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England, A Failure In International Football

 

If we can be realistic and impartial for a moment and forget about the hype behind English football, we must ultimately come to the conclusion that England is a failure when it comes to international football. After all what else can one call a nation which has not only been playing the game for over a hundred years and has spent millions of upon millions of pounds on the game with extremely devoted fans yet in spite of this; has only achieved one controversial world cup victory along with a 4th place in the world cup. England’s only world cup victory coming 45 years ago in a world cup which they hosted while their only other appearance past the quarterfinals was in Italia 90. It being after Italia 90 that England even failed to qualify to the world cup USA 94 in a group which was not even all that difficult.

 

In all this we could also mention the fact that England not only did not qualify to the last European championship played in Austria/Switzerland but has yet to even reach a final of a European Championship. England’s best results in this particular tournament being their 72 and 96 semifinal appearances which would see them loose on both occasions to their bitter rival; Germany. All of which making it more than clear to me that England despite all their efforts and money has failed in the sport of international football though their money has helped teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham win 11 European Cups on a club level yet this be due to foreign players as opposed to players born in their own country.

 

In all fairness however one can say that English national football team has achieved success with regards international tournaments yet it would be also fair to say that with a population of over 80 million and a huge budget behind them; the English have failed miserably. This more so in view of the fact that a country like France which only has a population of 60 million and does not spend anywhere as near as much money as the English do; has won a world cup, been runner-up once, 3rd place once and 4th place once. France also clearly topping the English in the European Championship where they have been twice champions while once being eliminated in the semifinals. All of which making it more than clear that when it comes to the top nations in football, England is barely in the top ten and this in spite of having all the resources; both financial and human to succeed though perhaps talent is that which can not be taught but developed.

 

Naturally, talent being that which has to be present in a country among its people before it can be developed which is perhaps what England’s problem with regards to football boils down to. It being England which apart from a handful of players has failed to produce any of the world’s top players and in fact has had far fewer players of merit than countries such as Argentina and Uruguay; who with much smaller populations have given the world many more great players. 

 

Of course, we can also mention that England for the most part views football as a game in which  “pace” and “speed” are just about everything. This making their tactics for the most part predictable and not so difficult to counter as theirs is basically limited to centers or long range efforts in attempts to score spectacular goals as opposed to working the ball like is often done by Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina.

 

England for their part, can be excused for not having participated in the first three world cups. England foolishly claiming (as history would proof )that their football was so much superior to the rest of the world that for them to participate in a world cup would be but a waste of time since they would win with too much ease.  It being a case of English pride not allowing them to take part in football’s biggest tournament until 1950 in Brazil in a world cup which would clearly show to the rest of the world that English football was not any where near as good as they had previously believed it to be. England going on to loose 2 out of 3 games in Brazil 50 in a group which included the USA, Spain and Chile. It being the USA and Spain who proved to the English that when it came to football; they were definitely not one of the world’s best let along the best.

 

England however would come back in the 54 world cup and get to the quarterfinals where it would be Uruguay to defeat them by 4-2 in what for the most part was not a very difficult victory for then reigning world champions. Sweden 58 would see England eliminated in the first round yet despite this factor they did manage a draw against the eventual winner; Brazil. This in a game which as a matter of fact was the first match to end in 0-0 draw. Chile 62 however would see an English team which was definitely improved yet still not one to be a serious contender for the title as it would loose 2 out of 4 games. It being Brazil to eliminate them in the quarterfinals by a score of 3-1 in game which clearly demonstrated the superiority of the South American side which did not even require the services of Pele to beat England by a comfortable margin.

 

Next was the world cup England 66 which England did win to claim not only their first as well as so far their only title in a world cup. England 66 also being the last time England reached the final in their footballing history of any international tournament.

 

England’s world cup win however did come with an enormous amount of controversy if not blatant dishonesty such as in their quarterfinals match against Argentina. This match being mostly remembered for the fact that an English referee worked the game between Germany and Uruguay while a German referee worked the game between England and Argentina. All of which at least giving the appearance that the German referee was helping the English while the English referee was helping the German team. This prompting FIFA to create a rule which prevented such scenarios in the future. It also being suspicious that the German referee sent Ratin off the field because he did not like the way he looked at him.

 

England despite everything did go on to win that match by 1-0 which let them get in to their first ever semifinal which they played against Portugal yet again it was with a large degree of controversy. It being a case that the semifinal England Vs. Portugal was originally scheduled to be played in Liverpool yet was changed at the last moment by English officials which in reality is something which now a days would be forbidden. England however managed to defeat Portugal by 2-1 to make it to their first and so far only final appearance yet it was in the final where in my opinion; we have the most controversial win in any world cup final.

 

England met Germany in the final and after 90 minutes were required to play overtime as the match ended at 2 a piece after regulation time. It being in overtime that England was given a goal despite the plain of the ball not having fully crossed the goal line though this in all fairness to the English was not known at the time and it would not be till several years later that computers proved beyond all doubt that Hurt’s shot did not go in. The ball in fact just hitting the goal line to bounce back out which is not enough to qualify this as a goal yet I would have to say that this was not the fault of any English player but of the Soviet linesman. Of course in his defense we could say that he did not have the advantage of being able to see the play again from several angles. It also being a case that in those days there were not many TV angles available anyway.

