England’s shambolic World Cup mercifully comes to an end

He never did
Thoroughly outplayed by a relatively inexperienced German team but with loads more talent. A Germany with a multi-cultural hue. How bad was it? The scoreline reads 4-1. Their worst defeat since Uruguay in 1954.
England flattered to deceive to get to the round of 16. In reality they should have joined Italy and France in the group stages.
England might have matched the Germans in possession but in incisiveness they gave up yards and inspiration to Mesut Oezil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Sami Khedira. On attack: Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, and Thomas Mueller made shredding cheese look easier.
Frank Lampard might have been unfairly denied and Matthew Upson gave England a fighting chance. These are mere sub plots in the bigger picture of a team built up as an unstoppable force. That same media responsible for the hype are going to tear them down, player by player, play by play.
They still could have made a match of it if the defense had showed up which is where most of the damage was wrought.
John Terry and Matthew Upson were unable to deal with Klose, not the most physical of strikers, but the way the English gave up that first goal was surely picked up by the Germans. And on the flanks a worried Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson never broke free with one eye on the counterattack.
In goal, a gulf separated David James and Manuel Neuer, in experience and international caps. But it was the Pompey goalie made to look like a novice. Neuer was brilliant in his collection and distribution. He should not have been there in the first place but for Rene Adler’s cracked ribs. Fortunately for Jogi Low, he seems to possess a deep bench in goalkeeping talent.
Germany played positive attacking football and at this point they look as worthy as Spain and the Netherlands as the European country most likely to challenge South America for the World Cup. We will find out in a few hours if the Germany vs Argentina quarterfinal comes to fruition. The Albiceleste meet El Tri in a repeat of the 2006 World Cup.
Robert Green was the “hand of clod” but what about the rest of England’s ” feet of clay”? Fabio Capello was never an innovator and certainly not a risk taker. He had to be cajoled into introducing Jermain Defoe. England’s most creative player, Joe Cole, never got a chance other than garbage minutes in an utterly useless throw of the dice. In the end, Capello achieved less than Sven Goran Eriksson, his World Cup predecessor, with arguably a better squad. How does that make him a better coach exactly?