World Cup 2010 Blog: “England World Cup History (Part II: 1982 – 2006)” plus 3 more |  |
- England World Cup History (Part II: 1982 – 2006)
- England World Cup History (Part I: 1950 – 1970)
- Waka Waka – Official World Cup 2010 Song by Shakira
- Antonio Cassano Has Other Plans This Summer
| England World Cup History (Part II: 1982 – 2006) Posted: 29 Apr 2010 04:58 AM PDT We ended Part I of England’s World Cup history with the quarter-final defeat to West Germany at the 1970 World Cup. World Cup winning manager Alf Ramsey was fired after failing to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, and successor Don Revie jumped ship when it became clear England wouldn’t qualify for thee 1978 tournament. Revie’s replacement was Ron Greenwood, who successfully qualified for the 1982 tournament. Which is where we rejoin England’s World Cup story.
1982 World Cup in SpainEngland’s return to the World Cup came with a promise that “This Time (We’ll Get it Right)”. Despite injuries to key players Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keegan, the squad looked as good as their word from kickoff in the opening game, as 25 year old Man Utd midfielder Bryan Robson scored just 27 seconds in. That 27 second goal was the fastest goal in World Cup history, until Turkey’s Hakan Şükür bettered it in 2002. England went on to win 3-1. In the second game England beat Czechoslovakia 2-0, with a goal from Britain’s first £1million footballer, Trevor Francis. The million pound man scored again as England beat Kuwait 1-0 and finished top of the group. The Second Round stage consisted of four groups of three teams each, with only the winners of each group making the semi-finals. England were drawn with old friends West Germany, and hosts Spain. Unfortunately England drew both games 0-0. Greenwood brought Brooking and Keegan off the bench in a desperate attempt to win the game against Spain, but the closest England came was Keegan glancing a header wide of goal. The two draws were only enough to secure second place, and proof that an undefeated exit from a World Cup is still an exit. 1986 World Cup in Mexico
After Keegan and Brooking in 1982, the tradition of pre-tournament big injury news continued when captain Bryan Robson dislocated his shoulder in a World Cup warm up game, and attempted to play the tournament in a harness. Not a good idea. England opened with a 1-0 defeat to Portugal, which was followed up by a goalless draw against Morocco in which Robson re-injured his shoulder (pictured). His tournament was over, and England’s looked to be finished too. Until 25 year old Everton striker Gary Lineker stepped up and scored a 34 minute hat-trick in the final group game against Poland. All of them close range finishes, which was very much Lineker’s modus operandi. That 3-0 win secured progress to the Second Round, where England beat Paraguay 3-0 with two more goals from Lineker and one from Peter Beardsley. England were on a roll, and faced Argentina in the quarter-finals. More specifically they faced Diego Maradona. Even more specifically they faced maybe the two most famous goals Maradona would ever score. First the infamous “Hand of God” goal where little Diego beat Peter Shilton to a high ball by using his hand, later claiming “The goal was scored a little bit by the hand of God, a little by the head of Maradona.” And even later admitting that yes, it was handball. Read the full article: Diego Maradona and the Hand of God. Yes, it was cheating. But even as an England fan, I have to admire the skill with which he pulled this off. There’s even a little nod of the head there to disguise it. Maradona more than made up for that little bit of cheating by scoring arguably the greatest goal in World Cup history later in the same game: Maradona picked the ball up in his own half, and left half the England team in his wake, before sidestepping Peter Shilton and rolling home. Can’t argue with that. Bobby Robson brought 22 year old left winger John Barnes off the bench, and Barnes managed to set up a consolation goal for Gary Lineker. No one was stopping Maradona in 1986. However, that consolation goal was Lineker’s sixth of the tournament, enough to win the Golden Shoe for top scorer, the only time an England player has done so. 1990 World Cup in ItalyThis is the tournament that defined (and continues to define) the England team in many ways. Particularly when it comes to penalties. As in 1982, there was a theme song. Unlike in 1982 (and other years) it was good. “World in Motion” by New Order is most famous for John Barnes’ rap in the middle, but it’s actually a decent tune that set the mood of the nation. Once again there were injury worries. Captain Bryan Robson struggled through the opening 1-1 draw against Ireland, and part of the following 0-0 draw against the Netherlands, but was forced out with an achilles tendon injury he’d been carrying all along. Aston Villa midfielder David Platt was brought in to replace Robson, which would prove to be a good choice. Mark Wright scored in the final group game against Egypt, and the 1-0 scoreline was enough to win the group with just four points, as every other game ended in either a 0-0 or 1-1 draw. Not the most exciting group in history. Second Round opponents were Belgium. The game was goalless going into the last minute of extra time. Penalties loomed. Then Paul Gascoigne and David Platt combined to do this: That set up an epic quarter-final against Cameroon, the first African team to make the last eight of a World Cup. The game swung back and forth, but England eventually won it 3-2 in extra time, thanks to two Lineker penalties. Great ball from Gascoigne for the winner, but is it just me or was Lineker looking to get tripped over? And so the semi-final against West Germany. Lineker again rescued England with another poacher’s goal to make it 1-1 in the 80th minute. Extra time was all about Paul Gascoigne. The young Spurs midfielder had been brilliant, but picked up a yellow for a rash tackle and so would be suspeneded for the final. Famously, he burst into tears at the prospect.
