World Cup 2010 South Africa, England Versus the Usa

The England versus the U.S.A. World Cup match kicked off at around 7.30pm, U.K. time, June 12th, 2010.

Such was the anticipation here in England that there had been a run to the shops and a power surge ahead of the match.

Last minute meals, drinks and Internet activity left most computers stalled and the national grid with a huge switch on and power surge.

England manager Fabio Capello reportedly stated ahead of this match that he expected England to win.

There was nothing such as bragging in this remark but simply an assertion by a confident manager. After all if he does not have faith in the team that he picked and has nurtured who the hell will.

The big question on all our lips in England though was is this confidence well-placed?

So this first World Cup 2010 match for both the U.S.A. and England is now over and what was the result?

For England fans it was an uninspiring draw.

Sure there were some sharp intakes of breath moments but, overall, there was no football charisma, flair or stand out performances.

The beautiful game was boring.

Credit to the American squad who had researched their English opponents well. England’s star player Wayne Rooney was well-marked throughout the game and the man selected to mark Rooney was a great choice.

His powerful marker had the height, strength and speed that at times Wayne did not.

However overall Rooney did play well but it takes more than one good player to win a World Cup match.

For me it was just the same old England playing the same old game.

Capello brought Peter Crouch on the field toward the end of the game but probably too late to make a real difference.

Heskey who he replaced had played exceptionally well but was flagging.

Heskey looked done in and one thing Crouch has is the height often necessary for heading goals into the back of the net but sadly it was not to be.

With four minutes of extra time it even seemed possible that the U.S.A. might score a late goal and defeat England.

Perhaps the England squad and the press had underestimated the U.S.A.

The Americans always like to do everything to their utmost ability and this showed in tonight's match.

They fought well; so much so that Gerrard's early England goal remained the only one the team scored.

The U.S.A. scored a goal which may have been due to the English goal keeper's lack of experience but that belittles their goal. They deserved at least one goal and in some ways the 1-1 result was a fair ending.

However where does this leave England?

It is still early days for the 2010 World Cup competition but a confidence boost today would have been brilliant.

As it is they will no doubt face severe criticism from Capello after the match and uncertainty for the next few days at least.

Will Capello change the main team members? Perhaps he may.

But with so many English footballers suffering injuries in the recent past he has to keep the team fit and healthy. With such an under-achieving performance he cannot afford to lose one of his star players such as Rooney, Gerrard, Heskey or Crouch.

So for now it is congratulations to the U.S.A. and huge round of applause. It should also be kudos to England too but with expectations any congratulations are tepid.

England now need support of fans more than ever.

Keep the faith and your enthusiasm and try to think onward and upward.