World Cup 2010 – Day Seventeen – England Are Put Out Of Their Misery

On day seventeen, England was finally put out of its misery.  A team that had so much promise coming in came up so small on the biggest stage in the sport.  Where was Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)?  He was so lethal in England and in the Champions League but was a non-factor in South Africa.  Midfielders Frank Lampard (Chelsea) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) did more for the English attack than all of the forwards combined.  Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain DeFoe (Tottenham), Rooney and Emile Heskey (Aston Villa) were terrible in attack.

I have no idea why England coach Fabio Capello is so enamoured with midfielder James Milner (Aston Villa)?  Sure he’s got talent but he wasn’t as impressive as Aaron Lennon (Tottenham).  Why not start Lennon in the game against Germany since his teammate Jermain Defoe is starting in the attack?  Sometimes coaches make the game so much harder than it really is.  Oh, I forgot, why couldn’t Michael Carrick (Manchester United) get any minutes in this World Cup?

Yes, the refs and linesman missed the Frank Lampard’s (Chelsea) goal that would’ve made it a tie game but lets not say that would’ve been a huge difference in the game.  This defense would’ve still been terrible regardless if the game was tied 2-2 at the half or not.

On to the games:

Germany – England (4-1)

Goals – Klose (GER) 20’, Podolski (GER) 32’, Upson (ENG) 37’, Mueller (GER) 67’ & 70’

Germany scored all four goals on breaks.  The England defense looked lost on all of them.  Would Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) have made a difference in this game or even this tournament?  Maybe but he’s only one player.  Whenever the Germans would make their runs, the England defense looked like they didn’t know who was covering who so they all decided to cover the player with the ball.  Bad move.

Upson and the entire England defense were terrible

Lampard was denied the tying goal because neither the referee or the linesman saw the ball (clearly) hit behind the goal line.  I know everyone will be clamoring for some sort of technology but technology doesn’t solve everything.  The referees cannot do a shitty job only to be bailed out by technology.  This World Cup had been officiated well but the first four games of the second round have not been as consistent.  The linesman have been terrible throughout.

England hit a few posts like they have all tournament but they deserved to be out.  A terrible defense and a non-existent offense won’t get you far, just ask the Americans.

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Argentina – Mexico (3-1)

Goals – Tevez (ARG) 26’, Higuain (ARG) 33’, Tevez (ARG), Hernandez (MEX) 71’

Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) was clearly offsides on the first goal but the linesman was too busy watching the buildup to be paying attention to the whole play.  No matter, Argentina would’ve won no matter what.

A dangerous man

Argentine coach Diego Maradona made a slight change in the lineup and sat Walter Samuel (Inter) for Nicolas Burdisso (Roma) and Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle) was benched for Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield).  Mexican coach Javier Aguirre had an odd lineup.  On paper it looked like a 5-2-3 but in reality it was a 4-3-3  The only problem is that there were only two true midfielders and defender Efrain Juarez (Pumas UNAM) was slotted in on the right midfield.  Sure, Giovani Dos Santos (Galatasaray) can help out in the midfield but he was playing too high to do that.

Argentina was just better.  People are wondering when Lionel Messi (Barcelona) is going to score but it really doesn’t matter.  He doesn’t need to score for this team to win.  He’s drawing so much attention on the pitch that someone always seems to be open.  Argentina is good but if Messi starts scoring, forget about it, this team can go all the way.

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Up next is Netherlands – Slovakia and Brazil – Chile.  I’d be surprised if Slovakia and Chile put up much of a fight.

Sunday’s Big Game – I Mean Chelsea & Arsenal

Chelsea plays at Arsenal this Sunday (16:00 GMT).  I hate both teams but I am very interested in what happens.  Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-0 at The Emirates in November so you know the Gunners want revenge.  Plus, a win would put Arsenal back in the title hunt.  They’re currently six points behind the Blues and a loss would surely put an end to any title dreams. 

Sorry Blasian and the rest of the Gunners fans but I don’t see Arsenal winning this one.  Chelsea just doesn’t lose at home.  They’ve won eleven and tied one in their games at Stamford Bridge.  Arsenal have only won twice in the last fifteen against Chelsea.  Also, look for Drogba to score in this one since he has ten goals in his last nine games against Arsenal in all competitions. 

There's a good chance this man will be celebrating on Sunday

I know Arsenal has scored the most goals in the league (60) but that doesn’t mean much against this stout Chelsea defense.  They have eleven shutouts this year, the most of anyone in the Premiership.  Don’t think Chelsea doesn’t need this game also.  They’re only two points ahead of Manchester United and Man U should have their way with Portsmouth at Old Trafford Saturday night (15:00 GMT).  

Personally, I’d like to see a tie here so Man U would be tied with Chelsea and six points clear of Arsenal.  

In other news, John Terry was stripped of the England captaincy.  I think everyone is making a big deal out of this decision.  What does being the captain really mean on the field?  Have England’s chance of winning the World Cup changed now that Rio Ferdinand is the captain?  No.  These guys are professionals and they will come to play in South Africa.  Frankly, I don’t know why he had to lose his spot as captain.  That other stuff is personal and, as much as I hate Chelski, John Terry has always given his heart and soul every time he put on the England shirt.  

I heard a story that Wayne Bridge commented that he wouldn’t play for England if John Terry was still on the team.  Is he serious?  There’s no way Capello outright drops Terry.  If that’s true, have fun watching the World Cup on television Wayne.  I’ll take John Terry over Wayne Bridge any day of the week. 

Wayne who?