Blfatter apologises for World Cup refeering blunder Fifa to consider case for goalline technology Press Association guardian.co.uk, Article history
Fifa's president Sepp Blatter has apologised to the FA over Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA
The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, today said he had apologised to the Football Association over Frank Lampard's disallowed goal and revealed the governing body would look again at goal-line technology.
Lampard's effort during England's 4-1 defeat to Germany was ruled out even though the ball clearly crossed the line.
Blatter told a media briefing in Johannesburg today: "It is obvious that after the experience so far in this World Cup it would be a nonsense to not reopen the file of technology at the business meeting of the International FA Board in July.
"Personally I deplore it when you see evident referee mistakes but it's not the end of a competition or the end of football, this can happen.
"The only thing I can do is yesterday I have spoken to the two federations [England and Mexico] directly concerned by referees's mistakes. I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising.
"We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July at the business meeting."
Sunday night's match between Argentina and Mexico had also thrown up a controversial incident, with Carlos Tevez scoring the opening goal from an offside position.
Fifa had blocked any further experiments with technology at a meeting of the International FA Board, the game's rule-making body, in March.
Blatter added that Fifa would launch a new drive to improve refereeing standards at the top level later this year.
"We will come out with a new model in November on how to improve high level referees," he added. "We will start with a new concept of how to improve match control. I cannot disclose more of what we are doing but something has to be changed."
Keane says England players should 'have a look at themselves'
'To criticise Capello is crazy. He's absolutely brilliant'
James Callow
guardian.co.uk,
Criticism of the England coach, Fabio Capello, has been unjustified, says Roy Keane. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
Roy Keane has launched a passionate defence of Fabio Capello and believes the blame for England's World Cup exit lies solely at the door of the players.
The Ipswich Town manager said England's players "get away with murder" for a series of poor performances.
"To keep criticising and questioning the manager is crazy. He didn't do anything wrong in the qualifying campaign and now, all of a sudden, he's not the top man any more," Keane said.
"The goals they conceded against Germany, particularly the first couple, had nothing to do with Capello's choice of system or tactics. It wasn't a case of getting overrun in midfield. It was just very bad defending."
"They should just leave him to get on with the job. He is absolutely brilliant and England are lucky to have him."
Keane, who walked out of the Republic of Ireland's 2002 World Cup camp after a spat with his manager, Mick McCarthy, believes the majority of England's players are overhyped.
"They have to take a long hard look at themselves. They get away with murder," he said. "I wasn't really surprised by the Germany defeat. I keep saying it – good players don't necessarily make good teams. People keep talking about world class players but who are they?" he added.
"There's probably only Wayne Rooney, who had a brilliant season. But look at the goalkeepers. David James was relegated with Portsmouth and Robert Green just about stayed up with West Ham. Glen Johnson did okay at Liverpool but they had a poor enough season.
"John Terry? He had his issues and I don't think he had a great season. Chelsea may have won the Premiership and FA Cup double but that was more down to some world class attacking players.
"Matthew Upson didn't have a great season at West Ham and Ashley Cole, to be fair to the boy, has just come back from injury.
"James Milner had a good season but Gareth Barry was very average for Manchester City. Emile Heskey started the World Cup up front but he only scored three Premiership goals for Aston Villa."
England manager Fabio Capello answers questions at the press conference in Rustenburg. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images
Fabio Capello has told the FA that he would like to stay on as England manager but says he will have to wait two weeks to find out if the ruling body would like him to carry on.
"I spoke this morning with [the Club England chairman] Sir David Richards," Capello said. "He told me that he needs two weeks to decide. I said I can be for next season the manager of England, but they have to decide."
Adrian Bevington, the newly appointed managing director of Club England and sat beside Capello at the press conference, interjected quickly to insist that this refusal to make an immediate decision should not be interpreted as a lack of faith in the manager.
"Sir Dave Richards met with Fabio this morning and we are all very clear that Fabio is under contract with the FA until the 2012 European Championship and nothing has changed in that respect," said Bevington. "But it makes sense to go back to London and take stock of the situation and take a common sense decision rather than a knee-jerk reaction after what is a disappointing result.
"I don't think there is anything sinister in it other than we just want to make sure that we show a common-sense approach rather than making any other snap knee-jerk reactions within 24 hours of a very disappointing result."
Asked how he felt about this, Capello responded: "I think it's an intelligent answer. I refused important opportunities to become manager of important clubs because I like being England manager."
Capello added that he thought England's players had been hampered by tiredness in South Africa, suggesting – as the former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had after Germany 2006 – that a winter break for the Premier League could have improved the situation.
"I think not [only] Wayne Rooney but all our players were really tired at this competition," he said. "All the coaches told me [the] physical situation of players was not like the players we know. Rooney played well some games, but all the players were not the players we know.
"We are really tired. Every time we have to play a competition in June," he added, before signalling his agreement when asked if he thought a winter break could help. "But its not my job to decide about the calendar."
Capello also cited the referee Jorge Larrionda's failure to award a goal when Frank Lampard's shot crossed the line against Germany at 2–1 down as the major reason for England's failure to do better. "The Lampard goal was OK," he said. "The motivation at 2‑2 would be completely different. We played well until they scored the third goal but after 3-1 Germany played better."
Looking ahead, Capello said he has already spoken with Richards about bringing new players into the squad, if he does stay on as manager. "I spoke with Sir David about younger players that we can play for the next qualification and I know what I have to do," he added.
