England’s beaten and beleaguered World Cup players made a sullen and silent dawn return to London yesterday, dodging waiting fans as the storm of criticism at their early exit continued.
Former captain David Beckham, ruled out of the tournament in South Africa by injury, led the squad off the plane after they arrived at London’s Heathrow airport.
England were sent packing on Sunday when Germany trounced them 4-1 in Bloemfontein, their worst World Cup finals defeat.
There were few smiles as players, who had been among the tournament favorites but went out in the second round, were escorted to a private terminal away from the waiting media and without having to face any returning fans.
Few will have wanted to read yesterday’s headlines, with the Sun newspaper making its feelings clear about the nation’s “football flops” with a mock weather forecast on the front page after a weekend heatwave in Britain.
“Sunny outlook in many areas but depression over Heathrow as shower drifts in from South Africa,” it declared.
England manager Fabio Capello is waiting to hear from the Football Association (FA) whether he can keep his job.
The Italian says he wants to stay on but must wait two weeks while officials decide if he can complete his contract, which runs until 2012.
Under Capello’s original contract, the FA would have been able to end their relationship with him after the tournament without having to pay him substantial compensation.
The Italian also had an option to walk away but the break clause was removed just before the World Cup against a background of interest from Inter in securing the coach’s services.
If the FA do decide to dispense with Capello’s services it could cost them £12 million (US$18 million).
Capello, England manager since January 2008, remained tight-lipped as he arrived at his London home where he found television crews waiting for him, having told reporters in South Africa he would make a decision about his future after speaking with Club England chairman Dave Richards.
“I have time to decide, I have to speak with the chairman,” Capello said.
England, who have not won the World Cup since lifting the trophy for the only time in their history on home soil in 1966, were widely expected to reach the quarter-finals at the very least.
But they failed to top a group labeled ‘EASY’ (England, Algeria, Slovenia and Yanks — the US) by the Sun.
England could only draw with the US and were held to a goalless stalemate by Algeria before scraping a 1-0 win against the Slovenians.
That meant a last 16 clash against the Germans, who have repeatedly ended England’s hopes at major tournaments since a team captained by Bobby Moore beat the then-West Germany in the 1966 final.
That match saw Geoff Hurst score a hat-trick but controversy surrounded the striker’s second goal, a shot that hit the underside of the bar and was eventually ruled to have crossed the line despite German protests.
Many German fans felt a sense of “payback” when, with England trailing 2-1 in Bloemfontein on Sunday, Frank Lampard had a goal disallowed after his shot hit the underside of the bar, although replays showed the ball had crossed the line by a couple of feet.
The error was so glaring, it forced FIFA president Sepp Blatter to soften his previously hardline opposition to the use of goal-line technology, with the head of soccer’s world governing body saying the issue would be discussed at a meeting next month.
Meanwhile, England fans sought solace in black humor. Among the jokes doing the rounds on e-mail were: “What’s the difference between Cinderella and the England football team? Cinderella wanted to get to the ball” and “I can’t believe we only managed a draw against a team we should have easily beaten ... I’m ashamed to call myself Algerian.”
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
RSS