England lost the Third Place Playoff to Italy, but returned home to a hero’s welcome after the team’s best World Cup performance on foreign soil. 1998 World Cup in France
1998 marked the World Cup debut of both Michael Owen and David Beckham. Both were in and out of the team, but both ultimately had memorable tournaments, but for very different reasons. England scraped through the group stage with a 2-0 win over Tunisia, a 2-1 defeat to Romania (where Owen came off the bench to score a late consolation) and a 2-0 win over Colombai, featuring Beckham’s first World Cup goal. A free kick, obviously. But it was against Argentina in the Second Round where it all happened. Inside the first sixteen minutes England went 1-0 down, equalized from the penalty spot to make it 1-1, and then went 2-1 ahead when the 18 year old Michael Owen (finally getting a start) did this: Great ball from Beckham, then it’s all about pace and confidence. Argentina equalized just before half-time, and then David Beckham took what he thought was a crafty kick at Diego Simeone.
2002 World Cup in Japan & South KoreaIt’s testament to David Beckham’s balls, which I believe are indeed golden, that by the time of the next World Cup he was England captain, as well as England’s biggest celebrity and most loved footballer. Epic epic turnaround. Much of it due to this injury time free kick against Greece, which secured qualification for World Cup 2002 in the nick of time: But then came the metatarsal injury and Beckham’s race against time to be fit for the tournament.
He took it, scoring from the spot to give England a 1-0 win. A 0-0 draw with Nigeria was enough to send England through in second place behind Sweden. In the Round of 16 England demolished Denmark 3-0, with all three goals coming in the first half. But the quarter-final opponent was Brazil. The Brazil of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Owen put England ahead, but Rivaldo equalized after a great run from Ronaldinho (with Beckham rather conspicuous for his weak challenge in midfield). Brazil won the game with what many thought was a mis-hit cross from Ronaldinho at the time which sailed over the head of goalkeeper David Seaman. But in hindsight it was just another moment of brilliance from the then PSG but soon to be Barcelona player. Ronaldinho was sent off with 30 minutes to go (this game really was all about the ‘Dinho) but England plodded on and failed to capitalize on the man advantage. That failure to find a plan B was the beginning of the end of England’s love affair with Sven Goran Eriksson. 2006 World Cup in Germany
The gossipy atmosphere seemed to feed perfectly into the culture of WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends, for those who don’t know) with the significant others of many England stars accompanying the team in Germany and getting almost as many headlines and stories as the footballers. The bright spot should have been 20 year old Man Utd striker Wayne Rooney. However, like Beckham before him, Rooney had picked up a pre-tournament metatarsal injury, and was never fully fit. For all the big names – Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Beckham, Rooney, Owen and more, England failed to play anything close to inspiring football in the early stages. A 1-0 win against Paraguay, a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago and a 2-2 draw with Sven’s native Sweden got England through an ultimately easy group stage in first place. A Beckham free kick was enough to beat Ecuador 1-0 in the Round of 16, but England didn’t really come to life until facing Portugal in the quarter-final. Following a 0-0 draw, England lost on penalty kicks (again) after Gerrard, Lampard and Carragher all failed to score. It was also the third consecutive tournament where England had been knocked out by Luiz Felipe Scolari, who’d been Brazil manager in 2002, and also in charge of the Portugal team that beat England (on penalties) in the Euro 2004 quarterfinal. But as in 1998, the big story wasn’t the penalties. England was used to that. The big story was the sending off. For some reason (I still don’t know why) the English public’s hatred focused on Cristiano Ronaldo. It was Wayne Rooney who lost his temper and stomped on Ricardo Carvalho’s dangly bits. Clearly a red card. But because Rooney’s Man Utd teammate Ronaldo winked at the bench in the rumble following the stomp, it was somehow all his fault. Either way, England were out of another tournament on penalties, and would go on to fail to qualify for Euro 2008. England World Cup Record: - More World Cup team histories.
