USA 1 - English Arrogance 0

The Sun ran the headline ‘England Algeria Slovenia Yanks’ the day after the World Cup draw had been made. England Algeria Slovenia Yanks, vertically down the page. EASY. My fury at the time at this show of preposterous arrogance was replaced by self indulgence on Saturday night when I basked in a spot of ‘I told you so’ arrogance myself. The Americans are NOT a bad side. Not a bad side at all. They are the last side to beat Spain. We haven’t beaten Spain since 2001. Last summer at the Confederations Cup where the Americans secured their famous win, they also very nearly beat Brazil in the final, contriving to throw away a two-goal lead.

As the pages of this blog warned only last week, England’s opener would not be the foregone conclusion many implausibly ignorant observers would have you believe. And it was so. Anecdotally at least, however, I still feel that the consensus of opinion is still overwhelmingly that England will walk the group by thrashing the whipping boys, before strolling past Serbia or more than likely, Ghana in the last 16, before thumping a sad French side seemingly wracked by infighting to set up a face-off against an actual team, Brazil, in the semis. Let me just hammer that home. ENGLAND ARE GOING TO STROLL INTO THE SEMI FINALS OF THE WORLD CUP. What planet do people live on?

Because I now run the very real risk of giving myself an ulcer, all I can do as a humble blogger is lay down a few facts. In the last four World Cups, England have beaten Colombia, Tunisia, Denmark, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago and Argentina. We have drawn with Nigeria, Sweden twice and the USA. We have lost to Argentina, Portugal (both on penalties), Brazil and Romania. We haven’t beaten Holland since Euro ’96, which was the last time we had a genuine chance of winning a major tournament. England have lost their past three friendlies to Spain, all in the noughties. You have to look even further back to find when England last beat the Brazilians – a friendly in 1990. A victory against the French last came 13 years ago in La Tournoi in 1997. It is also at that same warm up tournament that England last beat the holders, Italy.

Before yesterday’s hugely impressive pasting of the Aussies, the Germans had been written off wholesale by the English. We are talking about a side that has got to a final and a semi in the last two tournaments and hasn’t dropped out of a World Cup before the quarter final stage since 1938. Our so-called ‘Golden Generation’ (and if I had bigger apostrophes I would use them) would kill for a record like that. England’s last two competitive tournaments featuring ‘Golden Generation’ cast: quarter finals and didn’t qualify.

Please print off this article and hand it to any England fan you know who thinks we are going to stroll into the semis. I know I sound like Kevin Killjoy, but I like to think of myself more as a Roy of the Realists. A solitary World Cup win on home soil 44 years ago a footballing superpower does not make. Imagine going out on the piss with some Uruguayans and after their third pint they are banging on about winning one more World Cup than you and you get the gist of the interminable hype that surrounds England every time there is a major tournament. Unsurprisingly, none of the facts mentioned above were dwelt upon over the weekend by the ITV or BBC teams. But one DID keep cropping up. England drew their first game against Uruguay in 1966. So obviously, if you put two and two together you come up with 2010, in which case a draw against the States means a World Cup win. Incredible analysis from our boys there. The amount of crap fed to the English public by the bullshit brigade is astounding. Headed most audibly by Adrian Chiles and Kevin Keegan, the latter predicted a 4-1 England win on Saturday. And he packed in his job in 2000 why? This is a man who goes into a grocers to buy a pound of apples and come out with a bag full of onions.

As it stands now, the focus needs to be on the next game. Not Ghana in the next round. Or France. Or Brazil. Or Spain in the final. But Algeria. On Friday, England need to win. Then, and only then, they can look to the Slovenia game. As clichés go, ‘taking each game as it comes’ could not be more apt right now. House in order first, knockout stages later, if only for my own sanity. Adam Bushby

USA Have Weapons For Strong World Soccerball Series Campaign

If the ‘special relationship’ appears frosty now, just wait until June 12th. The opening game of the World Cup’s group C is already eagerly anticipated. Its contestants, England and the USA, are both expected to qualify from the group, occupied as it is by relative international minnows. From this opening fixture, the victor can expect safe passage to the knockout stages. For the loser, the margins will become tighter and the bums squeakier. And, in case anyone was wondering, there should be no doubts the USA have designs on top spot in the group.

