England fail to secure World Cup in 2018

Russia get the 2018 World Cup, Qatar get the 2022 - This means England don't get another shot until 2030 at the earliest. Beckham made a heartfelt plea on behalf of the England bid, but the winners were two regions that had never before hosted this, the most prestigious sporting event in the world...

British Prime minister David Cameron and Prince William also made their case as part of the English presentation.

Germany 4 England 1

The thing we feared all along as happened, England were found wanting despite the excuse of an appalling decision over a disallowed Frank Lampard goal. When faced with a quality side, although able to show some degree of class and control, over the full ninety minutes this team just didn't have what it takes to compete at this level.

Germany started well, but were able to exploit England's defensive weaknesses (which to be fair any class side should), and these were weaknesses that have been present right through the qualifying campaign.

One goal down after 20 minutes, and two after half an hour England seemed to be on the ropes. Matthew Upson (arguably culpable in the first goal) gave England hope with a headed goal from a corner just five minutes later. Almost immediately after that Lampard had scored lofting the ball over the keeper, striking the underside of the cross bar and crossing the line before bouncing back. Everyone in the stadium saw it, it seems.. other than the referee and his assistants. We have all seen those 'did it - didn't it?' scenarios when there is a debate about whether the ALL of the ball was over ALL of the line - in this case there was no need for debate, the ball was several feet over the line yet incredibly, the ref waved play on... Germany did and almost had the ball in the other net...

Half time came and went, the same side (the one that started against Slovenia) resumed with some small hope. Later in the half a few changes were made to try and force another goal although Heskey coming on for Defoe, and Sean Wright Phillips for Glen Johnston (?) still make you wonder about how Capellos mind works. Needless to say, England's cautious moves forward left them very much wanting at the back - a fact that Germany took full advantage of, twice steaming down their left flank leaving defenders in their wake and scoring another two times with well-taken and scantly-defended goals.

A re-think is clearly needed, England need to go back to the drawing board and learn how to defend, only a solid defence will stand you in good stead at this level, the strikers cannot always be relied on, you need something to fall back on - something that England at this moment just do not have...

Bend it like.... Milner

James Milner got his second chance yesterday after being pulled in the first England game against USA when he clearly wasn't up to the task - to the extent where he earned himself a yellow card trying to defend the left hand flank.
Notably, he was put on against Slovenia to replace the ineffective Aaron Lennon on the right wing, and his performance was a crucial part of the turn-around in England's performance. England are used to getting 'Beckham-style' deliveries from that position, but in the absence of the master crosser, all that has been on offer are speedy dribblers who can skip past a couple of defenders but on the whole fail to deliver anything worthwhile. I like Lennon on the right, on top-form he can be virtually unplayable, but he has to be able to play in a way that England can benefit.
For my money, England with wingers who can cross the ball look ten times more likely to score than England with speed and maneuverability on the wings. I don't know whether Milner has been taken under Beckhams' wing for any special training, but the fact that 'normal' service has been resumed is absolutely undeniable.
Defoe has proved his value as a hit-man, and he nearly scored twice from similar Milner crosses - with Milner providing the service, you have more confidence that Crouch will be able get that last minute goal if the ocassion calls for it.

My interpretation of the rules on yellow cards in the 2010 World Cup is that Glen Johnson can not play in the next game - two yellows equals a one-match suspension, but after the quarter-finals, all bookings are scratched from a players record meaning that ONLY a dismissal in the semi-final would prevent the player from being picked for the World Cup final.

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...

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..

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).

Beckham World Cup role

No decision has yet been made over whether David Beckham will accompany the England squad to South Africa as an unofficial aide to the team. The Beckham team are anxious that a real role is being offered rather then allowing him be portrayed as a glorified 'cheerleader'. There is no real news about the injury and subsequent rehabilitation, the best we can estimate is that he is sidelined until September. Meanwhile there are rumors that another waning star is considering 'retirement' in the MLS, as Italian great Alessandro Del Piero is supposed to be considering a spell at New York Red Bulls...

