FIFA WC Update on iSport: England were in a must-win situation against Slovenia to keep their 2010 FIFA World Cup hopes alive. While the English team won their match and kept their World Cup hopes high, iSporter Praneet Mhatre writes that they have a long way to go before they can stake their claim on the most coveted Cup.
There are times when a single moment defines the entire length of the game. And we saw one last night as England took on Slovenia in a must win clash. The moment had no apparent effect on the game's result. It was the 68th minute of the match and Zlatko Dedic had a wonderful opportunity to score.
But just as Dedic fired his shot, we saw this incredible sight of John Terry diving into the ground head first in a desperate attempt to block the shot from going in. As it would turn out, the attempt wasn't necessary and Glenn Johnson was standing right behind to clear the ball. But the commitment shown by Terry was what separated last night's game from the earlier two, which prompted the English manager to say - "I didn't see the spirit of the team".
The game itself wasn't the most convincing that the Italian could expect from his team. In fact, had Slovenia converted even one of the many chances they had, England would have been out of the tournament. But most players showed a lot of intent and advancing to the next stage as the second best team in the group was probably what England deserved.
The goal itself was a quintessential midfielder-striker link up that the English fans have been familiar with in the last few World Cups. The only difference was that we had Jermaine Defoe and James Milner in place of Michael Owen and David Beckham respectively!
Starting Defoe ahead of Heskey was definitely a positive move. The whole reason behind starting Heskey was to constantly feed Rooney and hope that he would deliver the goals. With that clearly not happening, strengthening the attack was the only option for Capello. With an energetic Milner running the flanks and Defoe keen to prove his worth, England finally seem to have found the best 11 out of their squad.
The overall team performance was visibly better as compared to the last two games. The biggest problem for the Three Lions right now is Wayne Rooney's failure to break the jinx in front of the goal. The Manchester United forward doesn't even look like a shadow of the man he is while playing in the English Premier League. Frank Lampard has also been less than impressive. Steven Gerrard has been as effective as ever, but his team would expect him to find his long range shooting touch as the tournament progresses.
England's performance was still weak compared to how the other pre-tournament favourites, such as Brazil and Argentina, have been playing. But things can only get better from this point on, or so the English supporters would like to believe!
Talking about supporters, I keep thinking of Rooney's angry tirade after the Algeria game. What Rooney needs to understand is that the supporters will always be there for the team. But they will ask for only one thing in return - a 100% commitment from each team member.
If you try your best and still can't win, the supporters will appreciate your effort. But the moment they realize that you are not giving your 100% on the field, they will rip you apart and as a professional footballer, who earns 13.5 million Euros per annum, you have no right to complain!
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