This may be Africa's first FIFA World Cup™ but for the press in England it was the same old story as they picked over the bones of their national team's crushing 4-1 defeat by Germany in Bloemfontein. "Old failings put England back on road to nowhere," declared the headline in the Independent as the Round of 16 elimination of Fabio Capello's side led to reflections on England's serial failures, tactical shortcomings and the demise of a so-called 'golden generation'.
The Times England have been a sad case at this World Cup: unimpressive in drawing with the United States, awful against Algeria, mediocre in victory against Slovenia and, when the time came to raise their game yesterday, they were outclassed, out-thought and even outfought by Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and the rest of Joachim Low's dynamic young Germany team. Their victory yesterday serves as another unwanted milestone in the history of the England football team, a reminder of how far behind the rest of the world we have fallen while congratulating ourselves on the undisputed global appeal of the Premier League.
The Guardian Only the details and the venues change in the story of how England impersonate a serious international power. In the last ten years alone that conceit has been exposed in Charleroi, Shizuoka, Lisbon, Gelsenkirchen and now Bloemfontein. England have still not beaten a top-flight nation in World Cup combat since the Bobby Moore-Geoff Hurst generation exploited home advantage in the country's one and only appearance in the final of an international tournament. A brutal pattern reasserted itself in the Free State as German youth flourished and English maturity tipped over into obsolescence. Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller – flag-bearers for a more thrilling German style of play – pushed a whole crop of English household names into permanent shadow.
The Independent Against Germany's younger, fresher legs England too often looked sluggish, pedestrian even. Even when the age gap was irrelevant – Miroslav Klose, 32, being older than John Terry and Matthew Upson – Germany were still quicker. England are chronically short of pace for a top-level international team. Of the starting line-up, only Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson and Jermain Defoe could be described as quick, while the heart of the team – the central defenders and central midfield – could either be described as slow by international standards or, in Lampard's case, showing the effects of several years of non-stop football. All four goals were a consequence of poor defending, but Germany's greater speed and mobility was a significant factor in each.
The Daily Telegraph If Gerrard had played in his Liverpool position and Rooney in his Manchester United role up top, England would have had their two potential match winners in tandem. Such good friends as Gerrard and Rooney love working together. At 30, Gerrard will never play in a World Cup again. His one shot at international glory has been taken away. If England had played 4-2-3-1, they may still have lost to the vibrant Germans but it would have been worth utilising a system that coaxed the best from Gerrard and Rooney. The flaws inherent in 4-4-2 were brutally exposed here as the Germans flooded through.
The Sun Some things never change. Another World Cup and England again depart the stage early, heads bowed, reputations skewered and playing football from the Dark Ages. And, this time, on the back of their biggest World Cup hammering ever, totally outclassed by a young German team with eight players under 26. Since 1966 we have never beaten any team of any quality at the knockout stage of a World Cup. Our only successes have been against the might of Paraguay, Belgium, Cameroon, Denmark and Ecuador. So no more excuses, please.
A brutal pattern reasserted itself here as German youth flourished and English maturity tipped over into obsolescence
Paul Hayward at Free State Stadium
The Guardian,
The beginning of the end arrives as Miroslav Klose, centre, scores Germany's opening goal. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/Reuters
Only the details and the venues change in the story of how England impersonate a serious international power. In the last 10 years alone that conceit has been exposed in Charleroi, Shizuoka, Lisbon, Gelsenkirchen and now Bloemfontein. The men of 1966 can pack their diaries with yet more heroes' dinners and brand-ambassador spin-offs because 44 years of waiting could be just the start.
England have still not beaten a top‑flight nation in World Cup combat since the Bobby Moore-Geoff Hurst generation exploited home advantage in the country's one and only appearance in the final of an international tournament. A brutal pattern reasserted itself in the Free State as German youth flourished and English maturity tipped over into obsolescence. Mesut Ozil and Thomas Müller – flag-bearers for a more thrilling German style of play – pushed a whole crop of English household names into permanent shadow.
The Frank Lampard-Steven Gerrard generation have had failure's nail banged into them and it shows. Deep in their minds a voice must cry out that success at World Cup and European Championship level is simply beyond imagining. The temptation across the English game must be to retreat to the sanctuary of the Premier League, with its Super Sunday clashes between empires of debt. These expeditions in the Three Lions livery are only a trail of tears.
Five of England's starting XI in this second-round match had played in Champions League finals. Pressure and expectation are written into their daily lives. With England, though, their talent evaporates, their sense of self collapses. They look tight and ponderous and tactically illiterate.
Germany played dazzling football in bursts and adjusted their pace and pattern of play to suit the circumstances. They worked out how to win the game and reach a quarter-final. Two counter-attacking goals in four minutes showed up England's defensive naivety and wooden pursuit of an equaliser after the goal-that-never-was: the best indictment yet of Fifa's neanderthal prejudice against goal-line technology.
In the Wimbledon fortnight a simple machine can say whether a tennis ball has crossed a white line. Here in football's biggest competition Fifa tells men their lives will be defined by what happens on the World Cup stage and then denies them the equipment that would make those definitions fair. For the outcomes of World Cup games to be shaped by this prejudice brings the sport into disrepute, if that isn't an oxymoron. But this legitimate gripe will not conceal England's ineptitude in allowing Germany to counterattack their way to a crushing victory and so extend the hurt inflicted in 1970 and 1990.
