STAR WORLD CUP 2010 SOUTH AFRICA: Worldcup 2010 Group C : England

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Worldcup 2010 Group C : England

England

Coach: Fabio Capello

Italian Fabio Capello is the current Head Coach of England and was appointed in December 2007. Capello has an impressive list of clubs on his managerial CV including AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus and the results suggest he is man to finally deliver World Cup success for England!

World Cup 2010 Qualifying:

England swept into the finals with a 5-1 rout of Croatia, their eighth victory in eight Group Six matches, as Fabio Capello's side ensured their progress to the finals with two matches to spare. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard each bagged a brace, with Wayne Rooney adding a fifth, as the Wembley crowd were treated to a superb home win that went some way to making up for Croatia stopping England from qualifying for Euro 2008 under Steve McLaren. England player John Terry said "When we play like that, pressing and working the ball, we're a difficult opposition for any side. Don't forget, it's taken a year for us to get this good, and we've got a way to go to get to where we ultimately want to be. But we're on track."

Past World Cup Performance:

It was the summer of 1966 that commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme uttered those now immortal words "there's some people on the pitch, they think it's all over - it is NOW!" Geoff Hurst blasted home a fourth to complete his hat-trick as England beat West Germany 4-2 in extra time to lift the Jules Rimet trophy and win the World Cup! In the 44 years since England have regularly qualified for the World Cup but have met with penalty shoot-out heartbreak and even the "Hand of God" denying them in 1986. England came closest to making the World Cup Final in 1990 where again they met West Germany in the semi-finals. The match is remembered not only for Chris Waddle missing the vital spot kick that sent England out but also for a young Paul Gascoigne breaking down in tears after receiving a second yellow card which meant he would have missed the final. South Africa 2010 will be England's 13th World Cup tournament and the draw has been very kind as they face the USA, Algeria and Slovakia in Group C. Progress to the knockout stages and onwards to the final will be expected by the English as they seek to lift the World Cup for the first time since 1966! It seems Capello is finally getting the best out of the England "Golden Generation" and with a bit more improvement England could reach the final and potentially win World Cup 2010! This is likely to be the last realistic chance for the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Terry and Ferdinand to lift a major trophy with England...can they do it?