England’s shaky form has led to a lowering of expectations about its chances in Saturday’s opener against the USA. Martin Peters, a member of the 1966 WorldCup championship team, says England shouldn’t despair if it fails to beat the USA. “Starting well would be welcome but it’s not imperative,” he said. “In 1966, England drew […]
england
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Pub workers adopt Rooney's name en masse
[OFF THE POST] The 10 staff members of a Manchester pub have changed their names to Wayne Rooney, bringing the number ofbartenders around England to have changed their names in support of the United star’s World Cup campaign to more than 100. And the favorite name change for pub managers is … Youguessed it, Fabio […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying
“Everyone has seen his maturity as a player and a person over the years. I don’t think there is any issue about trying to wind him up.” — England’s Frank Lampard on teammate Wayne Rooney after ESPN analyst Alexi Lalas was reported tohave said he hoped Rooney would be wound up and throw a temper […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Dutch fear over Robben injury
[WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] Arjen Robben, one of perhaps a half dozen players capable of carrying his team to the 2010 WorldCup championship, became the latest World Cup injury casualty, suffering a hamstring injury in the Netherlands’ 6-1 win over Hungary. “He felt a sharp pain — that can’t begood,” said Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk. […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Captain Rio Ferdinand sidelined with knee injury
[ENGLAND] England’s first full training session at its base on the Royal Bafokeng sports campus produced its first casualty. Captain Rio Ferdinand is out of the World Cup with a knee injury suffered in training on Friday. England, has already replaced Ferdinand with Michael Dawson and named Steven Gerrard as the new captain. Ferdinand, who […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
From sausage and chips in 1966 to sushi in 2010
In 1966, when England won its only World Cup, its players feasted on typical English English fare, sausages and chips. Now England’s players have more gourmand tastes, requesting such items assushi on the menu. The freight sent ahead to England’s base at the Royal Bafokeng sports campus, included 10 kilos of Japanese rice and wasabi […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
'Shambolic' start to campaign
[ENGLAND] England coach Fabio Capello has banned his players from commenting on Twitter, but that didn’t prevent othersfrom tweeting about who was going or not going to the World Cup — before Capello even announced the England 23-player roster on Tuesday. That Theo Walcott wasamong the topics “trending” on Twitter was indeed not good news […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Ugly win won't change Capello's mind
[ENGLAND] England’s 2-1 win over Japan Sunday in Graz, Austria, was about as ugly one can get. England fell behind in the seventh minute, missed a penalty kickand only beat Japanese thanks to a pair of own goals in the last 18 minutes. Afterwards, England coach Fabio Capello said the game confirmed who he’ll take […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Brit unions request World Cup breaks
Trade unions in Britain are asking companies to let employees watch the World Cup at work to prevent them from faking sickness during England games. The Trade Union Council (TUC) that employersshould allow televisions in the workplace or introduce flexible working hours during the month-long tournament, noting that many workers called in sick during the […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Essien out with knee injury
[GHANA] Star midfielder Michael Essien has been ruled out of the World Cup after an evaluation of a team of doctors fromthe Ghana Football Association and Chelsea, his English club, revealed that he won’t be recovered from his knee injury until the end of July. He’s only played one game this year — thesecond half […]