Is any one really surprised? England, the possessors of the Barclays Premier League, have failed yet again on the big stage, crashing even deeper under ground after their 2-1 loss to Uruguay in Sao Paulo. Despite the weather being ideal, and positives somehow being found in their loss against Italy, England reverted back to their usual disappointing type of display that so many have grown to expect.
Downtrodden and filled with anguish, Phil Jagielka epitomizes the state of affairs in the aftermath of their defeat
The return of Luis Suarez would literally come back and bite (yes, that is indeed a pun) England square in the butt, as the Liverpool striker bagged both goals for the South American outfit. After terrorizing many of the same players at club level, he would do the same today while putting five of his Liverpool team mates to the sword. Despite being superior over the course of 90minutes, England yet again failed to really impress and show up when it mattered most.
England now need nothing short of a miracle to progress to the knockout stage – Italy must beat not only Costa Rica but Uruguay as well, while England must beat Costa Rica in their final group stage match. If it wasn’t mission improbable before the tournament began, surely it has become mission impossible. Here is our review.
"Starting XI’sEngland – Joe Hart; Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines; Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson; Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney, Raheem Sterling; Daniel SturridgeUruguay – Fernando Muslera; Alvaro Pereira, Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez, Martin Caceres; Arevalo Rios, Cristian Rodriguez, Alvaro Gonzalez; Nicolas Lodeiro; Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani"
First Half
England and Uruguay both settled into counter-attacking shape straight from the off, but one thing was clear; Suarez was looking fit. Lively from the off and featuring that first-step that always did so well for him at Liverpool, he was up for this one. The opening exchanges didn’t yield anything too testing, until a Rooney free-kick from 20 yards curled less a foot wide of the post – Muslera was rooted to the spot and England were just that close to taking an early lead they craved.
Soon after, Cristian Rodriguez nearly capitalized on an uncharacteristic error by Phil Jagielka, but his pile-driver of an effort blazed just over the bar with Joe Hart well and truly beaten. The match began to open up in earnest, and England showed further intent minutes later, but the move resulted in Sturridge’s effort deflect behind for a corner. The match began to liven up, but neither side could deliver the final product in the first 20 minutes. Rooney almost put England 1-0 ahead but his header from less than two yards out crashed off the bar when really it was easier for him to have scored.
How different of a match would it have been if Rooney headed this home…
The half would remain uneventful, but would explode in the final five or six minutes. After taking the match to Uruguay for a substantial amount of time, one counter at the other end saw Uruguay take a 1-0 lead. Cavani found space on the left after they broke quickly, he held the ball up to wait for support and then he found Suarez in the box with a peach of a lobbed-pass over three England defenders to see Suarez head home. He as back to his scoring ways, but England quickly tried to respond soon after. Rooney put Sturridge through on goal but the Liverpool man’s effort was well palmed away by Muslera from a tight angle.
The half would end and see Uruguay 1-0 up despite England generally out playing their South American opponents. How Roy Hodgson would respond at the half with his changes would define if England prolonged their stay in Brazil, or if they’d go home in another massively disappointing showing at the World Cup.
Second Half
The opening ten minutes saw England completely under the kosh. Time and time again, Uruguay came close to getting their vital second goal, with no chance greater than when Cavani was clean through but shanked his effort wide on 50minutes. Rooney nearly made them pay however, when the ball fell to him kindly in the box from eight yards but his effort was right at Muslera.
Back and forth from both sides, with most of the action taking place in midfield. Ross Barkley was finally introduced in the 64th minute, but shockingly it was Sterling removed for Welbeck – why Welbeck still is seen as a viable option for England for such long periods must be questioned, as Sterling was and has been far more effective in Brazil thus far. Be that as it may, England began to press a bit more for the equalizer. Uruguay would soon after counter with a change of their own, with Christian Stuani coming on for Lodeiro, giving Uruguay more threat going forward in direct fashion, but also someone with a higher work rate.
The moment Wayne Rooney scored his first goal in a World Cup – it would not be enough
The 76th minute would finally see England draw level – excellent one-two play from Sturridge and Johnson saw the right-back get into the box and square for Rooney who only had a simple tap in from 6 yards out. It was game on, in what was a crucial match for both.