Germany have advanced further than England in every World Cup the two nations have contested since 1966. Capello's team didn't lose to a history book, however, they folded in the here and now against a side with an average age four years lower. On a shallow, Premier League-warped reading of the team-sheets they would have feared the gifted Ozil, 21, and Müller, 20, and known all about Lukas Podolski's fierce shot and Miroslav Klose's exceptional international goalscoring pedigree (50, now, which is one more than Sir Bobby Charlton's England record).
Yet English players who have faced Barcelona and Real Madrid in Champions League combat cannot have felt that Germany were an unstoppable historical force. They will have played the names in front of them, which makes their demise all the more frightening. Germany brought zest and zip and cunning to their attacking play. England advanced in lumpen 4-4-2 formation without any of Germany's geometrical cleverness.
A recurring truth is that the way football is played in England (or by English players) is not conducive to international success. In Africa's first World Cup, specifically, they won one of their four fixtures – 1-0, against Slovenia – scored three and conceded five. Insiders say the campaign hit psychological turbulence when Robert Green committed a pub keeper's error in fumbling Clint Dempsey's shot in the USA game. There was, by all accounts, a collapse of faith that the win over Slovenia only partially restored.
In the 21st century alone England have seen the bail sail over David Seaman's head in Japan (2002), successive penalty shoot-out defeats to Portugal (2004 and 2006) the non-qualification debacle of Euro 2008 and a promising qualifying campaign unravel here in South Africa. Regression is the tale of Capello's first World Cup as a manager. Quarter-finalists in 2002 and 2006, England stumbled out of Group C in second place and lost to the first big-name team they came across To think they had recovered some of their poise in Port Elizabeth with the escapology routine against Slovenia was no idle hope. For the first time since they arrived in their purpose-built compound near Sun City the players relaxed and seemed to see beyond Capello's patriarchal strictness to a more fulfilling experience. Finally they joined the World Cup. The benefits of experience were starting to become apparent and the team had assumed a more promising shape, with Gareth Barry screening the back-four, James Milner excelling on the right and Jermain Defoe seeming sharp and eager alongside Wayne Rooney, who, at 24, leaves here still without a World Cup goal.
Rooney's sole imprint on this great competition remains the stud marks he left on the groin of Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho four years ago. Given his precocity, Brazil in 2014 will be his last chance to impress the judges in an England shirt. Rooney improved against Germany: his first touch and link play were sharper, more aware. But over the four games he was a phantom of his real self. The English culture managed to deliver its best player to a tournament hollow and semi-detached.
In the calamity catalogue we file Rio Ferdinand's knee injury in the first training session, Ledley King's breakdown inside 45 minutes of the USA game, the Green goalkeeping howler and John Terry's failed insurrection. It was fashionable to say at least England were not like France. In retrospect it would have been more fun to go out like the French, with eruptions everywhere, than concede two goals on the counter-attack when the score was still 2-1. Can England not press for an equaliser more intelligently?
Over the three weeks Ashley Cole, John Terry and Glen Johnson performed creditably (though Johnson left his rear-view mirror back at base again yesterday); Lampard was mostly innocuous, Gerrard was again wasted on the left and Joe Cole under-used. Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips were passengers. Michael Dawson, Stephen Warnock, Joe Hart and Michael Carrick were all denied a kick. All will flee the Royal Bafokeng complex glad to have escaped this eternal wheel of fire.
Capello toured the shires in search of fresh talent and found none. Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and even Theo Walcott were discarded. The manager was surely right to conclude that English football's nursery is not producing fruit. National coaching programmes and strategic planning are not the English way. Feeding the Premier League monster is the only show in town. The Football Association, where a vast power void now prevails, throw money at 44 years of frustration by importing first Swedish then Italian expertise and locking themselves into expensive long contracts.
Feel better now? Each time the mantra is that we need to be honest about the true state and standing of the England football team and we never are.
A brutal pattern reasserted itself here as German youth flourished and English maturity tipped over into obsolescence
Paul Hayward at Free State Stadium
The Guardian,
The beginning of the end arrives as Miroslav Klose, centre, scores Germany's opening goal. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/Reuters
Only the details and the venues change in the story of how England impersonate a serious international power. In the last 10 years alone that conceit has been exposed in Charleroi, Shizuoka, Lisbon, Gelsenkirchen and now Bloemfontein. The men of 1966 can pack their diaries with yet more heroes' dinners and brand-ambassador spin-offs because 44 years of waiting could be just the start.
England have still not beaten a top‑flight nation in World Cup combat since the Bobby Moore-Geoff Hurst generation exploited home advantage in the country's one and only appearance in the final of an international tournament. A brutal pattern reasserted itself in the Free State as German youth flourished and English maturity tipped over into obsolescence. Mesut Ozil and Thomas Müller – flag-bearers for a more thrilling German style of play – pushed a whole crop of English household names into permanent shadow.
The Frank Lampard-Steven Gerrard generation have had failure's nail banged into them and it shows. Deep in their minds a voice must cry out that success at World Cup and European Championship level is simply beyond imagining. The temptation across the English game must be to retreat to the sanctuary of the Premier League, with its Super Sunday clashes between empires of debt. These expeditions in the Three Lions livery are only a trail of tears.
Five of England's starting XI in this second-round match had played in Champions League finals. Pressure and expectation are written into their daily lives. With England, though, their talent evaporates, their sense of self collapses. They look tight and ponderous and tactically illiterate.
