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Germany England World Cup

England and the Curse of Agincourt

Agincourt: The defining myth of England and its military triumphs…and the downfall of its football. What won at Agincourt or the Battle of Britain or against Greece in 2002 wasn’t heroism — it was superior firepower, strategy and Beckham’s dead-ball technique. The loss against Germany was England “once again framing the match in terms of heroics and last-ditches and a hundred clichés” and Terry and Gerrard out of position, trying to be heroes, as Germany flooded into the breach they left. (Paul Carpenter/It’s a Family Thing; HT: More Than Mind Games)

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Reads of the Day: Upon Further Review, England Lose

As clear as Frankie’s goal was yesterday, so too is England’s breakdown: Luke Dempsey at The Goal Post says the squad is 45 years behind other countries in terms of technical ability; The Run of Play’s Alan Jacobs argues England is plagued by “backshadowing,” the belief that one’s cause is always being betrayed by imperfect decision-making; Sid Lowe writes at the CBC’s World Cup blog that England’s tournament play has been “eye-bleedingly awful”; The Guardian editorializes that it might be time for the country to try a new national sport. (Oh, right: And Zonal Marking says Germany was pretty good, too.)