A Dreary England Gets Drearier

I watched the England-Sweden game tonight and have to say that my limited confidence in England has become even more limited. Lampard looks lost without his Chelsea crew around him. Joe Cole is dangerous, but Beckham on the other side is a dud. Can the guy mark at all. That 1st Sweden goal (a beautiful combo play, nonetheless) was on Beckham's shoulder. He wasn't in 5 yards of Allbeck. For the Swede, it was like training.

Oh, and the idea of Beckham as captain is a joke. This guy's got all the leadership ability of a boy scout. Look at the lack of aggressiveness of the 3 Lions toward the end of the game. Someone slap Paul Robinson upside the head for me, will you. First team goalkeepers at the World Cup have to come out on those bouncing balls in the six. The first goal was Beck's fault. The 2nd was Robinson's (although 2 other defenders were ball watching in the box, too).

Robinson's rightly worried about set piece defense. Whether he knows what to do about it, is another question.

Tough, tough break for Michael Owen. What's he played, about 5 games in 2006? The way that knee buckled it looks like it'll be 2007 before he returns to the pitch. Let's see add Wayne Rooney, subtract Michael Owen. You're ahead, but just. And I don't believe in Peter Crouch as an International level quality striker. He does OK in the EPL but has not impressed me during the WC. This team flames out in the 2nd round. I see Ecuador beating them (yes, despite the pasting they got from Germany, a team that looks to be peaking in a ferocious way).

So, 36 games in, I've re-organized my predictions. Here they are: In the quarters, Argentina scrapes by Germany (I could go either way in this match), Italy beats Ukraine, Netherland beats down upstart Ecuador, and the shocker, Spain pastes Brazil 4-2. In the semis, Argentina outslugs Italy in a physical, defensive battle and Spain beats Netherlands. I'm going with Spain over Argentina (Hey, with the UEFA Cup and Champions Cup, it's Spain's year) in the final, but I may change my mind on this as we get closer. Both sides are high quality.