Germany played dazzling football in bursts and adjusted their pace and pattern of play to suit the circumstances. They worked out how to win the game and reach a quarter-final. Two counter-attacking goals in four minutes showed up England's defensive naivety and wooden pursuit of an equaliser after the goal-that-never-was: the best indictment yet of Fifa's neanderthal prejudice against goal-line technology.
In the Wimbledon fortnight a simple machine can say whether a tennis ball has crossed a white line. Here in football's biggest competition Fifa tells men their lives will be defined by what happens on the World Cup stage and then denies them the equipment that would make those definitions fair. For the outcomes of World Cup games to be shaped by this prejudice brings the sport into disrepute, if that isn't an oxymoron. But this legitimate gripe will not conceal England's ineptitude in allowing Germany to counterattack their way to a crushing victory and so extend the hurt inflicted in 1970 and 1990.
Germany have advanced further than England in every World Cup the two nations have contested since 1966. Capello's team didn't lose to a history book, however, they folded in the here and now against a side with an average age four years lower. On a shallow, Premier League-warped reading of the team-sheets they would have feared the gifted Ozil, 21, and Müller, 20, and known all about Lukas Podolski's fierce shot and Miroslav Klose's exceptional international goalscoring pedigree (50, now, which is one more than Sir Bobby Charlton's England record).
Yet English players who have faced Barcelona and Real Madrid in Champions League combat cannot have felt that Germany were an unstoppable historical force. They will have played the names in front of them, which makes their demise all the more frightening. Germany brought zest and zip and cunning to their attacking play. England advanced in lumpen 4-4-2 formation without any of Germany's geometrical cleverness.
A recurring truth is that the way football is played in England (or by English players) is not conducive to international success. In Africa's first World Cup, specifically, they won one of their four fixtures – 1-0, against Slovenia – scored three and conceded five. Insiders say the campaign hit psychological turbulence when Robert Green committed a pub keeper's error in fumbling Clint Dempsey's shot in the USA game. There was, by all accounts, a collapse of faith that the win over Slovenia only partially restored.
In the 21st century alone England have seen the bail sail over David Seaman's head in Japan (2002), successive penalty shoot-out defeats to Portugal (2004 and 2006) the non-qualification debacle of Euro 2008 and a promising qualifying campaign unravel here in South Africa. Regression is the tale of Capello's first World Cup as a manager. Quarter-finalists in 2002 and 2006, England stumbled out of Group C in second place and lost to the first big-name team they came across To think they had recovered some of their poise in Port Elizabeth with the escapology routine against Slovenia was no idle hope. For the first time since they arrived in their purpose-built compound near Sun City the players relaxed and seemed to see beyond Capello's patriarchal strictness to a more fulfilling experience. Finally they joined the World Cup. The benefits of experience were starting to become apparent and the team had assumed a more promising shape, with Gareth Barry screening the back-four, James Milner excelling on the right and Jermain Defoe seeming sharp and eager alongside Wayne Rooney, who, at 24, leaves here still without a World Cup goal.
Rooney's sole imprint on this great competition remains the stud marks he left on the groin of Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho four years ago. Given his precocity, Brazil in 2014 will be his last chance to impress the judges in an England shirt. Rooney improved against Germany: his first touch and link play were sharper, more aware. But over the four games he was a phantom of his real self. The English culture managed to deliver its best player to a tournament hollow and semi-detached.
In the calamity catalogue we file Rio Ferdinand's knee injury in the first training session, Ledley King's breakdown inside 45 minutes of the USA game, the Green goalkeeping howler and John Terry's failed insurrection. It was fashionable to say at least England were not like France. In retrospect it would have been more fun to go out like the French, with eruptions everywhere, than concede two goals on the counter-attack when the score was still 2-1. Can England not press for an equaliser more intelligently?
Over the three weeks Ashley Cole, John Terry and Glen Johnson performed creditably (though Johnson left his rear-view mirror back at base again yesterday); Lampard was mostly innocuous, Gerrard was again wasted on the left and Joe Cole under-used. Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips were passengers. Michael Dawson, Stephen Warnock, Joe Hart and Michael Carrick were all denied a kick. All will flee the Royal Bafokeng complex glad to have escaped this eternal wheel of fire.
Capello toured the shires in search of fresh talent and found none. Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and even Theo Walcott were discarded. The manager was surely right to conclude that English football's nursery is not producing fruit. National coaching programmes and strategic planning are not the English way. Feeding the Premier League monster is the only show in town. The Football Association, where a vast power void now prevails, throw money at 44 years of frustration by importing first Swedish then Italian expertise and locking themselves into expensive long contracts.
Feel better now? Each time the mantra is that we need to be honest about the true state and standing of the England football team and we never are.
World cup, Fifa, Champions league, UEFA, African Cup of Nations, World Championship, Euro, European Cup od Nations, CAF, African Champion's League, live streaming
Dominic Fifield at Free State Stadium guardian.co.uk,
Wayne Rooney complains to the linesman Mauricio Espinosa after he failed to allow a first-half 'goal' by Frank Lampard. Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images
Fabio Capello will meet the Football Association tomorrow seeking evidence of its continued support but has ruled out resigning as England manager following his team's humiliating elimination from the World Cup.
