As an England fan I am accustomed to being put through the mill at the hands of the Three Lions.
Every World Cup year England are touted as possible world champions and every time they disappoint.
Unfortunately after watching the USA game I feel it will be the same old story this time.
Early
People will accuse me of jumping the gun or being premature in that prediction on one game. However in the 1-1 draw with America some weaknesses were exposed.
We have a propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot in major tournaments and we have already in South Africa.
Blunders
In every World Cup an incident happens that derails England’s chances of winning the tournament. In World Cup 1990 it was missed penalties against Germany. We failed to qualify in 1994 but then in 1998 it was David Beckham receiving a red card for a flick off the foot at Argentina’s Diego Simeone.
In 2002 it was David Seaman being beaten by a freak Ronaldinho free-kick. Then in 2006 Wayne Rooney was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Portugal’s Ricardo Carvalho. The blunder in this tournament came earlier than usual.
England keeper Robert Green misjudging a Clint Dempsey shot and letting it trickle into the net. England never quite recovered from that error. Prior to the goal England were in control of the game and there only looked like one winner. Heads dropped and England never got playing again.
Poor
One player’s selection in the England squad I questioned ahead of the World Cup was Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips. To be honest he really didn’t convince me in last night’s fixture either. He seems to run down blind allies and doesn’t have a final product.
He has pace but seems to give the ball away and run straight into opponents when he has a good chance of helping England launch swift counter-attacks. He hasn’t even been a regular for his club this season and it showed in last night’s clash.
Reckless
Wright-Phillips replaced Aston Villa star James Milner midway through the first half. Milner made some really rash challenges in his time on the pitch and didn’t look comfortable at all. He has supposedly been ill in the last couple of days, so he can be forgiven. He is still a young lad and will only get better. Hopefully his next appearance will come when he’s fully fit.
Injury
England also suffered an injury with centre-back Ledley King coming off at half-time in Rustenburg. King has been dogged by injuries throughout his career and can hardly train. If the injury is anything other than a knock then Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher is likely to come into the team.
The experienced defender came on to replace the injured King and could have been sent-off. He made some rash challenges and received a yellow card before a reckless challenge on USA forward Robbie Findley, which the referee decided was legal.
I also questioned the inclusion of the veteran defender considering he’s had possibly the shakiest season of his career. Why did Capello decide to call him up a few weeks before the start of the tournament, despite the fact he had declared that he didn’t want to be considered for his country anymore?
It’s a question only Capello can answer because I can’t seem to find many people who think that the veteran defender deserves to be in South Africa. He does have experience but if that’s the only qualification you need to get into the England squad we are in trouble.
Positives
I must apologise for my rant but as an England fan I have had to put up with far too much disappointment in recent years. There were positives in last night’s performance though. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard played well in tandem in the centre of midfield.
Emile Heskey also had a decent game. He did however miss a glorious opportunity of winning the game when one-on-one with USA keeper Tim Howard. It’s the sort of miss that can cost you at the highest level and that’s why his inclusion in the England team is so often questioned.
England played a solid USA side but probably should have claimed all three points. One positive England can take from the game was that the performance was much better than in the previous warm-up matches against Mexico and Japan.
I just hope for England’s sake that they go on to prove me wrong. England fans have waited a long time for another World Cup victory and this should be our year. England players it’s over to you to bring home the trophy.
