game. King's second goal in an England shirt came from a corner knocked down by Crouch and headed in leaving the 'keeper no chance.
Rob Green showed real class in goal for England with a couple of excellent saves to keep them ahead in the game. Crouch bundled in a goal from a Rooney header that struck the bar on 34 minutes which should have settled England down a little, but they still remained edgy giving silly chances away at the back. It was on the very final stroke of the half that Mexico themselves managed to bundle the ball through the legs of Leighton Baines to pull one back. 2-1 going into the break.
Glen Johnson settled nerves 90 seconds after the re-start by scoring a cracker coming inside on his left foot and placing the ball right in the far corner. This had the desired affect and England looked more comfortable in the second half. As Gerrard was forced off the ball on 65 mins, the crowd began to warm up and the whole atmosphere became much more like a proper World Cup match. Milner rolled the resulting free-kick to Gerrard who narrowly missed the target.
England continued to push and to soak up the pressure from Mexico, looking more assured at the back in the second half.
The performance was reminiscent of England's qualifying campaign - guaranteed to score plenty of goals, but also guaranteed to let the opposition get behind their defence - only a truly World Class goalie need apply for this job...
Nevertheless, this type of performance should get us through the group stages, against the big boys, a plan B may be required... Japan next, then a game against local opposition in South Africa will prepare the team just 5 days before they meet the USA for the first game of the 2010 World Cup.

Beckham hope for 2018

In the light of the Lord Triesman fiasco, the nation looks to David Beckham to bring some integrity to the UK bid to host the World Cup in 2018. Either Lord Triesman was a very silly man, or he was cleverly set-up by a malicious third party, either way he has vacated his position leaving the UK World Cup bid requiring someone to take it forward.
I would offer advice to anyone in the public eye in the light of this latest scandal - trust no-one! One ends up mulling over whether the 'lady' in question actually acquired herself an 'agent' before the conversation was recorded, or prior to the event? How did a photograph of the hapless Lord (looking a bit silly in jeans) leaving a restaurant with this person end up in the public domain??
I don't want to get bogged down in this type of thing because this blog is about football, and despite all the baggage, we are still looking forward to the start of the 2010 World Cup never mind the 2018 event for now...
The stage is set, Beckham looks increasingly like taking a role in the England camp, one of Germany's penalty takers (Ballack) was injured at the weeknd which has to give a boost to the England team! I wouldn't wish missing the World Cup through injury on any footballer, but if it will help England NOT to be knocked out on penalties (again), then there is a silver lining... I have looked at the schedule (you can download a free world cup schedule here) and unless we meet after the first round, England will not meet Germany unless they both make it to the final!! England and Germany avoid each other after the first round if they both manage to come top of their respective groups, or if they both manage to come second - I would expect both teams to top their group, but you never know....
Capello has announced his provisional squad which contained a number of surprise inclusions - we wait eagerly to find out which of those players will have the disappointment of getting dropped before the finals start... The announcement will be made on June 1st after England finish their preparations against Mexico (24/05/2010) and Japan (30/05/2010).