The national side's manager of two‑and-a-half years will discuss his future with Sir Dave Richards, chairman of Club England, having made it clear he will not voluntarily quit his position with two seasons to run on his £6m-a-year contract. Instead, the onus will very much be on the FA to sack him if it wishes to instigate a change ahead of the start of the side's qualification campaign for Euro 2012.
England's worst defeat at the World Cup provoked suggestions from some players of deep-lying disquiet within the set-up, with Joe Cole stressing that "a lot of issues" needed addressing. Yet, asked whether he would now consider his position, Capello said: "Resign? No. Absolutely not. I have to speak with the chairman, but we have time to decide. We have to wait until I come back to London. But I want to speak with the chairman to decide my future. I want to see whether he has confidence in me or not."
The FA offered the Italian its public backing last night ahead of the talks, which are expected to take placebefore the team's departure from South Africa. "Our position has been consistent and it has not changed in my mind whatsoever," said Adrian Bevington, the newly appointed managing director of Club England. "Clearly, Fabio needs to speak with Sir Dave and, beyond that, I cannot say anything further.
"There is a board – Sir Dave, myself, Sir Trevor Brooking and the chief executive, Alex Horne – and we work into the main FA board as well. But nothing has changed in my mind from before the game."
While the Italian pointed to the failure of the Uruguayan linesman Mauricio Espinosa and referee Jorge Larrionda to award a legitimate Frank Lampard goal seven minutes before the interval as key to this defeat – the ball cannoned down from the crossbar and clearly beyond the goalline – his players departed hinting at disharmony behind the scenes after a largely lacklustre and deflating performance at this tournament.
"I am devastated," said the little-used Cole. "What can you do? We will go away and start again, but we have to address the problems that are there. There are a lot of issues. I don't know what to say, to be honest. We just weren't good enough, and we have to look at ourselves as a group.
"We weren't good enough from the start of the friendlies, over the six games we've played, so it is back to the drawing board. The manager's future is a question for him. He is a great manager and we have got great players but there are issues we need to address. We do feel we have let ourselves, the manager and the fans down."
The captain, Steven Gerrard, did put his support behind Capello but suggested there would have to be changes in personnel if England were to challenge at Euro 2012, with an ageing squad in need of regeneration. "We'll have to see what the future holds," said the Liverpool midfielder. "We've got an experienced team and players who are getting on, and I'm sure there'll be changes by the time the next tournament comes around
"The manager is disappointed obviously. He was only in the dressing room briefly after the game but you could see the disappointment on his face. I'm sure Fabio will stay and he'll address his own situation very soon. Personally, I'd like him to stay as I think he's a fantastic manager."
Capello admitted his players had been jaded at the finals but departed with a sense of deep injusticeafter Lampard's equaliser went ignored. "To have got back to 2-2 would have been different with the psychology or the mind of the players," he said. "Sometimes the most important thing is what you think. The mistake was incredible. That there is no technology ... We play with five referees and they cannot decide whether that is a goal or not? That would have made the game completely different.
"I saw from the bench that the ball had gone over the line, so I do not understand how the referee and the linesman did not see it. It's incredible. Look, I know we arrived here probably a little bit tired at the end of the season. Always. But we suffered today because of Germany's speed, and because a big mistake from the referee that was too important for us to go forward [in the tournament]. We made some mistakes, but the referee made bigger mistakes."
Lampard was angry at the error but added: "Maybe we showed a bit of desperation and naivety in trying to push and push. We were caught on sucker punches in counter-attacks. It is the story of the game: nobody can stand here and tell me Germany were a lot better than us. They were not 4-1 better than us. But things have conspired against us. Maybe we have conspired against ourselves at times, but it just didn't go for us."
Germany's youthful side delivered an impressive statement of intent by overwhelming old rivals England 4-1 in Bloemfontein to take their place in the last eight of the FIFA World Cup™.
Joachim Low's side built a two-goal lead through early goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski and although Matthew Upson reduced the deficit before the break, the Germans made sure of their quarter-final place when Thomas Muller concluded two lightning breakaways with a quick-fire double midway through the second half. While Germany can look forward with confidence to a quarter-final meeting with Argentina or Mexico, England will go home to lick their wounds and reflect on yet another FIFA World Cup defeat by their old nemesis.
Fabio Capello's side might have fallen behind as early as the fifth minute when they lost their concentration for a second and very nearly paid the price. Bastian Schweinsteiger played a long ball into the path of Mesut Ozil who cut inside Ashley Cole before firing at the legs of David James from an acute angle. It was another lapse which allowed Germany to take the lead in the 20th minute, the goal coming after a spell of prolonged England possession. Manuel Neuer's long goal-kick upfield should have been dealt with by England’s central defenders, but Klose – back from suspension as the only change to either starting XI – got between John Terry and Upson, outmuscling the latter before poking the ball past James with his outstretched right boot.
While having plenty of the ball, England were creating little in the way of genuine scoring opportunities, with only a Gareth Barry shot from distance which went straight at Neuer. Indeed, Germany should have doubled their advantage on the half-hour when Sami Khedira combined well with Muller to set up Klose, who fired straight at James. Yet Die Nationalelf did not have to wait too long for their second goal when Muller floated a delightful ball into the path of the unmarked Podolski and with England's defence stretched, the Cologne man had the time to recover from a poor first touch and produce a left-footed finish that squeezed through the legs of the goalkeeper and just inside the far post.
