The scoreline didn't really reflect England's total dominance in a game where they maybe should have bagged at least two more. This is the team that we saw in qualifying, playing with a purpose, a bit more confidence and the ability to create chances. And the defence was equally good, with John Terry literally throwing himself in front of everything the Slovenians hit toward goal. It was this dogged determinism and passion which the nation had been hoping to see this World Cup, and hopefully it hasn't come too late. The only real noticeable worry is perhaps the lack of clinical finishing when the game really should have been killed off earlier. As it was, this meant the final ten minutes saw an unnecessary nail biting finale.
Unfortunately the failure to score more goals and the USA's late winner against Algeria courtesy of Landon Donovan means England finished second in the group, which could prove to harden their route to the final. If Germany win as expected against Ghana tonight and Serbia balls up to Australia it will mean we will have to face those sausage eating bosch on Sunday, a fixture most England fans should too rightly dread.
Anyway, the secret to this change in fortune? Well, cabbage-man Capello swears by beer apparently. "Yesterday evening they drank beer before the game. And I saw the team play with the spirit that we lost in the games we played before this game" he said somewhat confusingly after the match. You're the boss, Don Fabio. So expect those England flags people have been taking down all week to quietly reappear before Sunday. Hopefully we're about to hit a run of form that will allow us to get to at least the semi-finals. But given this is England, our glorious one-nil victory over the mighty footballing powerhouse that is Slovenia could well prove to be our 'peak' this World Cup. Time shall tell.
0 comments:
Post a Comment