England no longer expects the Three Lions to roar
Ireland may not be part of the spectacle that began late last night in Brazil, but England are. And we all know what that means. Michael D may be cheering on the neighbours from his perch in the Áras, but a fair chunk of those watching in these parts will be gunning for the Azzurri when Roy Hodgson’s lads get their World Cup campaign underway against Italy in Manaus tomorrow.
Then Uruguay, and then Costa Rica.
It may be tiresome and immature, but it has become integral to the ritual of watching this great tournament in modern times. The defence is that the Three Lions have provided their critics on all shores with ample ammunition, having exited the last three or four tournaments with tail firmly clasped between their legs. Yet, as always, the truth isn’t quite so black and white.
England’s record in the World Cup may not be what it should be, given the country’s history of the game, it’s megalithic and globe-spanning Premier League and a sense of self-importance, but there is a tendency — no more so than in England itself — to dismiss the backlog of efforts that have fallen short since the glorious summer of 1966.
The failures to qualify in 1974, 1978 and 1994 have done as much as anything to crystallise the perception of a national out of its depth at the highest levels with that single and singular success under Alf Ramsey serving not so much as the pinnacle of the English game but as the foundation for all ills to follow.
“Ultimately, the real loser in 1966 was English football,” wrote David Downing at the turn of the millennium in his book The Best of Enemies: England v Germany. “Ramsey’s success reinforced English insularity and reduced what willingness there was to learn from abroad, thus condemning the national game to the status of a backwater.”
Backwater seems harsh, given the successes by the country’s clubs in Europe, most notably Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s, but the failure to back up the 4-2 extra-time defeat of West Germany — or even reach the final of a major tournament — since has left its mark on the national psyche.
That inability to ‘get the job done’ on foreign soil has been apparent since England’s first World Cup adventure in 1950, when a goal from Joe Gaetjens of the USA condemned them to a defeat of extraordinary proportions in Belo Horizonte.
The story goes that editors back home were so sure that the telegrammed 1-0 scoreline was wrong that they printed it as 10-1 win to their boys.
It’s been a handy starting point ever since for those who continue to depict England’s efforts as a sort of ‘Carry On Abroad’ caper. Episodes on and off the field haven’t helped either, whether it be the WAGs soap opera in Germany in 2006, rumblings of discontent in Rustenberg four years later or their numerous self-inflicted defeats.
Yet, the 4-1 second-round loss to Germany in Pretoria in 2010 was very much the exception to a rule that has seen England evicted in agonising circumstances this last 30 years. Their last six efforts have seen them fall three times to the eventual champions. Five of their six defeats were by a single goal and/or in either extra-time or on penalties.
Think of Maradona’s hand of God in 1986 and Gary Lineker somehow missing a header to equalise late on; Chris Waddle hitting the post in extra-time of the semi-final against the Germans in Italia ’90; or David Beckham and Wayne Rooney getting sent off in 1998 and 2006 in games they would lose on spot-kicks. Think, too, of David Seaman getting done like a kipper by Ronaldinho in 2002 or another keeper’s howler against the USA in 2010 and it is hard to resist the pun that they have rarely enjoyed the rub of the green.
Consider, too, the fact England haven’t lost a group game at the finals since June 22, 1998, when Dan Petrescu nicked a win for Romania in Toulouse with a 90th-minute winner. Or the fact that they have been sent back to Blighty by Argentina, West Germany, Argentina again, Brazil, Portugal and Germany since the tournament in 1986.
Not exactly shameful, is it? They approach tomorrow’s game on the fringes of the Amazon with a manager and a group of players no longer burdened by grandiose expectations or hostage-to-fortune labels such as the ‘golden generation’. They ought to be all the better for that, even if it is impossible to imagine a scenario where they may manoeuvre a path through to the upper reaches of this latest summit attempt. Whatever happens, you can be sure perspective will have been lost in England, and here, long before their flight home.
Email: brendan.obrien@examiner.ie
Twitter: @Rackob