The two captains came to the rescue for their respective sides in the frenetic spell that followed, with Philipp Lahm clearing off the line after Frank Lampard's effort had been slowed by Neuer's save. Then Steven Gerrard did well to deflect a close-range Klose effort out for a corner when the striker seemed destined to score. England did pull one back in the 37th minute when a short Lampard corner from the right was played to Gerrard who crossed into the box. Upson, atoning for his earlier error, rose highest above the Germany defence and with Neuer stranded, powered a header into the net. Meetings between these two sides often provide talking points and this one's came 60 seconds after Upson's goal when Lampard's shot from the edge of the box struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced down – Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda ruling the ball had not crossed the goalline.
England started the second half strongly with Gerrard hitting a right foot shot just wide in the opening minutes and Lampard rattling the crossbar with a free-kick 30 yards from goal. The Three Lions were piling the pressure on, but were given a warning sign when Schweinsteiger drilled an effort agonisingly wide. Indeed, Germany increased their advantage in the 67th minute through a counter-attack. Lampard's free-kick hit the German wall and with England having committed men forward, they were left exposed as Schweinsteiger broke quickly before playing a delightful ball for Muller, who had started the breakaway, to fire past James.
Germany's fourth was more or less a carbon copy of their third. With England deep in their opponents' half, searching for a way back into the game, Germany won possession on the edge of their box and sprayed the ball to Ozil on the left. The midfielder outpaced Barry and played in Muller to sidefoot home from close range. England, to their credit, never gave up and only a fine one-handed save by Neuer from Gerrard stopped them from reducing their deficit – the heaviest in their FIFA World Cup history.
fifa.com
World cup, Fifa, Champions league, UEFA, African Cup of Nations, World Championship, Euro, European Cup od Nations, CAF, African Champion's League
Germany's Miroslav Klose beats England goalkeeper David James to open the scoring. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA
It was not the new territory into which Fabio Capello was supposed to lead his squad. This is the heaviest defeat England have ever known at a World Cup finals, outdoing a 4-2 loss to Uruguay in 1954. That is meaningful mostly as a measure of England's terrible fallibility in defence.
The weakest of consolations lies in the recognition that the teams ought to have been level at half-time. In a fixture haunted by history there was a ghost goal. England, from 2-0 behind, had cut the deficit and would have equalised in the 39th minute had the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda or his assistant Mauricio Espinosa noticed Frank Lampard's drive bouncing a foot or two over the line.
• Follow the Guardian's World Cup team on Twitter
• Sign up to play our daily Fantasy Football game
• Stats centre: Get the lowdown on every player
• The latest team-by-team news, features and more
As the sides left the field at the interval, David Beckham approached the official and spread his hands like a fisherman showing the size of the one that got away. In addition, you could almost make out the rumble of a German nation snorting that Geoff Hurst's goal in the 1966 World Cup final should not have stood after, allegedly, failing to cross the line.
The match in Bloemfontein offered more than enough to drag thoughts away from the past. Germany were sharper in attack as they exposed the England back four time and again. The opener was a humiliation as a kick-out from the goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saw Miroslav Klose holding off Matthew Upson with ease before scoring in the 20th minute.
Capello's side had no means to keep danger at bay. Germany, working the ball more smoothly, doubled the advantage after 31 minutes as Thomas Müller assembled a one-two with Sami Khedira before Klose swept the ball to the left of the goalmouth, where Lukas Podolski despatched a shot through the legs of David James.
This, nonetheless, is an emerging Germany side rather than the implacable sort of times gone by and England responded simply. Following a short corner, Lampard clipped a cross that was nodded in by Upson after 37 minutes. A little earlier, Jermain Defoe had nodded against the bar from a Glen Johnson delivery. Although England were behind at the interval, Germany control wavered for a period.
That trend was apparent when Capello's side struck the woodwork once more, with a 35-yard free-kick from Lampard seven minutes into the second half. As is so often the case with this England line-up, a lack of rhythm and pattern does not stop them from fashion in moments of threat, whether with a set-piece or a quick pass.
There was nothing, all the same, to compare with the technique and composure with which Germany broke to establish a 3-1 advantage in the 67th minute. After Lampard had sent a free-kick into the wall Joachim Löw's side raced away, with Müller finding Schweinsteiger on the left and converting the eventual return ball at the far post.
Müller also took Germany's fourth two minutes later, after Mesut Ozil had gone clear before leaving him to finish. England, for all the exertion, had been a markedly inferior team.
England's Fabio Capello during a press conference at the Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Fabio Capello has urged his players to shut out the historic significance of collisions between England and Germany in an attempt to focus minds before eagerly awaited the second-round encounter at Free State Stadium.
The English are saddled with a wretched record against these opponents in the World Cup, stretching back to the final in 1966, with the build-up to this tie dominated by the prospect of a dreaded penalty shoot-out to decide who progresses into the quarter-finals. Yet Capello believes his side have turned a corner, citing the encouraging display against Slovenia as evidence his squad have rekindled the confidence that propelled them so impressively through qualification.
"We have to play against all other teams here," said Capello. "We have to beat the big teams, and Germany are one of those. But this game is not about anything more. There is pressure, of course, but that is normal. The game against Slovenia was very important for us because I saw the spirit of the team again.
"We played very well – passed it well, switched the play well, everything was really good – and created chances, so I have big confidence in my team. The spirit is back. It has been like that in training this week, too."