A moment of pure joy from Rooney would be met in the end with a sword through the heart…
England began to turn the screws, and Sturridge nearly beat Muslera with a placed effort from 15 yards out but Muslera did well to get there. It must be said, just as he proved in the warm-up matches, that Barkley changes the match entirely for England once he was introduced. Both him and Lallana offered so much more going forward, something England desperately needed in this match yet again.
Luis Suarez smiles the second he see’s his effort beat Joe Hart to put Uruguay back in the lead
Schoolboy defending from England would see Uruguay re-take the lead through none other than Luis Suarez. A long ball from Muslera went off the top of the head of Steven Gerrard and set Suarez through with no one to catch him before he finished it off with conviction.
Try and panic they did, but the end result was unavoidable. Uruguay bounced back from their humiliation in the opener, while the little promise England did find in the loss against Italy fell by the way side. Shocking? Not even a little bit.
Man of the Match
Luis Suarez – First match back from injury and he still shows just how clinical he really is. Two clear cut chances, two goals. It was a real strikers effort from the Liverpool man, and his importance to the Uruguayan cause cannot be understated after today. If he is on, they have every chance to progress into the knockout stage. So far, he looks the part and who could bet against him from continuing.
"Player ratings for EnglandHart (5.0) – Really should have done better on Suarez’s first goal, and probably the second as well. Had a tough time in the box as well, as per usual.Johnson (5.5) – Got himself an assist sure, but needed 100 crosses before he got one right – left far too much space behind him as well.Cahill (8.0) – He did brilliantly throughout, and if England ended up getting any result from this match, he was the reason.Jagielka (6.0) – Not the best performance by his standards, but he wasn’t awful…wasn’t very good either.Baines (6.0) – Did well to try to influence proceedings in the final third, but got caught up too often as well.Gerrard (4.0) Terrible. Period.Henderson (5.0) – Not much better than Gerrard, but still made a decent play one or two times. Wilshere for me is still above him.Welbeck (4.0) – Still baffles me how he was selected ahead of both Lallana and Barkley both matches – offers nothing at all.Rooney (6.0) – Got the goal, was harder to miss it really and should have had to. Didn’t do much else other than that, surprise surprise.Sterling (5.0) – Was quite lively early, then completely fell off the face of the earth – can be forgiven though.Sturridge (6.5) – Was England’s best attacker yet again, as he was against Italy. Didn’t get a goal or an assist, but he was far and away the most threatening.Lallana (5.5) – His fate was the same as Barkley’s. He is a far better option from the off, rather than off the bench.Barkley (5.5) – He came on and initially changed the shape and tempo of the side but, fell off after starting brightly in the first minutes.Lambert (4.0) – Had next to no time to do much of anything, so his rating is not due to a poor performance.Player ratings for UruguayMuslera (7.5) – Came up big quite a few times as well as doing an excellent job commanding his box.Pereira (6.0) – He was okay, but was caught out way too many times and really struggled identifying who to pick up and who not to.Godin (6.5) – Really should have been sent off for a second yellow that never came, but he played decently throughout, but still struggles against pace.Gimenez (6.5) – The youngster as thrust into an important match with Lugano unavailable, but he responded decently – can certainly impress in the future.Caceres (6.5) – Usually a center back but forced to come in at right back for the suspended Pereira and did fairly well, but exposed for lack of pace at times.Rios (6.5) – Was pretty decent overall, especially being a nuisance when England began to make headway near the top of the Uruguayan penalty area.Gonzalez (6.0) – Was marginally better than Rodriguez, but their performances as a whole really highlight their weakness in midfield.Rodriguez (5.5) – Wasn’t really a threat going forward and did not do a good enough job tracking back to influence matters there either, but he was average.Lodeiro (6.0) – Had some good moments, but for a player who as heralded as the next best thing in Uruguay for so long, he has always truly failed to impress.Suarez (8.0) – Two clear cut chances, two goals. His movement was not 100%, but his positioning and anticipation was still top notch. That’s a strike for you.Cavani (7.0) – Was strong off the ball and creative on it. Brilliant assist to Suarez, and his movement away from the play caused England plenty of issues.Stuani (5.0) – Was brought in to replace the creative Lodeiro and hopefully to do a box-to-box role, but failed to impress.Fucile (5.0) – A change for fresh legs, but did little, very little.Coates (5.0) – Came on late for Suarez who potentially picked up a slight knock and really had a few minutes and nothing more."