Unfortunately not a new incarnation of arguably the greatest PC football sim – FIFA RTWC ’98 – but a look at the situation after last night’s games. There are now no games until June, so a long time to stew on a good week (England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland) a bad one (Wales) or a mediocre one (Scotland).

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Denmark	5	4	1	0	12	2	10	13
2	Hungary	6	4	1	1	8	2	6	13
3	Portugal	5	1	3	1	6	3	3	6
4	Sweden	4	1	3	0	2	1	1	6
5	Albania	7	1	3	3	3	6	-3	6
6	Malta	7	0	1	6	0	17	-17	1

Denmark and Hungary are well clear here,with Carlos Queiroz’ Portugal third after a hugely disappointing one win in five. Sweden are in a better position than the Portuguese also, level on points with a game in hand. Anything can still happen in this group, but Queiroz et al face an uphill struggle. Scolari to return, anyone?

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Greece	6	4	1	1	12	4	8	13
2	Switzerland	6	4	1	1	11	6	5	13
3	Latvia	6	3	1	2	10	6	4	10
4	Israel	6	2	3	1	10	8	2	9
5	Luxembourg	6	1	1	4	3	13	-10	4
6	Moldova	6	0	1	5	2	11	-9	1

Greece and Switzerland lead the way here, but anything can happen in this group – Latvia and Israel are far from out of it. Expect lots of draws.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Northern Ireland	7	4	1	2	12	6	6	13
2	Slovakia	5	4	0	1	10	6	4	12
3	Poland	6	3	1	2	18	7	11	10
4	Czech Republic	6	2	2	2	6	4	2	8
5	Slovenia	6	2	2	2	5	4	1	8
6	San Marino	6	0	0	6	1	25	-24	0

A tremendous week for Northern Ireland, two wins from two, puts them atop the pile; but note that by winning games in hand both Slovakia and Poland can go ahead of them. Still, the Irish have done fantastically well and encouragingly goals are coming from sources other than David Healy.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Germany	6	5	1	0	18	4	14	16
2	Russia	5	4	0	1	9	3	6	12
3	Finland	4	2	1	1	6	6	0	7
4	Wales	6	2	0	4	4	7	-3	6
5	Azerbaijan	4	0	1	3	0	4	-4	1
6	Liechtenstein	5	0	1	4	0	13	-13	1

This is arguably the most clear cut of the groups, with Germany effectively qualified and Russia five points clear in second place. Wales, after an abject defeat to Finland and then being totally outplayed by Germany, must take stock and prepare for 2012.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Spain	6	6	0	0	13	2	11	18
2	Bosnia-Herzegovina	6	4	0	2	18	7	11	12
3	Turkey	6	2	2	2	6	5	1	8
4	Belgium	6	2	1	3	10	11	-1	7
5	Estonia	6	1	2	3	5	15	-10	5
6	Armenia	6	0	1	5	3	15	-12	1

European Champions Spain, after a hard fought and late win against Turkey, top Group Five – and are all but qualified. Bosnia are a team on the up and a convincing victory over Belgium, coupled with the Turk’s defeat, gives them breathing space in second.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	England	5	5	0	0	16	4	12	15
2	Croatia	5	3	1	1	10	4	6	10
3	Ukraine	4	2	1	1	5	3	2	7
4	Belarus	4	2	0	2	9	6	3	6
5	Kazakhstan	5	1	0	4	6	16	-10	3
6	Andorra	5	0	0	5	1	14	-13	0

England’s best ever start to a WC  qualifying campaign gives them one foot in the finals. Second place is up for grabs, with Ukraine and Belarus breathing down Croatia’s neck – with a game in hand. England’s next two games are against the two bottom sides and should seal their qualification.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Serbia	5	4	0	1	12	5	7	12
2	France	5	3	1	1	7	6	1	10
3	Lithuania	6	3	0	3	6	5	1	9
4	Austria	5	2	1	2	7	8	-1	7
5	Romania	5	1	1	3	6	10	-4	4
6	Faroe Islands	4	0	1	3	1	5	-4	1

France sealed a narrow, crucial win over Lithuania (how the mighty have fallen!) to inch into second place behind the impressive Serbs. Lithuania are unlikely to last the pace but could still spring a surprise, whereas Austria cannot be totally ruled out.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Italy	6	4	2	0	9	3	6	14
2	Rep of Ireland	6	3	3	0	7	4	3	12
3	Bulgaria	5	1	4	0	5	3	2	7
4	Cyprus	5	1	1	3	4	7	-3	4
5	Montenegro	5	0	3	2	3	6	-3	3
6	Georgia	7	0	3	4	4	9	-5	3

Along with Group 4, this again looks all but done; Ireland’s important last gasp equaliser against Italy preserved their unbeaten record and kept them five points ahead of Bulgaria, and two behind the Italians.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Holland	5	5	0	0	12	1	11	15
2	Scotland	5	2	1	2	4	6	-2	7
3	Iceland	5	1	1	3	5	8	-3	4
4	FYR Macedonia	4	1	0	3	2	7	-5	3
5	Norway	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2

Holland are nearly there, and Scotland, after their nervy, scrappy win over Iceland lead the chasing pack. With a spot available for runners up, Scotland will be desperately disappointed not to finish second.

