England have been knocked out of a tournament on a penalty shoot-out.
A phrase that could be applied to the last eight competitive tournaments in which they have participated.
There have been many different versions of football kit, different tactics using different football training equipment, different footballs and different football nets – but England still cannot win a penalty shoot-out. The Three Lions have won one in all their shoot-outs, against Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro ’96 hosted in England.
In a post-match interview, when told that England could still leave the tournament with their heads held high, Steven Gerrard summed it up by saying: “Yes, but that doesn’t help the heartache”.
Roy Hodgson praised the fans and said he hoped that it could be our year for penalty success, “we had players running on empty towards the end but unfortunately it was Italy in the end. I know we’ve got an obsession with penalties… but you can’t practise the environment, the tired legs, the fans, the pressure.”
Boy was he right. Millions of fans watched England in the first half and it was a reasonably balanced game.
11 – Italy had 13 shots in the first half vs England, but 11 of them came from outside the penalty area. Speculative.
— Opta Sports (@OptaJoe) June 24, 2012
But then the second half kicked off and it was like watching a different team.
They were sloppy with possession, giving the ball away at practically every opportunity. Andrea Pirlo, Italy’s lone dangerman, was allowed to roam the pitch without being seriously threatened, which meant that he could take his time and place his ball where he chose. Italy won almost 70% of the overall possession as well as kicking around nearly three times as many passes, even Steven Gerrard, the knight in the middle of the field, was reduced to chasing around snatching at Pirlo’s tails.
England fans were forced the withstand viewing a 75-minute barrage from Italy, but the defence remained as resolute and sturdy as it has for the whole tournament.
19 – Joe Hart has now made more saves than any other goalkeeper at Euro 2012. Besieged.
— Opta Sports (@OptaJoe) June 24, 2012
The much-coveted Wayne Rooney played what could only be described as a nightmare. His touch was again diabolical, passing was terrible, his crossing was amateur, and his finishing wasn’t even basic. At least he slotted his penalty with precision and power.
Ashley Young again had a questionable 120 minutes which he ended unceremoniously by smashing a penalty against the bar, bringing England back level with the Italians.
Then Ashley Cole stepped up. Ashley Cole who has brought an experienced head to a young England team. Ashley Cole who has proved himself again and again as a world-class left back. Sadly though, he took an awful penalty which was saved without effort by Buffon.
So back to the drawing board then. And it’s not all bad news – at least we won’t lose to the Germans.
We do also need to heed Hodgson’s words. He said: “If we continue with players with the determination to work hard as a team, we have players to bring into the competition and carry the good things forward and work in certain areas, it’s only a matter of time before we beat a top nation in a competition.”
What could we achieve in the 2014 World Cup with a fully fit squad featuring the likes of Wilshere, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sturridge, Rodwell, Walker, Cleverley, Smalling, and Jones, with Rooney leading them?
Image Rights: The Laird of Oldham
