England, on the back of a 4-0 win over Moldova took on the Ukrainians who defeated fellow group minnows San Marino 9-0 on Friday. With Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge and Glen Johnson all injured alongside Danny Welbeck who was banned after his ominous second yellow of the qualifying stage against Moldova, the Three Lions looked … Read more
Tonight (September 10, 2013) Frank Lampard is going to be the 8th player to make it 100 caps for England. Although my memories of Frank Lampard are more in a Blue shirt than the England kit, the only reason I watch England matches and support England is because of Lampard. I started following Chelsea during … Read more
Minute ninety three in a goalless international match, a penalty kick has been awarded. The ball lies waiting on top the penalty spot, hoping for that powerful kick to end the surrounding motionless agony. The keeper, like a sentenced death row inmate, has nothing to lose. The referee gives the signal for the penalty to … Read more
Manchester United ace Danny Welbeck helped England to cruise a 4-0 win over Moldova at the Wembley Stadium last night which places them at the top of group H. The United forward scored a goal on either side of half time and looked lively throughout the game as he filled the void left by Wayne Rooney who … Read more
On the back of another disappointing major tournament exit via the haunting route of a penalty shoot-out, it has been refreshing to see the English FA finally wake up to years of failure with its national team and implement change behind the scenes. As well as the vote on coaching reform last May, the assistant … Read more
Imagine that English football found itself in a similar situation to the one that existed on 8th February 2012, when Fabio Capello left the position of national team manager because of a dispute with the FA over John Terry and the England captaincy. Imagine that in February next year England have successfully negotiated their way … Read more
First played at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow on 30th November 1872, England v Scotland is the oldest international fixture in football. On Wednesday 14th August 2013 the rivalry resumes after a gap of almost 14 years. This will be Scotland’s first appearance at the ‘new’ Wembley, which seems a tragedy in itself given the closeness of … Read more
The saga of the reportedly unhappy Wayne Rooney, even more banal than it was when he was last unhappy at Manchester United back in 2011, is set to this week take another turn as he prepares to play for England in the friendly against Scotland. In contrast to the normal avoid country, play for club … Read more
With the World Cup just under a year away and Brazil’s surprise win over Spain in the Confederations Cup Final, on the 4th July 2013, FIFA updated their World Rankings. There have been some impressive rises and some rather ungraceful falls by national teams in the lead up to the World Cup. The new rankings … Read more
England U20’s made it 15 games without a win in the World Cup, dating back to 1997 when a solitary Michael Owen strike defeated Mexico, as they drew with Chile. The 1-1 draw isn’t a disaster by any stretch of the imagination but a poor result in the context of qualifying from the group. The game itself … Read more