England World Cup Tickets: June 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Cole: We want to win something

Joe Cole has revealed his displeasure at England's 'Golden Generation' tag but believes they may finally live up to it by winning the FIFA 2010 World Cup™. The former Chelsea midfielder feels the title is undeserved given England have failed to win a major tournament with that group of players.

But Cole believes this is "our time" regarding England as they gear up for tomorrow's last-16 meeting with old rivals Germany in Bloemfontein. He revealed: "We don't like to be called the Golden Generation. That was put upon us. We don't like it because we've not won anything. I remember the Portugal team who were called the same and they never won anything either. We want to win something. Then people can rightly call us that."

"We don't like to be called the Golden Generation. That was put upon us. We don't like it because we've not won anything." Joe Cole, England midfielder

But Cole conceded: "I think we can do it this time. I've never felt it like this before in other tournaments. You always think you can do it but this time I think it's our time and we can do it if the country believes. I thought it was an excellent performance against Slovenia and we can't wait to get to grips with Germany.

"The history between the two countries is immense and the 1990 World Cup was the first tournament I watched. I can remember when Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) got booked and we lost on penalties to Germany in the semi-finals."

Cole has never taken a penalty in professional football during a career with West Ham United, Chelsea and England spanning more than a decade, but he is willing to put any trepidation to one side and take one against Germany if required should spot-kicks again be needed to decide the outcome.

"I've never taken a professional penalty because when I was at West Ham Paolo Di Canio took them," he said. "Frank Lampard takes them at Chelsea and David Beckham always did for England - but that's not to say I wouldn't take one. It takes more of a man to step up and take one rather than shy away. I'm hoping there'll be no surprise and they'll fall to the (Steven) Gerrards, (Frank) Lampards and (Wayne) Rooneys but if the manager asks me, I'll be there."

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Defoe strike sends England through

England are finally up and running in this FIFA World Cup™ after booking their place in the Round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Slovenia in Port Elizabeth.

Fabio Capello's men had entered the match third in Group C after draws with USA and Algeria but they ended the day second, following a victory secured by Jermain Defoe's first-half volley. Slovenia, by contrast, suffered heartbreak as they slipped from first place to nowhere, as Landon Donovan's late goal for USA in Pretoria condemned them to elimination.

England's campaign up to this point had been played out against a backdrop of negative headlines but not for the first time at the FIFA World Cup, they delivered a result when it mattered in their final group game. They may have been wearing an unfamiliar all-red kit but Capello's men looked much more like themselves than in their previous two outings.

With a cool breeze blowing in off the Indian Ocean, they stirred to life in a Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium awash with the white and red of England. After 14 minutes Frank Lampard tested Samir Handanovic with a long-range free-kick and their desire to make things happen appeared evident when central defender Matthew Upson – in for the suspended Jamie Carragher – won a tackle outside the Slovenia box, allowing Wayne Rooney to get in a shot that was deflected behind.

As the game took shape, Slovenia showed the self-belief that had brought them four points already. James had already saved one early drive by Valter Birsa when Ashley Cole's misdirected clearance set Zlatan Ljubijankic on a run down the right, halted only by a fine John Terry tackle. When the ensuing corner was only half-cleared, Milivoje Novakovic drove in a shot that Bostjan Cesar flicked goalwards but without the pace to trouble James.

In the 23rd minute England got their goal. James Milner, restored to the team in the place of Aaron Lennon, swung in a ball from the right and Defoe got there ahead of Marko Suler to fire in a volley that found the roof of the net via the palms of Samir Handanovic. Coincidentally, it was his first England goal since he scored in a 2-1 friendly win against Slovenia last September.

Suddenly, England's confidence came flooding back and they had chances to add to their advantage. Another Milner cross unnerved Slovenia's defence, Handanovic's attempted clearance only reaching Lampard who fired over. On the half-hour, Defoe drew a fingertip save from Handanovic, who then needed two attempts to keep out Steven Gerrard's low shot, after Rooney had teed up his captain.

England continued to set the pace entering the second half. When Gerrard headed a half-cleared corner back into the six-yard box, Defoe hooked wide of an inviting net. The Tottenham Hotspur striker then converted a Rooney cross but the offside flag was raised.

If Rooney had had to apologise to England’s supporters for his angry words into a TV camera in response to boos that accompanied the team off the pitch against Algeria, now they were chanting his name. Yet he should really have given them a second goal to celebrate in the 58th minute when Terry's pass put him in the clear. However, Handanovic, who had only just kept out a Terry header moments before, reacted well once more to tip his shot on to the post.

Slovenia had barely troubled England's defence but they provided a scare after 68 minutes when Novakovic and substitute Zlatko Dedic both got in shots, blocked by Terry and Glen Johnson, before Birsa dragged a third attempt past the post. Matjaz Kek's men came close again in the dying moments only for Upson to deny Tim Matavz with a last-ditch challenge, and the USA's late winner up in Pretoria sealed their unhappy fate. For England, by contrast, the show goes on.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Algeria frustrate toothless England

Algeria held England to a goalless draw in the Group C encounter in Cape Town, leaving both sides still with a chance of qualification for the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup™. Although most of the play was dominated by England, it was the north Africans, 22 places below Fabio Capello's men in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, who were the happier of the two teams at the final whistle

All the talk pre-match surrounded Capello's starting XI, with the Italian selecting David James in favour of Robert Green, the keeper culpable for Clint Dempsey's equaliser against USA. Out too went James Milner for the fit-again Gareth Barry, while Jamie Carragher deputised for the injured Ledley King. The early signs were encouraging for England who began pressing from the first whistle. Their passing certainly looked crisper than during last Saturday's 1-1 draw in Rustenburg and they created several good chances during a first half, that while ending goalless, had plenty of entertainment value.