Coping with the weight of history is more of an issue for England's players than their Italian manager, though only three of tomorrow's anticipated starters – Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and James Milner – have not tasted victory over the Germans.
"Experience helps when you're coping with all the talk of what this game means," said the captain, Steven Gerrard, a veteran of the 5-1 win in Munich in 2001. "There's a lot of pressure and it's a tense situation with so much at stake. But there's excitement too. We want to make sure we have no regrets after this match. In these games you need to stand up and be counted. It is the stage, growing up, that you want to be playing at. There could be a big moment in the game that could end up defining any player's career. So you look forward to it. I'd love nothing better than to lead these boys into the last eight."
Matthew Upson is expected to retain his place at centre-half in an unchanged side, despite Jamie Carragher's return from suspension, with Ledley King on the bench. Both captain and manager are confident that Rooney, who is yet to score in the tournament, can impose himself having recovered from a knock on his ankle. "It's only a matter of time before he scores," said Gerrard. "Top players like him put pressure on themselves to perform. Wayne's doing that."
"He's been scoring a lot of goals in training, and we hope he'll take that on to the pitch in this match," added Capello. "But, even if he's not scoring, he has been important for us with his movement, his assists and everything he does in a game. I was happy with his performance against Slovenia, and he needs to carry that into this game."The Germany coach Joachim Löw and the captain, Philipp Lahm, breached Fifa regulations by skipping last night's press conference at the stadium with their stand-in, the goalkeeping coach Andreas Kopke, insisting their no-show was not a protest at being unable to train on the stadium's pitch. It was, he said, merely down to "time constraints", which seemed bizarre given the squad had undertaken their session in Bloemfontein at the university ground a stone's throw from the arena.
Rather, it appeared it could have been perceived as an attempt at mind games given how the issues of penalties has dominated in the build-up to this fixture, with Kopke the goalkeeper who saved from Gareth Southgate in the semi-final shoot-out at Euro 96.
The coach did confirm that the Stuttgart forward, Cacau, will miss the game with an abdominal muscle tear, though Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng trained yesterday and should have recovered from hamstring and calf problems respectively to feature.
Of all the great FIFA World Cup™ fixtures, Germany v England is one of the games guaranteed to captivate the entire footballing world.
Laden with a rich and tumultuous history, the match has featured some of the true legends of the game. Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Moore were the towering personalities in England's sole FIFA World Cup™ triumph to date, at Wembley in the 1966 Final. Gerd Muller fired the extra-time winner when West Germany came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in the quarter-finals four years later in Mexico. The Germans prevailed on penalties in the Italy 1990 semi-finals, before going on to claim their third world crown. This time round, Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein provides the setting for the latest instalment in an enduring rivalry, which many on both sides would doubtless have preferred to see played later in the competition.
Germany's young team won Group D after a rollercoaster ride through the section. The critics were purring after a scintillating 4-0 victory over Australia, but a 1-0 defeat by Serbia brought the team back to earth with a bump. As it turned out, a deserved 1-0 victory over Ghana ultimately saw Die Nationalmannschaft through. As for England, the squad arrived in South Africa bristling with stars at the zenith of their careers, all of them determined to make up for past disappointments on the international stage. However, seemingly cramped by the weight of expectation, Fabio Capello's men scrambled to second spot in Group C with a crucial 1-0 win against Slovenia in their final match, following a 1-1 draw with USA and a frustrating stalemate against Algeria.
The game Germany–England, Round of 16, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, 16.00
Both teams will take heart from weathering a crisis at the finals. Germany and England are fired up and confident of removing the first major obstacle on their path to glory. In public at least, both camps are professing delight at crossing swords so early in the knockout stages: a keen sense of anticipation and history in the making is, we are told, the dominant emotion. However, both Germany boss Joachim Low and his England counterpart Capello face potential selection difficulties. Bastian Schweinsteiger, a revelation so far in front of the Germany back four, is rated highly doubtful with injury, as is full-back Jerome Boateng. Striker Cacau is definitely out after rupturing a stomach muscle in training, but Miroslav Klose returns from suspension. For England, Wayne Rooney has lost form at the wrong time and is also carrying a knock on the ankle, as are Aaron Lennon and Michael Carrick.
Players to watch Philipp Lahm v Steven Gerrard
The Bayern Munich and Liverpool men are unlikely to go head-to-head very often during the match, as Lahm operates wide on the Germany right and Gerrard, though he may be asked to play on the left, prefers to go through the middle. But both captains will be required to keep cool and show genuine leadership qualities when the emotional temperature inevitably starts to rise. Each must fire his troops up to the right level of intensity and determination without pushing matters to boiling point. This is a real test for the rookies, as both Lahm and Gerrard are wearing the armband for the first time at a major tournament as they deputise for injured duo Michael Ballack and Rio Ferdinand respectively.
The stat 27 – The number of times Germany and England have met in full internationals over the years according to FIFA's statistics. The Three Lions have won 12 and the Germans ten – though Germany have also triumphed on penalties in two matches which ended as draws after extra time.
What they said "It would be a terrible mistake to underestimate them just because they had a few problems in their group. They may well raise their game for the knockout matches. We have no need to be in awe, and we certainly have no reason to fear them. We respect them of course, but we're not afraid," Lukas Podolski, Germany striker.
"I think we can go all the way this time. I've never felt it like this before in other tournaments. I thought it was an excellent performance against Slovenia and we can't wait to get to grips with Germany," Joe Cole, England midfielder.
