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Readers from non-soccer nations: every 4 years there's a soccer world cup. A few months before every soccer world cup, UK media is abuzz with predictions that,
by nir 16y ago
Readers from non-soccer nations: every 4 years there's a soccer world cup. A few months before every soccer world cup, UK media is abuzz with predictions that, this time, England will really go all the way.
In the world cup itself, the English barely manages to graduate the group stage when, bruised and battered, it meets a Latin American or stronger European team that promptly wipes the floor with them in the next round.
A band of heros only few weeks ago, they then return to England to have the UK tabloids wipe the floor with them once again.
That's a soccer tradition many of us look forward to seeing again next month, in South Africa.
- Lewisham 16y agoYou have to believe! Like that sticker from an earlier World Cup says: "Pride. Passion. Belief." Don't be so pessimistic!
- nir 16y agoPessimistic? I'm looking forward to it :)
- megablast 16y agoEngland has great players, possibly the strongest side altogether. However, they never manage to play together as a team, unlike a lot of other countries. This result is good news, now I don't have to watch any of the world cup. Rather watch sports where cheating is not such an integral part of the game, and where the officiating body actually tried to discourage it rather than encourage. (from a bitter aussie)
- zppx 16y agoSpain had the biggest number of players on last year best player in the world election, I'm brazilian but I think Spain or the Netherlands will win im Africa
- patrickk 16y agoLast World Cup England's "great players" like Frank Lampard and Stevie Gerrard never turned up. Their only consistently good players in that tournament were a guy who used to ply his trade in Germany (Owen Hargreaves) and Wayne Rooney of course (yes I'm a Man Utd. fan). Manchester United bought Hargreaves as a result of that showing. The media has hyped a lot of England's "stars" into the stratosphere so that a lot of people believe the rubbish that's published about them. Every time the World Cup rolls around all England have to do is show up and they'll win it. And when they don't it's the end of the world. Just cos you invented the sport, doesn't mean you have a divine right to win it! In Europe, I would admire the likes of Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands a lot more than England as they have a lot of fine, natural footballers (not to mention they generally play better as a unit) and I'd suspect one or two of the should reach the semis at least. ps. I hope France get annihilated in the group stages. Yes, I'm Irish. Those rotten cheaters should never have been permitted to get on a plane to South Africa. Even if you're French you shouldn't support your own country. C'mon Mexico!