A 0-0 draw for England, last night against Algeria, leaves England in a perilous situation with only one game left to go, against current Group C leaders Slovenia. Coming into this game, England were tipped to win comfortably and get themselves back on track to qualifying to the last 16, after the 1-1 draw with the USA. But frustratingly, they were unable to see off a resolute Algerian side and ended the game with a total of 2 points, equal to that of the USA.
There had been much criticism levelled at the players, in particular Green, after England's failure to beat the USA. Capello, who celebrated (or not) his 64th birthday last night, chose to leave Green on the bench this time round, and opted for the more experienced and more vocal David James. Luckily for James, he was not at the centre of attention once the final whistle had blown. It was infact the other outfield players who were jeered off the pitch by the many England fans who had flown their way over to SA to watch a dismal performance. After Ledley King's injury woes, Jamie Carragher started at the back with John Terry. Fit again Gareth Barry replaced James Milner in an otherwise unchanged line-up; Capello persisting with Emile Heskey as Rooney's strike partner.
After Chaouchi's mishap against Slovenia, he, much like Green, was replaced by M'Bohli who looked a bit shaky to start off with. However, England were unable to make him work or take advantage of that weakness and score a much needed goal. Despite having almost a week to train, England's players look tired and leggy, and were devout of inspiration and energy. They lost possession of the ball far too easily and in defence, John Terry looked a bit out of his depth when he was confronted by the lively Bougherra and Boudebouz. Algeria were well worth their point and must be given credit for the way they frustrated England throughout the game. With the calibre and quality of the players that England have in their squad, in all fairness, they should be able to beat teams such as Algeria. No disrespect to Algeria but if England struggle against "smaller" footballing nations, how can they expect to beat the bigger and better sides and win the world cup?
Despite the presence of Gareth Barry in midfield, England were unable to do anything with him that would really test Algeria. And so the first half came to a close, with Capello the more agitated of the two managers. We know from previous games that Capello has given his side a stern talking to at the half time whistle, and we expected this, after that poor performance. But still, things refused to change in the second half. Lampard was far from his best, Gerrard was not at good as we saw him during the first game and Rooney was hardly to be seen. Heskey worked hard but created little and again missed a decent chance. With things still looking bleak Capello took the ineffective Lennon off for Shaun Wright-Phillips and brought Crouch and Defoe on in place of Barry and Heskey, respectively. The shape changed to a 4-3-3 designed to give England more attacking options, but unfortunately they were unable to break down Algeria.
As the game began to wear on, England and the fans became more and more desperate. England were just stuck in a rut and nothing seemed to be working. Not the substitutions nor the change in shape nor the frustrations of the manager making his feelings well known on the touchline. It was so weird to watch England playing like this. It felt like it was a team of aliens, not England, based on the side we saw in qualifying and in the warm up games. After the game, many people spoke of England's "nervousness". Perhaps it was this, but why did England suddenly get stage fright when they've done this kind of stuff many times before? Now is not the time to be feeling the pressure, because the further you progress in the competition, the more the pressure will increase. David Beckham, looking on from the sidelines, cut a forlorn figure as he reminisced on the influence he might have been able to have on the game had he been fully fit. The Princes were also there to watch the game, and later had a word with the boys in the dressing room. I'm sure they, like the rest of us, will be hoping for a major improvement.
As I mentioned earlier, the England supporters who had made the trip, and probably many more watching at home vented their frustrations at the players as the final whistle blew for full time. This provoked an angry reaction from Wayne Rooney, who was seen after to have said sarcastically to the cameras, "nice to hear boos from your home fans, that's what loyal support is, f***s sake". Well, needless to say, it is no wonder why the England fans were booing the team. The team can hardly expect a standing ovation, but I do understand Rooney's frustration too. Rooney later apologised for what he said, but it is clear to see that there is real pressure on these guys to perform, and quite rightly. Things have not got off to the greatest of starts, but the point is that we still have a chance to qualify and all is not yet lost.
Monitoring what people were saying on Facebook after the game, I was pretty surprised at some of the things people were coming out with, for example, "I'm ashamed to be English" and "Algeria are s**t". Well first off, I'd just like to say that perhaps these "supporters" should consider what it's like for the players before being so quick to berate them. The England team want to succeed...it's not like they are underperforming on purpose. Of course not. And the group is wide open, we still have a chance to qualify. So instead of getting on their backs about it, we should be taking some of the pressure off them, and giving them our full support. There was all this rallying support for them before they left for SA and all this talk about being there for England throughout the tournament...well the boys need that now more than ever, if Rooney's reaction was anything to go by. Yes, they have been disappointing but the players and the manager are fully aware of that. And take nothing away from Algeria, who may not be as "great" as others when it comes to their footballing record, but who are certainly not "s**t", otherwise what are they doing at the World Cup? So far this tournament, England are not the only team to have had a disappointing start...but think back to 2006...the French team were in the same position as England are now...with 2 draws and 1 win in their group games, they managed to reach the final.
So: have a little faith...and let the inquest begin only once the players have returned home, and not a moment before. It's not going to be easy against a Slovenian side sitting pretty at the top with 4 points. But Slovenia are not infallible...the USA proved that when they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2...even a draw would be enough. It will be tough with Jamie Carragher suspended, and John Terry having to get used to yet another partner...but if it's meant to be, then surely, it will be...
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