AC Milan and LA Galaxy playing well

Milan have recorded home draws against Lazio and Catania and and a 3-2 away win over Cagliari in the past two weeks. In the meantime The Galaxy have recorded 2-0 wins in games against Chivas and Dynamo. Stories of Beckham (other than trite tittle-tattle) are hard to come by, but hopefully we will be getting reports of how the ankle is recovering soon. Fellow England star Wayne Rooney is also nursing an ankle injury although it is thought that his injury is considerably less damaging than Beckham's. Despite being injured, Rooney played a role in the loss against Bayern Munich, and was seemingly cynically targetted by the German side. He did not play in the draw against Blackburn this weekend, for once Sir Alex's tactics have come up short... with hindsight, it would have been better to have Rooney available for the league tie rather than chasing the European silverware.
Ashley Cole is set to return after serious injury, and Joe Cole is also looking to get some serious work done on the pitch for Chelsea in the hope of being in contention for a World Cup squad place. England's next scheduled warm-up game is at Wembley against Mexico on 24th May.

Galaxy 1 New England 0

Beckham watched the game from the comfort of a corporate hospitality suite as New England visited the Home Depot Centre. It took Edson Buddle just 5 minutes to score the only game of the match with his head from Landon Donovan free kick.
Meanwhile speculation continues over whether Beckham will be part of the England back-room staff at the World Cup or take a lucrative deal to be a TV pundit. Initially the idea seemed to be quashed by the Beckham camp, but apparently offers are still being made and considered.

Beckham on the way 'home'

Having departed Finland for Blighty with Mrs Beckham yesterday - it is expected that this will be a stop-over on their way back to America where David is likely to recuperate with the family and under the care of LA Galaxy, although still temporarily contracted to AC Milan. In the meantime, the Poet Laureate has been inspired to write about the injury likening it to the Greek tragedy of Achilles.
Speculation is now rife as to who Capello will take instead of Beckham and I have to agree with Alan Shearer. Shearer acknowledges that Beckham would surely have been included in the squad as an impact substitute, and makes the point that coupled with Rooney's new-found ability to score with his head, the combination could have been extremely successful. However, we are now looking probably at Lennon and Walcott rather than Wright-Phillips, all three players have speed and tenacity, but Lennon and Walcott have the edge I believe.
The other speculation has been about what David Beckham will be doing when the games commence, and it is increasingly looking like he will be part of the England back-room team. Apparently offers from British television to provide commentary or punditry have been rejected out of hand. It is most likely that we will see Beckham alongside Capello in the dug-out offering support, encouragement and the benefit of his considerable experience.

Beckham recovers after achilles tendon operation

David Beckham opted to spend another night in Turku, Finland so that surgeons could check on progress today.
In an unprecedented move, it has been suggested that England manager Cappello is poised to offer David a non-playing role in the England squad going to South Africa as acknowledgment of the value of his presence, and also as a recognition of the lengths that Beckham has gone to in order to win a place in the team.
In the meantime, the eyes of the tabloids are firmly directed towards Finland, where David is reported to be in relatively good spirits even after absorbing the news that his injury will rule him out of the forthcoming World Cup.

Beckhams operation successfully completed

Beckham has already undergone the expected surgery in Finland today: "So far everything is fine, the operation went smoothly and nicely."" surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava said. When questioned about the likelihood of Beckham playing in the World Cup, he said "No, I don't think so... healing takes a long time,".
It is likely that Beckham's foot will be in a cast for six to eight weeks, after which he can start physiotherapy. Fabio Capello has been in touch and has said publicly that he hopes Beckham will be recovered enough to figure in the build up to the 2012 European qualifiers.
There is still a question-mark over whether he would have been included in the World Cup squad, but instinct tells you that Capello was at least, seriously considering the option. Milan have expressed their hope that Beckham will be able to play with them again next year, but time will tell whether there is any realistic hope, the next step will be to prepare to join Galaxy when he is fit enough. In all likelihood, 115 caps will be the figure that goes down in the Beckham career record book, but don't write David Beckham off just yet...

Beckhams World Cup Dream Could be Over

This was a scene that any Beckham fan does not want to see, with no-one near him, David Beckham pulls up, passes the ball away, hobbles then crumples to the floor to be picked up by stretcher-bearers after over 90 minutes played on Sunday night. Ironically, this is the first time for weeks that Beckham has had a sniff of playing more than 15 minutes. Despite a couple of nasty clashes in the game that left him with a badly cut face in the first half, he had given a display that left no-one in any doubt that he was match-fit.
The injury is likely to be a torn achilles tendon, on which it is expected he will have surgery this week. Reports from Milan indicate that he may not play for six months ruling him out of the World Cup. Beckham is reported to be distraught, and many of his Milan team-mates have taken little consolation from Sundays victory in light of the seriousness of the injury. He was hoping to be the first England player to go to four consecutive World Cups, this seems hardly likely now.