WORLD CUP 2006
England
Introduction
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The optimism that fuelled the belief England can win the 2006 World Cup disappeared within seconds of Wayne Rooney being carried off on a stretcher when playing for Manchester United at Chelsea six weeks before the opening World Cup game against Paraguay on June 10.
The rise and rise of Rooney has done so much to boost the perception that England can overcome the disappointment of recent years and progress beyond the quarter-finals of a major tournament. His likely absence from Germany is a huge blow.
Even without the talismanic Rooney, coach Sven Goran Eriksson can still pick an impressive first-choice XI, nearly all with Champions League experience. But the overall squad does not compare well with rivals.
The twin terrors of injury and player fatigue are now threatening to derail England’s campaign completely. In addition to Rooney, Michael Owen’s recovery from his own metatarsal injury has been frustratingly slow, while Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole have returned only recently for Arsenal after lengthy lay-offs. In addition, Ledley King faces a race to be fit for Germany after also breaking a metatarsal.
There is also concern that Steven Gerrard will have played in excess of 60 matches, including the FA Cup Final on May 13, in a season that began on July 13 with Liverpool’s Champions League qualifying campaign.
The inevitable hysteria over Rooney’s injury – just as with David Beckham’s similar worry in 2002 – deflected some of the attention from the stinging criticism received by the Football Association over its bungled attempts to find Eriksson’s successor.
The irony of the FA attempting – and failing – to appoint Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari has not been lost on the many critics who have questioned Eriksson’s performance in crucial tournament situations. Scolari, of course, has coached the teams (Brazil and Portugal) that have eliminated England at the quarter-final stage of the last two major tournaments.
The chief accusation against Eriksson has been his tactical inflexibility on the big occasion. Now, with only the most optimistic predictions making Rooney available for the quarter-finals in Germany – assuming he travels in the first place – Eriksson must earn his money as the world’s highest-paid national coach.
Eriksson’s Plan B, with Owen and Peter Crouch as a little-and-large striking combo, will now become his Plan A.
Other than injuries, one final concern must be that England will be unable to live up to the extraordinary hype created by the commercial bandwagon that is now unleashed before every major tournament. So many companies – and the media, let’s be honest – now have such a strong commercial interest in England’s success that a realistic appraisal of the team’s chances is the first casualty of the World Cup campaign.
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