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| England World Cup History (Part I: 1950 – 1970) Posted: 28 Apr 2010 06:00 PM PDT
The England football team is the joint oldest in the world, with he first international match being between England and Scotland in 1870. So England should have loads of World Cups, right? Unfortunately, England didn’t play at their first World Cup until 1950 Why? Mostly arrogance. England left FIFA in 1928 (two years before the first World Cup) and didn’t rejoin until 1948. So the Three Lions managed to miss the first three World Cup tournaments, which means we pick up the story in 1950.
1950 World Cup in Brazil
Things started well enough. Stan Mortensen scored England’s first ever World Cup goal in a 2-0 win over Chile. But then it all went downhill with a famous 1-0 defeat the USA. We won’t go into that here (but will go into later in the USA World Cup history post) except to borrow an anecdote quote from the BBC’s American pundit Sean Wheelock:
Obviously a huge result for the USA. But a huge result for England in many ways. A wake up and smell the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland
England finished top of Group 2 after a 4-4 draw with Belgium (which would have been a win if not for a 94th minute Jimmy Dickinson own goal) and a 2-0 win over Switzerland. England faced Uruguay in the quarter-final and lost 4-2. Making it to the knockout round was at least progress from 1950, but it wasn’t even close to a World Cup win. 1958 World Cup in Sweden1958 was the third World Cup for veterans Tom Finney and Billy Wright, but the squad also featured a 20 year old attacking midfielder by the name of Bobby Charlton, and a 25 year old forward name Bobby Robson. England had three straight draws in Group 4. First against the Soviet Union (England were 2-0 down after 56 minutes, but came back to draw 2-2 with Tom Finney equalizing from the spot in the 85th minute), then a goalless draw with eventual winners Brazil and a 2-2 draw against Switzerland (where England twice came from behind). The result was a playoff. England vs the Soviet Union to take second place behind Brazil and qualify for the knockouts. The Soviet Union won 1-0. 1962 World Cup in ChileThis would be Walter Winterbottom’s fourth and final World Cup in charge of England, with the squad featuring a smattering of the names that would be part of the win in 1966. Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton were both involved, as was a young Jimmy Greaves. England lost the opening group game 2-1 to Hungary, but then beat Argentina 3-1 in the second game with goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves. A 0-0 draw against Bulgaria in the final group game meant England were lucky to advance in second place, thanks to goal average. Which is like goal difference, but a bit more complicated. In the quarter-final, England faced Brazil and were dismantled by the brilliance of Garrinch, who scored two as Brazil won 3-1. England’s best moment of the game comes from Jimmy Greaves, who successfully caught a dog that had run onto the pitch:
1966 World Cup in EnglandAlf Ramsey took over from Walter Winterbottom in 1963, with the aim of finally winning the World Cup when England hosted in 1966. Ramsey’s team made a nervous start by drawing 0-0 with Uruguay, but followed that up by beating Mexico 2-0, with the first goal being a Bobby Charlton classic: A 2-0 win over France followed (Roger Hunt scoring both goals) and England finished top of Group 1. Quarter-final opponents were Argentina, and the game that began a rivalry. In the interests of objectivity, I’ll simply repost what I posted in the Argentina World Cup history article: Argentina captain Antonio Rattín (an imposing and impressive 6′4″ midfielder) was sent off in the 35th minute by German referee Rudolf Kreitlein for "violence of the tongue" while disputing a decision (despite Kreitlein apparently