Capello to rebuild after World Cup flop
Italian coach Fabio Capello, who made his England debut on February 6, 2008, failed to get the best out of his players in the World Cup finals in South Africa. After an excellent qualifying campaign, England were universally regarded among the leading...
Italian coach Fabio Capello, who made his England debut on February 6, 2008, failed to get the best out of his players in the World Cup finals in South Africa.
After an excellent qualifying campaign, England were universally regarded among the leading contenders for World Cup glory, but their hopes were crushed by old foes Germany who thrashed Capello’s flops 4-1 in the last 16 stage.
Although Capello is not solely to blame for England’s World Cup fiasco, he must still carry the can as he is the boss. His players performed like total strangers and his relations with some of the team’s senior members deteriorated after the World Cup.
This was evident in the Community Shield match at Wembley when Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole did not offer his hand to Capello.
The former Milan and Real Madrid coach also came in for fierce criticism from the media after he offered an apology for the failure in South Africa around 40 days after England’s elimination.
Most of the players taking part in long tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championship look tired and jaded.
Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher said the England players suffered after a lengthy campaign. In this context, calls for the introduction of a winter break during the English Premier League season have increased in the past few months.
Post-World Cup match
The list herewith denotes England’s first international outings after a World Cup. The 4-0 win against the Greeks was the best outcome from these matches.
1950: October 7 (Belfast) vs Northern Ireland (HC) 4-1 – Baily 2, Lee, Wright.
1954: October 2 (Belfast) vs Northern Ireland (HC) 2-0 – Haynes, Revie.
1958: October 4 (Belfast) vs Northern Ireland (HC) 3-3 – Charlton R. 2, Finney.
1962: October 3 (Hillsborough) vs France (ECQ) 1-1 – Flowers pen.
1966: October 22 (Belfast) vs Northern Ireland (ECQ) 2-0 – Hunt, Peters.
1970: November 25 (Wembley) vs East Germany (F) 3-1 – Lee, Peters, Clarke.
1974: England failed to qualify for World Cup finals.
1978: England failed once more to reach their goal.
1982: September 8 (Copenhagen) vs Denmark (ECQ) 2-2 – Francis 2.
1986: September 10 (Stockholm) vs Sweden (F) 0-1.
1990: September 12 (Wembley) vs Hungary (F) 1-0 – Lineker.
1994: For the third time in their history, England failed to make the finals.
1998: September 5 (Stockholm) vs Sweden (ECQ) 1-2 – Shearer.
2002: September 7 (Villa Park) vs Portugal (F) 1-1 – Smith.
2006: August 15 (Old Trafford) vs Greece (F) 4-0 – Terry, Lampard, Crouch 2.
2010: August 11 (Wembley) vs Hungary (F) 2-1 – Gerrard 2.
In 29 matches under current boss Capello – the 4-1 rout to Germany was the heaviest in th World Cup finasl − England won 20, drew five and lost four.
England’s scorers in the internationals herewith were: 12 goals – Rooney; 9 – Defoe; 7 – Gerrard; 6 – Lampard; 5 – Crouch; 3 − Wright-Phillips, Terry, J. Cole, Walcott; 2 − Barry, Upson, Heskey; 1 − Jenas, Brown, Ferdinand, King, G. Johnson.