 

England however was given the goal and a 3-2 lead and would get a 4th goal yet even that goal would have to be disputed since it came when many German players had good reason to believe that the match was over. This due to the English fans who were already pouring on to the field of play while the game was still going on. It being in this chaos that Hurst scored England’s 4th and his third yet some might ask with justified reason for skepticism if the goal should have been allowed. These being the very words the BBC’s Kenneth Wolstenholme’s used to describe the action as it was taking place “Some people are on the pitch. They think it’s all over … [Hurst scores] It is now!”. Of course not that it would have made such a big difference since England was already winning by 3-2 and if this goal had been disallowed due to the fans who were coming on the pitch; they still would have won yet there remains the fact that the 3rd goal did not fully go in. All of which indicating that England won a world cup final with two goals which really should not have been given.

 

In all this however it would be unfair to say that England cheated to get this result against Germany as a referee’s mistake hardly qualifies as such yet it does lead one to ask if they really won that final. Naturally, one could point to the fact that none of the English players were in a position to see weather or not Hurt’s second goal went in or not and the video was most unclear and limited to one angle.

 

England however went on to be crowned world champion and though some might say it was deserved; it definitely was under a cloud of doubts as to those two goals which gave them their overtime victory over Germany in the final. As for Mexico 70, it would see the English loose 2 out of 4 matches and once again be eliminated in the quarterfinals. This time English elimination coming in a match against Germany which they were winning by 2-0 before Germany forced it in to overtime where they came out on top by 3-2.

 

English football at this point in its history would suffer as they not only failed to qualify for the 74 world cup but for the 78 world cup as well. England being eliminated in 74 by Poland and in 78 by Italy. All of which showing that though English teams such as Liverpool could win the European Championship as they did in 77 and 78; they still could not make it to the world cup.  

 

England would come back in Spain 82 yet again not with much in the way of great play as it would be in the second round that they were again eliminated though in all truth they did not loose a single game through out the tournament. England’s defense being very strong while their offense only scored one goal in their last three games.

 

Mexico 86 would see a strong English team which one could say to a large extent was cheated by Maradona’s handball in the quarterfinals yet again England failed to produce the win when it was needed most. Italia 90 saw England have what for their standards could be called a successful world cup. As they went as far as the semifinal where perhaps they might have been beaten Germany (the eventual winner) had certain factors gone their way but then again they did not. England lost to Germany in what was perhaps the best game of the tournament and I would even venture to say the best team they ever presented in a world cup. This team not receiving the benefits of playing at home like the 66 team which could change venues when it did not suit them or make deals with referees to secure their support.

 

After the moderate success of Italia 90, England would fail to qualify to USA 94 as it was Norway and the Netherlands which qualified at England’s expense. England in fact at this point in its footballing history failing to qualify for 3 out of 6 world cups. France 98 would see a return of English football yet once again, it was Argentina to show them the truth of their game and how it was simply not up to the task of getting to the top four. Argentina eliminating England in a game in which England benefited from a penalty which never should have been given.

 

Japan/South Korea would see England progress to the quarterfinals in a world cup in which they neither played particularly well or badly yet did manage to come within a game of making it to the semifinals for what would have been the third time in their history. England however were faced with a Brazilian team which though not one of their best was able to beat England relatively easily and without much effort by a score of 2-1. Brazil not even showing much in the way of worry when they went in to the halftime break down by a 1-0.

 

Germany 2006 would see them reach the quarterfinals again only to be eliminated by a Portuguese team on penalties which was playing without two of their starting players who had been shown the red card in their previous match against Holland. England again not playing badly but hardly brilliantly either in their world cup participation. South Africa 2010 would see England once again loose to Germany who on this occasion soundly defeated them by 4-1 and though they might take some consolation that they scored a goal which was not seen; the truth is that they in all likelihood would have lost this game too. England not really being able to bounce back in the second half while the German’s simply ran away with the game and defeated the English, who in their last 3 games against the Germans had only managed a draw along with 2 defeats. This match being England’s 3rd defeat.

 

All in all, England’s world cup history reads like this. One world cup title and a fourth place which is quite dismal, specially considering the amount of money they spent on the game along with how long they have been playing it. In summary, I would say that England is a mediocre football nation as their record in world football clearly shows. After all, one world cup title won in 66 and no other titles apart from this are not enough to declare them among the world’s best yet despite this England always manages to be the head of their group in every world cup they play in. This being in my opinion most unfair that England in the last world cup was the head of a group. This giving them relatively easier matches while France who came in 2nd  in the previous world cup was forced to play against the host nation in the first round because they were not the head of their group.

 

In conclusion, I would say that England’s football history or the failure in their football history clearly indicates that they should by no means be considered even among the top ten footballing nations in world; much less a serious candidate to win any world cup. This making England’s inclusion among those teams which get to avoid such powerhouses as Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Germany most unfair and something which needs to be stopped or at least till they show results to justify it.

About the Author

My name is Gianni Truvianni, author of many an article to be found on the internet along with the book “New York’s Opera Society”. My works also include the books “What Should Not Matter”, “Love Your Sister” and several others which still remain unpublished though I am presently looking to change this.

 

How much does it cost to text America from England?

On contract, server T-Mobile
and if you know how much it will cost to send a reply from America to England?

In fact i don’t know a certain price but i’d thay that it is about double the standard texting rate Good Luck!