After missing out on Euro 2008, England, after 4 years, finally had a chance to show the world what they can do. They had players such as Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and captain Steven Gerrard in their prime and had a good chance to go far in South Africa. What happened in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa for England? Lets find out.
Manager:
Fabio Capello was into his second year of managing England and was an experienced manager; managing the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Milan. England had high hopes for the Italian and hoped that he was the one to lead England to glory.
Squad:
There were shock omissions from England’s World Cup Squad; most notably Arsenal’s Theo Walcott. Other omissions included Darren Bent, Adam Johnson and Leighton Baines.
Here is the 23-man squad Capello took to South Africa: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Ledley King (Tottenham), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (LIverpool), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa), 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), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Group:
In early December 2009, England were announced to be in Group C. They were with the United States, Slovenia and Algeria. Seeing as the other nations were arguably inexperienced, England must’ve seen this group as quite comfortable to get out of; this was not the case.
Group Matchdays:
England’s first game of the campaign was against the United States in Rustenburg. Playing under the headlights, England sent out an experienced squad fielding the likes of Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard, Cole and Terry. They started the game off brightly with captain Steven Gerrard making a run into the box and calmly hit the ball past Tim Howard with the outside of his right foot making it 1-0 to England in the first 5 minutes. 5 minutes before half-time, Fulham forward Clint Dempsey shot from long-distance with a fair bit of power. It seemed as if goalkeeper Robert Green was to save it without no trouble, but he didn’t. He mishandled it and let it pass him to roll into the back of his net. Green was all over British Media; but not in the way he would’ve liked. The game ended 1-1, but the Green mistake overshadowed the game.
Cape Town was the venue for England’s next game which was against Algeria. Making 3 changes from the side which drew with the U.S, the most noticeable change was the man in net; David James replacing Robert Green. To cut a long story short, England lacked inspiration and looked far from their best as they were held to a 0-0 draw which was celebrated by the Algerians. 2 draws in their opening 2 games meant that England had to win their next game to secure qualification.
The last group game was a vital one; they had to beat Slovenia in order to progress to the knock-out stages. More changes were made in different parts of the team, Upson coming in for Carragher, Milner for Lennon and Defoe for Heskey. The important break-through for England was in the 23rd minute; James Milner delivering a cross good enough for Jermain Defoe to toe-poke it pass Handanovic. The two substitutes combining gave England the lead and from there it was just to have the determination to see the game out; and see the game out they did. England progressed through to the knock-out stages but not in a way many would’ve liked. Coming 2nd in the group meant that they faced the winner of Group D: Germany.
Knockout Stages:
England faced Germany in Bloemfontein, and seeing as how England scraped through the group stages, it looked to be a game in which England will struggle in straight from the off. Germany had the great attacking prowess including the likes of Podolski, Ozil, Muller and Klose. It was the latter of the group which took the lead as Klose took full advantage of Upson and Terry’s mistake after collecting Manuel Neuer’s goal kick to score in the 20th minute. 12 minutes later, Lukas Podolski scored after being allowed time and space to double the German’s lead. Straight after though, a goal came in from England from an unlikely source: Matthew Upson. He headed in Steven Gerrard’s cross to make give England some hope and some chance of qualifying. 2 minutes after was one of the most significant moments of the World Cup. Frank Lampard long-range strike fired past Neuer only to bounce off the crossbar and onto the goal line; the question was did it cross the line? Replays suggested it did, however the referee didn’t allow the goal as the two sides went into the break with the Germans leading 2-1. From then on, it was downhill for Capello’s side. Two quick fire goals from eventual Golden Boot winner Thomas Muller ensured their status in the World Cup, but for England, they returned with no dignity and humiliation.
England’s best moment of the WC: Gerrard’s goal vs the US.
Aftermath:
Euro 2012 looked to be a stage where they could again announce themselves as one of football’s greatest. A good opening in the group stages meant they would top their group. However just like the World Cup they bowed out, losing to Italy on penalties. This was to be Fabio Capello’s last tournament as England boss as he disappointedly didn’t meet England’s standards.
The new England boss Roy Hodgson will be looking to do what his predecessor couldn’t and will be looking to make England a force to be reckoned with.
Hamza – @_H_H_H_H_H_H_H
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