England’s ‘Golden Generation’ have one last chance to prove they have what it takes to compete with best on Wednesday when they face Slovenia in a must-win clash but confidence in Fabio Capello’s boys is waning and I’m not sure they’ll manage it.
The Three Lions were too bad to be true versus Algeria on Friday, when playing out a goalless draw, and that followed a below average effort against USA.
Two points from two matches is hardly what most England fans had in mind from the softest group possible in South Africa and there is now every chance the 1996 winners will face four more years of hurt after an early exit.
Departure before the knockout stages get underway is almost unimaginable for a group of player supposedly good enough to go all the way but Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, among others, have looked pale shadows of their normal selves and where England’s next goal is coming from is beyond me.
Capello must ready his men for a clash with a Slovenia side that has once again impressed when it matters and England face a team who know that a draw will be good enough to see them through.
Slovenia opened with a fairly comfortable 1-0 win over Algeria and should really have booked their place in the last 16 already. They were coasting at 2-0 versus Bob Bradley’s men before Landon Donovan inspired a second half USA comeback but still showed enough to suggest they’ll be difficult to beat and this is no easy task for England.
With player unrest, out of form individuals and a team spirit sadly lacking, England are unrecognisable from the team that impressed so much in qualifying, they entered South Africa 2010 as third favourites we mustn’t forget, and it’s almost impossible to imagine them turning it round in an instant.
England do, of course, posses the quality to win any match but creating chances has proved a real problem for Capello and surely he’ll turn to Joe Cole for help. The Chelsea man is one of few in a white shirt capable of unlocking an opponent’s defence and I’m sure Rooney would appreciate a little more guile in midfield.
Slovenia arrived in South Africa boasting a terrific defensive record in the qualifiers, they were rarely troubled in their opening success against the North Africans, while much of their attacking play goes though target man Milivoje Novakovic.
His style of play should be dealt with comfortably by the robust, if not mobile, central defensive partnership of John Terry and Matthew Upso, but this is unlikely to be pleasing on the eye.
With so much at stake, and with what we’ve witnessed so far in South Africa, this is going to a nervous 90 minutes for fans of both teams and neither will want to concede any early ground.
With that in mind, I’m surprised to see Stan James go as big as 1.83 about there being two goals or less and another goalless draw wouldn’t be the biggest surprise. It’s time England finally delivered but whether they are capable remains to be seen.
**2pts Back Under 2.50 Goals (Slovenia vs. England) @ 1.83 (Stan James) **