England wins the World Cup? When?

It was pure heartache written all over. David Beckham’s helplessness. John Terry’s tears. Silence prevails over the side where St. George’s flags draped the stands. It was pure ecstasy exuding at the other end. Such is the harsh reality of penalty kicks. It’s enough to make grown men cry.

This was the best squad England has ever assembled in forty years. The only missing piece in the jigsaw was the World Cup trophy. When and where did it go wrong? When Theo Walcott was chosen over Jermaine Defoe? When Michael Owen busted his knee? When Wayne Rooney was given his marching orders? When Beckham limped off the pitch with tears in his eyes? Or when Jamie Carragher blasted his penalty?

Anguish was written all over the faces of English fans. They began to believe less and less from the Three Lions as the seconds ticked by. With one man down, nothing to lose and all to fight for, the England coach took out a substitute for a substitute. Absurd! Absolutely bollocks! But a little girl watched on, hoping against hope that a miracle will happen. There’s nothing more than she ever wanted to see Becks lifting the coveted trophy and Owen coming back to Deutschland to receive his World Cup medal, even on clutches.

It’s now Scolari 3 England 0. When will the mother of football ever bring glory back to her homeland? The knighthood for the players can wait. But can the Queen, Becks, Owen and even Steven Gerrard wait? This little girl here awaits the answer. Perhaps only God know.

A Dear God Letter

Dear God,
Thank you for vision and precision you gifted you David Beckham, for Peter Crouch needed the ball to arrive at his head rather so that he can nodded home England's opening goal against Trinidad & Tobago. And also the strength and stamina for the England skipper to work his socks off for his country.

Thank you for the faith you placed in the hearts of every England fans. It has been a long wait, and the longest 83 minutes in their lives. Yet, deep in their hearts, they believed that the Three Lions are going to break the jinx that they have ventured into Germany without ever wining their opening two World Cup matches in history.

If there was any moment of boredom throughout the 90 minutes, I thank you for letting me have the most interesting commentary since this World Cup started. While the eleven men in white on the pitch were constantly being frustrated by their red jerseys counterparts, the commentator added some spice into it.

If there was a moment where I almost thought all was gone for the Three Lions, you had John Terry cleared the ball off the line. That was the one moment when my heart went to my throat. It would have been even more heart wrenching for me had the goal went it, though it was heartache enough to see a dejected Michael Owen walked off the pitch.

Thank you for hearing the commentator’s prayer. He wanted David to Bend It like Beckham, and he really did. If you had arranged for Frank Lampard to miss the target even if he were to continue playing till midnight, then it must have been also you decision to let Steven Gerrard drove his volley home late, late into the game.

Now, I sincerely hope you will have both Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen play together at some stage of this tournament. For the rhythm of the game was broken without St. Michael. The pace was broken each and every time the ball came to Crouch, and that certainly won’t do good when they play against stronger sides.

Amen.

Spoiling the Samba?

The magical quintet of Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho is second to none. While Brazil has nothing to worry about up front, it’s their defence that could spoil the Samba. Dida is still not as reliable as their World Cup winning keeper Marcos. His lack of command at times, failures to come off the line in high-profile games and some occasional howlers has become a clink in this Brazilian side.

Croatia, has Prso, who is both formidable in the air and technically competent. His strike partner Klasnic too, is capable of aerial attacks. These two could be the Brazilians’ pain in the ar** as the defending World Cup holders starts campaign against Croatia. Samba soccer can only hope that when the opposition scores one, they score two.

No more hilarious opening

These two have seen a lot of each other recently, having been drawn in the same group in Euro 2004, and in the same qualifying group for Germany. While the French were too strong in Portugal two years ago, the more recent encounter have ended more favourable for the Swiss – both 2-2 draws. It’s the group opener for both teams, and France will be desperately hoping to avoid an embarrassment like what happen in Japan and Korea four years ago.

With Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele out of retirement, the Bleus battle is already won in midfield. But not being able to beat their Alpine neighbour twice in row, France will not be underestimating Switzerland. Both should share the spoils as we don’t expect France to fall at the first hurdle this time around – hilarious as that would be.

Will it be another fairy tale?

A fact that has eluded everyone – South Korea have more players who have scored in World Cup Finals than any other squad in Germany. The Red Devils, as they are popularly known as, have seven different players on the scoresheet four years ago. While Guus Hiddink was the man who accomplished this, it’s now up to Dick Advocaat to emulate these. Still, this should be an easy outing for them, given the turmoil in Togo’s camp.

The Sparrow Hawks will have no problem when it comes to booking their flight home as they knew the exact date of that trip – 25 June. Coach Otto Pfister has quit the team “moment” before Togo opens their World Cup campaign. But he made a u-turn and said he would take charge of their opening game. Rumours had it that the players have boycotted three closed training sessions, and the problems for Togo just go on and on.

Tough Italian Job

The Azzuris face a very tough job ahead of them. With a spate of match-fixing allegations back home, it’s taking a lot of mental strength for them to stay focus on their task at hand. If they want to avoid facing Brazil in the next stage of the tournament, they will need to top the group and thus, have to open their campaign with a convincing victory against Ghana.

A draw however, will be as good as a win for Ghana. The Ghanaians are renowned for their athleticism. It will be very tough on the ageing central defence of Italy. Still, three points should not be a problem for the veterans though the rookies will make them work for it.

Czech mate?

The Czechs could be under-strength should their ace-striker Milan Baros fail a late fitness test. Since his foot injury in a friendly kickabout, it has been a race against time to get this former Liverpool striker back up on his feet. But the Republic’s talismanic skipper Pavel Nedved is fit and well after recovering from a training accident.

At the other camp, Coach Bruce Arena expects striker Brian Ching to be fit for this encounter. Claudio Reyna too, has been given the all clear for his fourth World Cup appearance. At a ripe “old” age of 32, he is ready and needs to make an impact in this World Cup before it’s too late.