Terry-fied England knocked out
BLOEMFONTEIN:
Germany inflicted England’s record World Cup finals defeat after a 4-1 victory in their last-16 match that was overshadowed by one of the worst refereeing mistakes in the tournament’s history.
Germany’s superior movement and ruthless finishing made them worthy winners on an afternoon when England’s defending was shockingly sub-standard and their talisman, Wayne Rooney, once again failed to deliver on the game’s biggest stage.
But there is no saying what would have happened if England had not been denied a goal that would have levelled the match at 2-2 just before half-time, when a Frank Lampard shot bounced off the underside of the bar and landed a yard over the goal-line.
Matthew Upson had just headed England back into the match after Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski had given Germany a two-goal advantage. Two second-half goals for Thomas Mueller enabled the Germans to run up their most convincing win against their biggest rivals, but they were both scored on the counter-attack as England sought an equaliser.
England’s vulnerability at the back had been exposed early on and, after David James had denied Mueller, Klose exploited it to get on the end of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s upfield punt to give Germany the lead. John Terry allowed the ball to fly over his head and Klose outmuscled and outpaced Upson before flicking the ball past James with the outside of his boot.
Mueller did the damage for Germany’s second. Taking Klose’s pass, the midfielder broke into the box before switching the ball to Podolski, who beat James at his near post from a tight angle. Neuer pulled off a superb reflex save at close range to prevent Lampard finishing off James Milner’s low cross just before Upson gave England a lifeline.
Germany centreback Arne Friedrich, who had already been booked, was fortunate to stay on the pitch after a cynical body check on Rooney. The resulting free-kick was blocked by the German wall and Germany immediately swept upfield to claim their third goal.
Bastian Schweinsteiger did most of the leg work through the inside left channel before switching the ball to Mueller who beat James at his near post with a fiercely struck drive from 12 yards.
The fourth was virtually a carbon copy, although this time it was Mesut Ozil who wreaked havoc after latching on to a punted clearance towards the left touchline. The Werder Bremen star powered away from Gareth Barry with ease before cutting in to the box to present Mueller with the simplest of a tap-ins.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 28th, 2010.
Germany inflicted England’s record World Cup finals defeat after a 4-1 victory in their last-16 match that was overshadowed by one of the worst refereeing mistakes in the tournament’s history.
Germany’s superior movement and ruthless finishing made them worthy winners on an afternoon when England’s defending was shockingly sub-standard and their talisman, Wayne Rooney, once again failed to deliver on the game’s biggest stage.
But there is no saying what would have happened if England had not been denied a goal that would have levelled the match at 2-2 just before half-time, when a Frank Lampard shot bounced off the underside of the bar and landed a yard over the goal-line.
Matthew Upson had just headed England back into the match after Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski had given Germany a two-goal advantage. Two second-half goals for Thomas Mueller enabled the Germans to run up their most convincing win against their biggest rivals, but they were both scored on the counter-attack as England sought an equaliser.
England’s vulnerability at the back had been exposed early on and, after David James had denied Mueller, Klose exploited it to get on the end of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s upfield punt to give Germany the lead. John Terry allowed the ball to fly over his head and Klose outmuscled and outpaced Upson before flicking the ball past James with the outside of his boot.
Mueller did the damage for Germany’s second. Taking Klose’s pass, the midfielder broke into the box before switching the ball to Podolski, who beat James at his near post from a tight angle. Neuer pulled off a superb reflex save at close range to prevent Lampard finishing off James Milner’s low cross just before Upson gave England a lifeline.
Germany centreback Arne Friedrich, who had already been booked, was fortunate to stay on the pitch after a cynical body check on Rooney. The resulting free-kick was blocked by the German wall and Germany immediately swept upfield to claim their third goal.
Bastian Schweinsteiger did most of the leg work through the inside left channel before switching the ball to Mueller who beat James at his near post with a fiercely struck drive from 12 yards.
The fourth was virtually a carbon copy, although this time it was Mesut Ozil who wreaked havoc after latching on to a punted clearance towards the left touchline. The Werder Bremen star powered away from Gareth Barry with ease before cutting in to the box to present Mueller with the simplest of a tap-ins.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 28th, 2010.