England captain Steven Gerrard had the game's first real opportunity when he almost caught Rais Mbolhi out with a dipping shot. Then Emile Heskey rose highest from Barry's inswinging corner from the right, but failed to direct his header on target. The patient build-up, all too infrequent in the Three Lions' last performance, was proving beneficial. Yet it was by no means one-way traffic. Algeria fired their first warning shot when Karim Ziani's cross found Hassan Yebda, whose back-header landed comfortably into the grasp of James. Karim Matmour and Ziani also had attempts on goal during a point midway through the opening 45 minutes as the Desert Foxes enjoyed a territorial advantage.

England came to life again thanks to the prompting of Wayne Rooney, who dropped deeper to increase his influence. A move begun by the Manchester United man saw Aaron Lennon find Frank Lampard who forced Mbolhi into a scrambling one-handed save from 12 yards. Barry and Rooney both tested the keeper on the stroke of half time, but Algeria had more than earned parity at the break.

Only some sublime defending from Madjid Bougherra denied Gerrard a clear scoring opportunity after the interval, when Rooney's intelligent flick-on seemed destined to set up the Liverpool midfielder. As time ticked on, though, England's frustrations at those missed opportunities grew, never more so than when Gerrard himself passed the ball straight at an Algeria defender, with Rooney and Lampard lurking in the box.

That said, it took a last-gasp intervention from Rafik Halliche to prevent England from taking the lead. Gerrard fed Heskey in the box and with the striker's shot apparently destined to hit the target or at least present Rooney with the simplest of tap-ins, the defender's outstretched leg deflected the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner, taken by Lampard, Gerrard's bullet header was claimed at the first attempt by Mbolhi. England were knocking at the door, but just not finding an answer. Either that, or they were finding the door firmly closed in their face by Bougherra, who was simply outstanding at the heart of the defence.

But the England fans, who made up the majority of the crowd at the Green Point stadium cared little of the merits of the opposition and showed their frustration by booing a wayward Lampard effort and again when the full-time whistle went. Capello, on the occasion of his 64th birthday, left the arena with his head bowed, as did the majority of the England players. It all comes down to the final group matches with England playing current section leaders Slovenia in Port Elizabeth and USA facing Algeria in Pretoria.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

USA get rub of the Green

A terrible mistake from England’s Robert Green gave USA a share of the spoils in Group C’s opening match played in front of a passionate crowd in Rustenburg. The goalkeeper, given the nod by Fabio Capello to start the match ahead of David James and Joe Hart, allowed Clint Dempsey’s 25-yard drive to slip through his grasp, giving last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup finalists a deserved share of the spoils.

The game had begun so well for England, who enjoyed an ideal start to their FIFA World Cup™ campaign, taking the lead with just four minutes on the clock. Frank Lampard found Emile Heskey who played a perfectly-weighted ball to Steven Gerrard and the skipper made no mistake with an intelligent finish past Man of the Match Tim Howard with the outside of his right foot.

From then on, however, USA gradually got more of the ball and a grip of the game. They fired their first real warning when Landon Donovan’s teasing cross from the right was headed wide by Jozy Altidore. Oguchi Onyewu also glanced wide a header, again from a Donovan set-piece, and the LA Galaxy man himself tested Green with a curling 25-yard effort which swerved just wide of the upright.

If USA seemed not to be enjoying any luck, they got their deserved equaliser in fortunate fashion five minutes before the break. Dempsey’s shot appeared to be straightforward enough to handle, but Green’s failed attempt to claim the ball drew them level. It was a horrible mistake by the England goalkeeper – one which he immediately acknowledged - but one which England ultimately failed to recover from.

The Three Lions upped the tempo in the second half and Emile Heskey spurned a good chance to put them ahead – firing straight at the keeper after being put clean through by Aaron Lennon. Lampard stung the palms of Howard with a long-range effort and Glen Johnson also snatched a shot when well placed. Green went some way to atone for his earlier error when he pushed Altidore’s shot onto the post after the pacy striker had powered past substitute Jamie Carragher down the left.

As the half wore on, Wayne Rooney began to find more space and consequently his influence on the game increased. First he headed over from a Gerrard cross and then a quickly-taken free-kick almost caught Howard out, but the ball flashed wide of the far post. The No10 also set up Shaun Wright-Phillips in a fantastic position, but his shot lacked conviction and Howard was able to make a comfortable save.

With the clock ticking down, both managers introduced striking substitutes in the hope of a late winner, but a winning goal failed to come. With such a fearsome rivalry between the sides, there was a feeling of anti-climax at the final whistle, but there is still plenty to play for at the FIFA World Cup.

Ticket4Football.com is the most specialized and fully dedicated football ticket website offering the best place to buy all World Cup Tickets. You can buy World Cup Final Tickets , and World Cup Quarter Final Tickets online through our secure and guaranteed online booking system. You can also sell World Cup Football Tickets here!. Ticket4Football offers 100% safe and secure online booking system forWorld Cup 2010 tickets.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Home stadium

For the first 50 years of their existence, England played their home matches all around the country. They initially used cricket grounds before later moving on to football clubs' stadiums. The original Empire Stadium was built in Wembley, located in Brent, London, and was constructed for the British Empire Exhibition. England played their first match at the stadium in 1924 against Scotland and for the next 27 years Wembley was used as a venue for matches against Scotland only. The stadium later became known simply as Wembley Stadium and it became England's permanent home stadium during the 1950s. This stadium was demolished in 2001 and work began to completely rebuild it. During this time, England played at various different venues across the country. They returned to the new Wembley Stadium in 2007. The stadium is now owned by the Football Association via its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited.

England World Cup Tickets