Why do we put ourselves through this? There were sections of the English population who believed that, because there was no pressure on us this time around and we'd had an undefeated qualifying campaign, we could go on and do extremely well this time around. Maybe even win the damned thing. Alas, that was not to be, as we were knocked out by an inspired display by Luis Suarez.
However, before I get around to reviewing our woeful excursion to the tropics, there are two other matches I need to cover (along with an apology, this is somewhat later than anticipated). So let's start with Japan and their attempt to beat man-down Greece in their Group C match. Greece have only won a single World Cup match in eight attempts and Japan have moved past the group stages before but the Euro 2004 champions weren't so easy to break down. Greece had the better of the chances straight after going down to ten men and might have scored were it not for Katsouranis and his misjudged tackling. It's always difficult to play a full half when someone has been sent to the showers early, but ex-Man City striker Georgios Samaras very nearly put them a goal up after the restart. As it was, both Japan and Greece have been left with an opportunity to qualify. However, I believe that the Ivory Coast stand a better chance.
Speaking of the Ivory Coast, they were many's dark horses for this tournament. Now, I'm not saying it's the new psychic octopus, but I was playing Football Manager the other day and it predicted that Brazil would beat Columbia in the final. On the face of it, that seams believable seeing as Columbia are topping their group and saw off the Elephants from West Africa in a nail-biting second half that showed real grit and determination to get through to the next round. Ivory Coast needed a consolation Gervinho goal to give them hope, something Roma know all too well about this season. When you consider their attacking options, it's a surprise to me that Gervinho is the one to get this goal, but then Columbia did prove to be difficult to break down and it was a brilliant piece of individual skill to score. Whatever happens in the last round of games, I wish to pass on my sincere condolences to Kolo and Yaya Toure on the death of their brother, it is an awful tragedy on a family that has really inspired football throughout Africa.
Now onto the fun stuff. Where do I begin with England? Well, let's go with team selection to begin with and let's start at the back. Is there anything that Joe Hart can get right? I've seen some incredible saves in this tournament, some truly amazing goalkeeping and it makes you realize that you are watching the cream of the crop. Watching Joe Hart play is like watching David Seaman getting lobbed by Ronaldinho in 2002, you know there's a great goalkeeper there somewhere but you just can't quite see it. For Seaman, it was one tournament, and he had been good until that point. With Hart, I doubt he can cut it at the highest level, he's been poor this tournament and the last one. He needs to sort out his positioning because he is constantly being caught in no man's land when crosses are being delivered. With the back four, Gary Cahill and Glen Johnson had decent matches. I'm not a big fan of either of them, but I can see that they will be part of the England team for many years and I believe they deserve to be. Leighton Baines had an excellent season for Everton, but showed that he is mere mortal on the international stage up against Italy and against Uruguay. I can see the pace of Costa Rica tearing through his flimsy defence without even trying, and that scares me. Luke Shaw would have been a better bet, but if you're looking for an all-rounder at left-back, then Roy Hodgson should have considered Keiran Gibbs. He may not be as attacking as Baines, but he's a shedload better defensively. I'm biased, obviously, but there are few who could disagree on the merits of the last two matches. Moving on, why, for the love of God, would anyone in their right mind play Jordan Henderson in two consecutive matches at the World Cup? He offers nothing to the team. He's there to make up the numbers. If Hodgson was that desperate to make up the numbers, he had two better midfielders in Lampard and Wilshere that could have made a huge difference going forward. In those two players, there's enough attacking strength to really push the opposition and force them into closing down the midfield, thus tiring them out quicker and ensuring a few late goals. Henderson consistently looked like a deer in headlights when he got the ball. Dreadful. Gerrard also should reconsider his international future. He was a great player, and his new position at Liverpool has transformed his game and molded that team in his image, but the incident against Chelsea towards the end of the season has clearly affected him and now he can chalk up another assist for Suarez to his resumé. With the attackers, Sterling looked very impressive, as did Sturridge and Rooney, but only two goals in two games gives pause for thought about how effective they are together. Welbeck certainly looked out of place and a poor season at Utd is very much to blame for that.
England out, but Costa Rica sail through to the next round. So they should do its a delight to watch. Again, sorry for lack of anything these last few days, but I'm going to catch up this evening and move on.
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