speaking no Spanish). Rattín refused to leave the field and staged an impromptu protest by walking on the royal red carpet which was reserved for the Queen and wrinkling the British flag while making his eventual exit. Scandal at the time, brilliant entertainment now: It's also said that this is the game that led to the invention of the red and yellow card system. So there's something. England went on to win the game 1-0 with a goal from Geoff Husrt (in for the injured Jimmy Greaves) and the England vs Argentina rivalry was born. The two would meet again in 1986. Semi-final opponents were Portugal, and the star of the 1966 tournament Eusebio. The great man scored, but only after Bobby Charlton had scored twice: My favourite thing about that clip is how the commentator keeps referring to the 1966 World Cup as “the series”. Very quaint. So on to the final, England vs West Germany at Wembley: West Germany scored early, England equalized through Geoff Hurst. 1-1. England took the lead late though Martin Peters, but West Germany equalized in the 89th. So on to extra time, where Geoff Hurst scored probably the most controversial World Cup final goal there’ll ever be. Read the full article: Geoff Hurst 1966: Did it Cross the Line? Hurst scored a third to claim a famous World Cup final hat-trick (maybe), to make it 4-2 and give England its first ever World Cup win. 1970 World Cup in MexicoAlf Ramsey was still in charge, and much of the 1966 squad returned for another tilt at the title. England were drawn into Group 3 with Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Brazil, setting up a hotly anticipated game between teh champions, and Pele’s team. It didn’t disappoint. It’s almost impossible to list all the great moments from this game, but from an England perspective the two standouts are Gordon Bank’s save from Pele’s header:
And Bobby Moore’s brilliant tackle on Jairzinho: Though England fans remember the game fondly, and the encounter produced the inconic image of Bobby Moore and Pele swapping shirts after the game, the scoreline says that England lost 1-0 to Brazil. However, Ramsey’s men qualified for the knockout round with a 1-0 win over Czechoslovakia, which secured second place behind Brazil. The quarter-final opponents were West Germany. Again. England were 2-0 up after 49 minutes and looking like semi-final certainties. But then Franz Beckenbauer scored an excellent goal in the 68th, Bobby Charlton was substituted in the 70th and Uwe Seeler equalized in the 76th. In a reversal of the 1966 final, West Germany won 3-2 in extra time with a close range finish from Gerd Muller. Rob has suggested on the England blog that Peter Bonetti playing in goal for England instead of Gordon Banks (who was struck down with food poisoning) is what decided this game. Certainly he looks questionable for West Germany’s goals, but Bonetti surely can’t take all the blame for England turning a two goal lead into a World Cup exit. Incredibly, it would be twelve years before England returned to the World Cup. Which is where we’ll pick up England’s World Cup history in Part II. - More World Cup team histories.
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| Waka Waka – Official World Cup 2010 Song by Shakira Posted: 28 Apr 2010 09:06 AM PDT
I mostly share the concerns about this song expressed by Taylor on the USA blog earlier today, in that I much prefer K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” song and am not too happy that the opening line of the official World Cup song is going to be “You’re a good soldier”. Not a good message. I’ve nothing against Shakira. But does it seem odd to anyone else that the official song for the World Cup in South Africa will be sung by a hot Colombian lady? True, she’s backed up by South African band Freshlyground, but it’s very much Shakira front and center here. Enough of my grumbling. The official video for “Waka Waka” is below.