Algeria held England to a goalless draw in the Group C encounter in Cape Town, leaving both sides still with a chance of qualification for the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup™. Although most of the play was dominated by England, it was the north Africans, 22 places below Fabio Capello's men in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, who were the happier of the two teams at the final whistle
All the talk pre-match surrounded Capello's starting XI, with the Italian selecting David James in favour of Robert Green, the keeper culpable for Clint Dempsey's equaliser against USA. Out too went James Milner for the fit-again Gareth Barry, while Jamie Carragher deputised for the injured Ledley King. The early signs were encouraging for England who began pressing from the first whistle. Their passing certainly looked crisper than during last Saturday's 1-1 draw in Rustenburg and they created several good chances during a first half, that while ending goalless, had plenty of entertainment value.
England captain Steven Gerrard had the game's first real opportunity when he almost caught Rais Mbolhi out with a dipping shot. Then Emile Heskey rose highest from Barry's inswinging corner from the right, but failed to direct his header on target. The patient build-up, all too infrequent in the Three Lions' last performance, was proving beneficial. Yet it was by no means one-way traffic. Algeria fired their first warning shot when Karim Ziani's cross found Hassan Yebda, whose back-header landed comfortably into the grasp of James. Karim Matmour and Ziani also had attempts on goal during a point midway through the opening 45 minutes as the Desert Foxes enjoyed a territorial advantage.
England came to life again thanks to the prompting of Wayne Rooney, who dropped deeper to increase his influence. A move begun by the Manchester United man saw Aaron Lennon find Frank Lampard who forced Mbolhi into a scrambling one-handed save from 12 yards. Barry and Rooney both tested the keeper on the stroke of half time, but Algeria had more than earned parity at the break.
Only some sublime defending from Madjid Bougherra denied Gerrard a clear scoring opportunity after the interval, when Rooney's intelligent flick-on seemed destined to set up the Liverpool midfielder. As time ticked on, though, England's frustrations at those missed opportunities grew, never more so than when Gerrard himself passed the ball straight at an Algeria defender, with Rooney and Lampard lurking in the box.
That said, it took a last-gasp intervention from Rafik Halliche to prevent England from taking the lead. Gerrard fed Heskey in the box and with the striker's shot apparently destined to hit the target or at least present Rooney with the simplest of tap-ins, the defender's outstretched leg deflected the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner, taken by Lampard, Gerrard's bullet header was claimed at the first attempt by Mbolhi. England were knocking at the door, but just not finding an answer. Either that, or they were finding the door firmly closed in their face by Bougherra, who was simply outstanding at the heart of the defence.
But the England fans, who made up the majority of the crowd at the Green Point stadium cared little of the merits of the opposition and showed their frustration by booing a wayward Lampard effort and again when the full-time whistle went. Capello, on the occasion of his 64th birthday, left the arena with his head bowed, as did the majority of the England players. It all comes down to the final group matches with England playing current section leaders Slovenia in Port Elizabeth and USA facing Algeria in Pretoria.
Pesticides et cancer de la prostate aux Antilles
-
*Une étude scientifique montre un lien possible entre l'exposition à
certains pesticides et le cancer de la prostate aux Antilles !*
*Les scientifiques de ...
Le respect de la vie privée de nos visiteurs à EVENTS SPORT est important pour nous.
À EVENTS SPORT, nous reconnaissons que la confidentialité de vos renseignements personnels est importante. Voici des informations sur les types de renseignements personnels que nous recevons et recueillons lorsque vous utilisez EVENTS SPORT visite, et comment nous protégeons vos informations. Nous ne vendons jamais vos informations personnelles à des tiers.
Fichiers Log
Comme avec la plupart des autres sites Web, nous recueillons et utilisons les données contenues dans des fichiers journaux. Les informations contenues dans les fichiers journaux inclure votre adresse IP (Internet Protocol) adresse, votre FAI (fournisseur d'accès à Internet, comme AOL ou de Shaw Cable), le navigateur vous avez utilisé pour vous visitez notre site (comme Internet Explorer ou Firefox), le temps que vous visité notre site et quelles pages vous avez visitées sur notre site.
Cookies et balises Web
Nous utilisons un tiers des annonces publicitaires sur EVENTS SPORT à soutenir notre site. Certains de ces annonceurs mai à utiliser la technologie telles que les cookies et balises Web quand ils la publicité sur notre site, qui sera également envoyer ces annonceurs (comme Google par l'intermédiaire du Google AdSense program), y compris votre adresse IP, votre fournisseur de services Internet, le navigateur que vous avez utilisé pour visitez notre site, et dans certains cas, si vous avez Flash installé. Cela est généralement utilisé pour les fins geotargeting (montrant New York annonces immobilières à quelqu'un à New York, par exemple) ou présentant certaines des annonces basées sur des sites visités (comme le montre la cuisine annonces à quelqu'un qui fréquente les sites de cuisine).
Vous pouvez choisir de désactiver ou de désactiver sélectivement nos cookies ou les cookies tiers dans les paramètres de votre navigateur, ou par les préférences dans la gestion des programs tels que Norton Internet Security. Cependant, cela peut influer sur la manière dont vous êtes capable d'interagir avec notre site ainsi que d'autres sites Web.
Buy Tennis Matches tickets :
Buy Spannish League Matches tickets :
