England: A Tale of Two Teams

It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves, they attacked creatively, they defended dully, they showed promise of better things, they showed weaknesses easy to exploit, they showed age and wisdom, they showed age and slowness of foot, it was a half of hope, it was a half of despair, they could see a path to glory, they could feel the ground fall beneath their feet. In short, it was a game from which England could take away some hope of advancement, but one that revealed serious weakness that may lead to problems, if not in it's next game against Ecuador, then certainly in the round of eight.

The first half of the ENG-SWE game showed the Brits at their best: crisp midfield play, good buildup, solid control of the ball and the tempo. Joe Cole's goal was a beauty -- a soft shot lofted high towards the far post, over the outstretched hand of Andreas Isaksson, Sweden's 6'5" keeper. But Marcus Allback's tying goal for Sweden seemed to take the air out of England and the game turned on a dime. Now Sweden had possession, played with a flair and intensity that had been lacking. England's second goal came against the run of play, on a fine cross from J Cole -- easily the Man of the Match -- headed home by Gerrard, a 69th minute sub for a tired Rooney. But this was a short-lived lead: five minutes later, Sweden scored its second goal, on a ball that any number of English players should have knocked out of harm's way.

Ominous for England: their poor defending on set pieces, particularly corners. Allback's goal on a corner saw him come out to meet a low near post kick unguarded and his flick to the far post was unstoppable. So the next time Sweden had a corner you might have anticipated better defending on him. You would have been wrong. In fact, Sweden had several solid chances to score on corners and set pieces throughout the second half. Then in the 90th minute, on a throw-in, you would have thought that the ball was giving off some strong negative vibes towards the English defenders the way they avoided it as it wended its way through the goal area and into the net, with the barest of touches from Larrson.

More ominous: the loss of Owen, who went down with a knee injury and may be out of action for five months. England, which brought only four strikers, is down to three: Rooney, Crouch, and Walcott, the 19-year-old Arsenal forward who has yet to play a minute in the WC (and who never played a minute in any of the matches leading up to the WC, or even a minute in the EPL). You have to wonder whether Sven Goran-Ericksson, the English manager, now wishes he'd brought someone with a tad more experience at high level soccer to the WC.

So what to make of this game and these teams' chances. The Germany-Sweden game should be a barn-burner. The Swedes have shown flashes of brilliance and but for brilliant goalkeeping in the T&T game, would have had a second group victory. I think my German-traveling colleagues will have a great final game to watch before returning state-side. As for England-Ecuador: this game is harder to call. Some of Ecuador's shortcomings were exposed in the Germany game, though the team rested five starters. If the England of the first half plays, Ecuador could be in for a long day of chasing the ball around the midfield. But if they play England's second half team, Ecuador could see itself moving much farther into the tournament than anyone could have expected.