There’s also a Spanish language version: You might be thinking something like “it’s actually pretty catchy”, and I’d be inclined to agree. The only problem is that the catchy part – the chorus – is borrowed from the popular song “Zangaléwa” by the Cameroonian band originally known as Golden Sounds (who later changed their name to Zangaléwa because the song was so popular). The band was apparently made up of ex-Cameroonian military who were fond of dressing up and acting silly. Apparently the lyrics are in the Fang dialect of Cameroon, and the key refrain of “zangaléwa”, translates as “who sent you?” Which is at least fitting for a World Cup. Some further (but not much further) interpretation comes from the Latino music blog Guanabee:
So whether you like Shakira’s version or not, at least the official song of World Cup 2010 has some African tradition to it. Last but not least, we posted this video on our Facebook page (go there to see a lot of videos before they get posted here) earlier today, and Ian spotted something ever so slightly scary. As the faces of various fans flash across the screen towards the end, there was one face that stood out, and so Ian decided to take a freeze frame. Here’s what he captured: (I’ve definitely seen that face somewhere before, but can’t place it. If anyone can help recover my memory then I’d be much obliged.) All in all, this is one strange choice for official World Cup 2010 song, and so that image seems to sum it up quite nicely.
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| Antonio Cassano Has Other Plans This Summer Posted: 28 Apr 2010 04:44 AM PDT
So Cassano went ahead and booked his wedding to 18 year old water polo player Carolina Marcialis for June 19th, 2010. Smack bang in the middle of the World Cup. Very subtle. Asked if he’d consider changing the date should he get a surprise call, Cassano made his feelings pretty clear:
I love Cassano the player, but I think it’s safe to assume that things like that above quote are one of the reasons Lippi isn’t keen. I would have loved to see him play this summer, but looks like this little story – player not going to World Cup makes plans during World Cup – will be El Pibe de Bari’s sole contribution to South Africa 2010. In related news, I’ve made plans to do a lot of blogging from June 11th to July 11th, but am willing to change them should Fabio Capello need cover at right back. - More Azzurri stories on the Italy blog.
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Bobby Robson replaced Greenwood as manager after the 1982 World Cup, dropped Kevin Keegan and then failed to qualify for Euro ‘84. Robson offered to resign, but the FA persuaded him to stay and Robson successfully qualified for the ‘86 tournament.
Graham Taylor’s England missed out on World Cup 1994, a disaster chronicled in 
By the time of the next World Cup, England fans flat out hated their manager. Sven had been caught negotiating a big money move away from the England job with what turned out to be an undercover reporter, and had also been involved in an alleged affair with a member of the FA staff. Basically England were scandal-tastic, and Sven and the FA had agreed to part ways once the World Cup was over.
The 33 year old Walter Winterbottom (pictured) was the England manager, as he would be until 1963. That’s one manager going to four World Cups. The squad England took to Brazil for their first ever World Cup featured some big names: Tom Finney, Stanley Matthews, Billy Wright, Jackie Milburn, Stan Mortensen. It reads like a list of English football legends. Even future boss Alf Ramsey was playing.
More big names went to Switzerland. Tom Finney and Billy Wright returned, arcehtypal lead-the-line English centre forward Nat Lofthouse was in the squad, and a 39 year old Stanley Matthews (pictured) was still going strong, and available to play from the start.
Ladies and gentlemen, say hallo to your official song of World Cup 2010. It’s co-written and performed by Shakira (she of the famously honest pelvic region) and is called “Wake Waka (This Time for Africa)”.
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The USA have been drawn into Group C at World Cup 2010, where they’ll face Algeria, Slovenia and former colonial overlords England. No prizes for guessing which game has everyone excited.
Coach: Bob Bradley replaced Bruce Arena on an interim basis after World Cup 2006, but did enough to earn the job on a permanent basis. Bradley has nearly a decade of MLS experience under his belt, but has never coached outside the US, and some fans would have preferred a bigger name to be in charge. Some still would. However, Bradley won the Gold Cup in 2007, got to the Confederations Cup final in 2009, and successfully qualified the USA for World Cup 2010. Bradley switches back and forth between 4-5-1 and 4-4-2, so we can expect to see a mixture of both deployed in South Africa.
Key Players: Goalkeeper Tim Howard of Everton is difficult to fault. Big, strong, shouty, reliable and quick reflexes. You can’t ask for much more. Big central defender Oguchi Onyewu signed for Milan last summer, but then picked up a knee injury. If the man is fit, then he’ll be blocking shots and heading high balls away with the best of them.
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