this will be an interesting match. i agree with gary neville who said that for once england had a go against italy and didn't just set out to sneak a win like they have for the past 10 or so years. they were very positive and could be down to the new mindset taught to the players by Dr Steve Petersâ¦â¦. every championship you get a few players in the english team who aren't good enough, and this year you have cahill, jagielka and baines. attacking they are very good, far better than 2010 or 2012. what would they give to have sol campbell, ferdinand and cole instead of the 3 previously mentioned? if they did you'd be looking at semi finalsâ¦.. if you don't want to discuss this match then thats fine, just ignoreâ¦â¦
Well i hope England stuff Uruguay and progress to at least the next stage. Uruguay were awful against Costa Rica and i reckon England will beat them by 2 clear goals.
I think (and hope) England will do well this tournament. If they do it will prove that the 'Golden Generation' - Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney etc. weren't really that Golden after all.
Agreed VT's Tache. A win for England and hopefully progression to the last 16 at least can only be good for football in this country as a whole.
How they have left out Ashley Cole I dont know. Theyve a dodgy defence and the most overrated keeper ever Joe Hart behind them. Man City would have walked the league with a decent keeper. Anyway - hope Uruguay stuff em but I think England will win.
Hope you don't mind an outsider posting guys. I'm thinking a 2-0 and agree with earlier post of half hour backs to the wall. How often have we gone into tournaments with a strong back 4 in recent years only to be let down this time. I don't rate,and never have,Johnson and his defensive capabilities. Jags is the weaker of cb and baines offers great attacking options and just needs to be a little tighter in defence. Love him or loathe him Ashley cole was the best lb. if Rooney can find his shooting boots and compliment sturridge's outright hunger to score,going forward I think we have plenty in the locker to worry most teams.
I was 10 and a half the only time England won the World cup Anyone remember World Cup Willie ?? I remember seeing the World Champions play against Wales that autumn in the home internationals at Ninian My problem now is that they are so crap and so bereft of nous that I Wonder why our Premier League can capture a World wide public
danablu! The Premier League is the very reason the home nations are so bad in major tournaments. It's just a cash cow for the foreign legions.
Gerrard should be sent to that place in Switzerland where they put those who are past it to sleep. He was awful. As were most of them. Slower to the ball, poor passing and possession. Beaten by a nation only just bigger than Wales. Shocking.
I was almost 11 when England won the World Cup so remember World Cup Willie well - I bet Ron Davies would have put that Rooney header away tonight!
In fairness, this tiny nation has reached the last WC semi-finals (although by cheating through their quarter final), and I think they reached the semi's of the Confed cup last year. Funnily enough I still think England will go through. Stats say that a team has never lost their first 2 matches and got through the group, but Italy 'should' breeze past Costa Rica, and I can't see Uruguay beating Italy either (but you obviously never know in football). England just need to beat Costa Rica IMO and they should.
I think that the England performance last night will reflect badly on British football in general. They had no shape at all, the defence was all over the place, and Mr Head and Shoulders in goals was awful, his distribution was dire all night. They are out, either Uruguay or Costa Rica will jam a draw against Italy, the more likely scenario is Italy beat Costa Rica and win the group and then field some of their fringe players against Uruguay, bang on draw. Can England beat Costa Rica, well you would like to think so but they are clueless in the last third. So who knows.
Italy will beat Costa Rica to secure the group winners spot and their game against Uruguay will be a 0-0 draw which will see both of them go through and England dumped out which will be a result for both Italy and Uruguay.
Saw this on Twitter, made me laugh. The England team visited an orphanage in Brazil today "It's heartbreaking to see their sad little faces with no hope," Said Jose,aged 6
Isaw Bit harsh on Hart I think. He was blameless for both goals where Gerrard was culpable in both cases. Short distance distribution was okay, long distance he was relying on forwards to make space and compete. That didn't happen. The Uruguayan defenders wanted it so much more and came through the English forwards every time. The short bald bloke at the back won more ball in the air than Walback, Sturridge and Rooney combined. On a different tack, I have never seen an England team so ineffective from set pieces. Admitedly Gerrard's corners and free kicks were dreadful but no English players were attacking any balls into the box as we see at home every week. Pi$$ poor all round and I don't think any English player could hold there head up after that.