It has been a while since the two countries have met on what appears quite a level playing field. Low expectations continue to surround England despite FIFA’s world rankings, for what they’re worth, placing them eighth and the USA 14th. Previous meetings, one famous 1-0 defeat in 1950 aside, have also tended to favour the English. Previous tournament form, though, gives one cause for thought.

The USA’s pedigree is frequently measured by last summer’s vuvuzela-introducing, curtain-raising Confederations Cup exploits – the last time they faced any side with real international clout. As most are fairly aware, they became the first team to inflict defeat on Vincent del Bosque’s Spain in 35 matches, ending their run of 15 straight victories. They ended up snatching defeat from the jaws of famous victory – a 3-2 loss after being 2-0 up inside 27 minutes – against Brazil in the tournament’s final.

Their group stage campaign in the tournament could have secured them quite a different reputation. They were humbled 3-1 by Italy and then 3-0 by Brazil, before sneaking through with a 3-0 victory over Egypt, having scored one goal more than the imploding Italians. The power and mobility displayed against Spain and Brazil took a while to come to fore and England will hope to catch the American side – and their defence in particular – similarly cold. Strong starts, though, are certainly not England’s strong suit.

Inconsistent though they can be, the USA do have the weapons to be incisive from the outset. England will be emboldened by a defence flakier than a crushed Cadbury’s Flake (and just as hard to get off your shirt), but concerned by attacks that, when they get it right, have the potential to cut through defences at speed. Landon Donovan’s excellent loan spell at Goodison Park and the performances of Edson Buddle and Robbie Findley (with only nine caps between them) and the tireless Clint Dempsey up front in the build-up to the finals offer the USA plenty of confidence, as well as hinting that their traditional lack of flair and goals may not be as evident this time. Jozy Altidore, maligned at Hull, has scored nine international goals in 25 caps – of which Donovan has assisted five. It could be a formidable front line. Rangers’ DaMarcus Beasley, should he feature, is certainly no slouch, despite carrying the significant weight of the world’s most unnecessary prefix.

At the back, the USA are not quite as blessed. While all three goalkeepers in the squad ply their trade in the Premier League – some more frequently than others – the defence could be a conspicuous weak spot. Star centre back and the country’s tallest-ever outfield player, Oguchi Onyewu, currently in the employ of AC Milan, has appeared only twice for the Rossoneri this season having torn the patellar tendon in his knee while on international duty in October last year. Carlos Bocanegra isn’t getting any younger and Jon Spector shares a ‘reason to be critiqued’ with Matthew Upson, namely that he has spent a season (albeit successfully) battling relegation with West Ham. Another British-based player, Watford’s Jay DeMerit, is also no stranger to the bottom of the Premier League, weighted down as he presumably is by the world’s second most unnecessary prefix.

In conclusion then, the side are a bit like a Midwest mullet – short and sharp up front, straggly and all over the place at the back. In their pre-tournament friendlies, a 3-1 victory over Australia followed a 2-1 victory over Turkey and not only gave weight to this argument, but also inspired confidence in the ranks. A 2-1 defeat away in the Netherlands and a worrying 4-2 reality Czech at the hands of the fading Republic on home soil are rapidly being forgotten about, as is another friendly defeat in Honduras, and Bob Bradley – a coach with a reputation for competence rather than ingenuity, but nevertheless a man who knows his apples from his onions – has built a physical, competitive and imposing team.

Naturally, there is a chance that the game with England will all kick off. By virtue of being a country on the planet that isn’t England, the Americans feel an element of needle with their first opponents. There is unease in both directions, whether it be over chronic bastardisation of an entire language or appalling dental hygiene. The USA won’t be afraid to get stuck into England. It might even suit them. In fact, this could be a fairly ugly game in what might turn out to be a fairly ugly group.

There are, of course, games beyond this opening fixture, though it will still rank as an upset if the USA win. Qualification through the group stages should, however, be reasonably serene for the Americans, though much depends on the obduracy of the Slovenians, who could make the final group game, if the USA need to win it, quite uncomfortable. Should similar momentum to their Confederations Cup campaign build up, it could easily take the USA as far as the quarter finals. Bradley and his players appear confident, accomplished and desperate to avoid a repeat of 2006 when they crashed out in the group stages with barely a whimper. Last summer’s experience of the Highveld and proper tournament football, however, should mean they know exactly what to expect this time round. Rob MacDonald