Friday, June 30, 2006
World Cup: England vs. Portugal
The British are back in the quarterfinals for the second straight World Cup, and this time they will be looking to exact a measure of revenge against the Portuguese, who knocked them out of the quarterfinals in the 2004 European Championships.
It was a brilliant game the last time these two teams met up. Michael Owen opened up the game with an early goal before Wayne Rooney would have to leave for what would be his first experience with a broken metatarsal.
The Portuguese tied it late, and then went ahead in extra-time thanks to a great Rui Costa strike. But when all hope looked lost, tireless Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard prolonged England's European dreams by scoring 115 minutes after the first kick of the ball in one of the tensest matches of the tournament.
It moved onto penalties, and after each team took their mandatory five, nothing was settled. Finally, on their seventh effort from the spot, Darius Vassell missed, leaving the door open for the Portuguese, and they seized on the opportunity as goalkeeper Ricardo beat his counterpart David James to send Portugal into euphoria.
Two years later, many of the participants in that game remain. Unfortunately for Portugal, some are not eligible on Saturday due to suspension.
Defensive midfielder Costinha will have to watch, but that pales in comparison to the creative vacancy Deco leaves. The native Brazilian will be sorely missed, as he has taken the reigns to be Portugal's most influential player. Add to it that swift-footed Cristiano Ronaldo will not be fully healthy, and Portugal will be short some offensive catalysts.
England is not without their weaknesses, though. The story before the World Cup (other than Wayne Rooney) was whether or not their two world-class midfielders, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, could co-exist.
They failed to gel in qualifying, and at the start of the World Cup, the two seemed out of sync with one another. As the tournament progressed, English fans hoped the two would mesh, but that has not happened. If England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson based his decision on performance alone, Frank Lampard would be sitting and Peter Crouch and Michael Carrick would be starting.
The English defense is not without worry, either. Against Ecuador, England were fortunate not to concede a goal after John Terry's defensive lapse. And in their previous game, Sweden created four quality scoring opportunities off set pieces, two of which resulted in goals.
I don't know if the Portuguese have enough bodies left to trouble England, but I do know the English have a sleeping pit bull in their mist. Wayne Rooney has yet to make his impact felt, and it's only a matter of time. He has become progressively better in each of the last three games, and it only makes sense that he hits full stride in his fourth game of this World Cup.
Rooney is one of those special players that can take a game over single-handedly, plus he also has some help. While David Beckham has more than his share of critics, the bottom line is he is a difference-maker. True, he wouldn't be on the field if he didn't take free kicks, but neither would Andriy Shevchenko if he didn't score goals. The point is he remains one of the most lethal free-kick artists in the game, and that alone makes it necessary to have him out there.
Like one of the Scottish soldiers muttered in Braveheart, the English are too many. That will be the case on Saturday, as it will just be too much for the overextended Portuguese, and Luiz Felipe "Big Phi" Scolari will taste defeat for the first time as a manager in the World Cup.