Day 17 & 18: Stumbling to Glory
Just emerging from the catatonia induced by England’s slow, painful, laboured grind against Ecuador, and asking myself the question that their soul-sucking performances poses: Are England the new Greece?
Those fans of the beautiful game traumatised by Greece’s charmless but (unfortunately) effective 'style – on their way to an unlikely Euro 2004 triumph – may be seeing eerie parallels with this English team.
That’s 4 (count ’em) tedious and lacklustre displays in a row from Eriksson’s England…and yet they are now (fairly comfortably) into the World Cup ¼ finals where they will face a Portugal sans Deco and (possibly) Ronaldo. Of all the players Portugal dared not be without, the Brazilian-born playmaker (the heartbeat of the team) would have been top of the list. He was, until his dismissal, the best player on the pitch in the hellacious slobberknocker that was Portugal v Holland, and his absence will be keenly felt.
So it’s entirely possible that England might bumble their way past an under-strength Portugal and find themselves (bizarrely and improbably) in the World Cup semifinals…
‘Tis a funny old game all right…
England 1 Ecuador 0
Portugal 1 Holland 0
Italy 1 Australia 0
Switzerland 0 Ukraine 0 (Ukraine win 3-0 on penalties).
June 26, 2006
