Football News, Views and Reviews
A very cheeky penalty from Spain’s Ezequiel Calvente, you don’t see that very often! Let’s hope some other player’s try that sort of thing this season, great to see.
I have been a football fan and been watching England for over 20 years and in that time I don’t think I have seen the national team play as poorly as they did against Algeria. That’s quite a big statement considering the unsuccessful reign of Steve McClaren and some of the, let’s face it, inept performances in failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championships in Austria & Switzerland.
All the talk of being potential World Cup winners and having some of the best players in the world couldn’t be further from the truth. Players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were the 3 worst performing players on the field for me, but they seem to be untouchable and can play however they like and they will not be substituted or left out of the next game. I have never seen Rooney not be able to control the ball with his first touch or make a simple short pass, it certainly looks as if he is believing all his hype and thinks all he has to do is show up and that’s enough. He certainly didn’t look like one of the supposed world class players on show this summer or to be a team player on that performance, that’s what was disappointing.
I want to see free flowing, fast, attacking football and this England team just to have the ability to play that way. I much prefer watching Brazil, Argentina, Spain and even, dare I say it, Germany and that’s the sad thing, watching England is boring.
England given great draw
A national newspaper had the headline England Algeria Slovenia Yanks, which is a little over confident but probably not that far off to be fair! England couldn’t of hoped for much better, they will be expected to win the group comfortably but second place is up for grabs and should be between the USA and Slovenia. I think the USA will do it, they have a few players that are playing at a higher level and most of the Slovenian team play at smaller clubs and lesser leagues around Europe.
All the other groups as they were drawn:
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
There are some tough groups there, especially Germany and Brazil’s groups. One of the most attractive fixtures in the group stages also involves Brazil, they will play Portugal on the last day of the group G fixtures.
England will be one of the favorites for the tournament, although in the first knock out round they will play the runner up in group D, which could be quite tough. For me though, the two main teams to beat will be Spain and Brazil, they really are the complete package and have so much flair and skill.
Unless your French, pretty much everyone feels for the Republic of Ireland after they lost 2-1 on aggregate to France and failed to reach the World Cup finals. It’s not as if it was a shock result but it’s the circumstances in which they went out that will be the bitter pill to swallow.
To go in to extra time thinking you have every chance to win the game only to then get a decision against you like that must be sickening. OK, if the ref is to far away and his view is obstructed by other players that he can’t see how blatant it is, surely one of the two linesman can or even the fourth official, otherwise what are they doing there if they are not helping the ref?
The Irish can feel really hard done by not going to South Africa after that, I’m sure the UEFA President doesn’t see any problem with it though? The saying What Goes Around, Comes Around would be quite apt if the French went out of the World Cup on a dodgy refereeing decision, be it a hand ball goal or an offside decision not given, I guess that is the best scenario for people that believe in fair play and justice can hope for?
New Zealand qualify for the finals
A big shout out to the New Zealand National Football team for qualifying for next summers World Cup Finals, the first time since Spain 1982! They beat Bahrain 1-0 in the second leg of their Asia/Oceania intercontinental playoff after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Bahrain. With Australia being by far the strongest in their qualifying group, it’s great to see New Zealand get the opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage, even though it will probably be short-lived. It’s a great country with great people so good luck to them.
Another shout has to go to Honduras, qualifying for the finals for the first time in 28 years. It will be great to see Wilson Palacios charging into players next summer, go on Wilson!
Friendly in Doha
When it comes to International Football and qualifying games against country’s like Andorra, I can really take it or leave it, I won’t go out of my way to watch it especially if it’s on a pay to view channel. But, when there is a game against a country like Brazil, friendly or not, that’s a lot more interesting. It’s not really about watching England play, it’s more about watching the Brazilian’s, a team full of skillful players who just want to express themselves.
When it comes to England, I think they have come along way in the last few years since Capello has been in charge, there seems to be a lot more emphasis on keeping the ball and playing a possession game, a real contrast to previous England teams. As a country though, we still don’t seem to produce the skillful ball players other country’s have, the likes of Ronaldo of Portugal, Messi of Argentina and Ronaldinho of Brazil, the closest England have would probably be Joe Cole. What England are now is very organised, have a strong centre to the team and have some pace on the wings with players like Arron Lennon, Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright Phillips.
This game will be a good test for England, a top team from South America and playing outside of Europe will be good preparation for next summers world cup. I don’t really expect either team to really go for it, but it should be a useful exercise and see how some of the fringe players can fit in.
My Prediction: 1-1