That may sound like a stupid question. But think about it.

Personally (I’m 26) I’m glad England didn’t win the World Cup when I was younger (say 12, 16, 20). I don’t think I would have appreciated it properly, and it would have changed my perception of future tournaments; having already seen a victory, I wouldn’t anticipate them as much, have such a keen sense of hope, or that blind faith built on patriotism.

If I had seen us crowned World Champions I would have a completely different view of the England side – we see them as perennial under-achievers, the team that’s never quite there, sometimes going down like lions (Argentina ’98) and sometimes without a whimper (Brazil 2002). The team that’s always a false price at the bookies, backed to the hilt by jingoistic delusionists. Not the erstwhile World Champions. Of course we won it in ’66 – a fantastic achievement – but I only know of that second or third hand – it’s a story, not a real event I’ve been a part of.

We’re not a polished, successful, achieving footballing country – we are the nearly men, the what might have been or what could be’s. And personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Continued success is boring, it blunts the emotion and fosters complacency and arrogance. With England, there’s always that chance we might succeed, the possibility we might win it – and although we probably won’t, it’s far more exciting.

But how far can you extrapolate this? Yes, I am (kind of) ‘pleased’ we haven’t won it yet, as I have something immense to (hopefully) look forward to, and my excitement increases with every tournament. I’m pleased, as I said, we didn’t win it when I was 12, or 16, or 20. But what about when I was 24? Of course, at the time, I wanted England to win the World Cup more than anything – but now, because we didn’t, the next tournament is another notch higher on the scale of fervour, hope and desperation.

So if we don’t win in 2010 (which is highly likely) will I be relieved? Of course not. Once the tournament gets going, all I want is for England to win. But objectively, if we don’t win it in 2010, imagine how I’ll feel going into 2014…

This cannot last forever, though. You still need to be able to appreciate and celebrate the victory if and when it comes. I don’t want to be elderly and infirm, celebrating our winning goal by wetting myself. We need that balance of the passing of time, the build up of anticipation, and the ability to still enjoy it.

I think 50 is the time you start to lose your mojo; approaching retirement, old, grey and tired, you’re not going to paint the town red when some callow youth scores the winning goal. So I want it before then. But I want to build up the anticipation – so I don’t want to win it for a few years yet. I’d like to think I’ll still have a drink and party with the best (or at least rest) of them in my early forties.

When the World Cup 2026 comes round, I’ll be 43. That’s a good age. I’ll be weary of England’s continual failures but hope will spring eternal – and I’ll be positively frenetic after all the near and not so near misses from 2010 – 2022. Considering how excited I was last time (2006) I’ll be a shivering wreck by 2026.

That’s when I want us to win it. England for the World Cup 2026. I’ll be young enough to celebrate, but old enough for it to be supreme relief and ultimate joy.

And I’ll stand by that. Until 2010, when I’ll be cheering England at the top of my voice, from the bottom of my heart.

Zaki to score at anytime v Sunderland
Man Utd to beat Liverpool
Tottenham v Aston Villa >2.5 goals

Three doubles and a cheeky treble on those…

For Fantasy Football – Zaki would be my tip, alongside Paintsil for Fulham.

Well… Zaki did score. Man Utd didn’t beat Liverpool though (started well enough). So, fingers crossed for a goal fest tonight and you’ll at least make your money back.

Fantasy football – again, Zaki did the business. Unfortunately Bolton’s 82nd minute goal denied Paintsil a clean sheet to prevent two good tips in one week.

Where did that come from?!

After all the hating, England produced their best performance for seven years last night, winning 4-1 in the cauldron of Zagreb. Like their previous pinnacle, the 5-1 in Munich, there was a hat-trick for a young starlet – Theo Walcott in this case – but that was just one of a number of stellar performances.

Heskey worked tirelessly (although his 5 goals in 48 internationals is a little embarrassing), Lampard was excellent (and only a Heskey foul denied him an excellent goal) and Rooney was a revelation, one of those isolated occasions when he shows how good he can really be.

David James was the only down point, looking jittery and making a couple of handling errors despite having ltitle to do.

As per the post below, Walcott’s international virginity – he has not been sullied by the weight of expectation, or the bully boo-boys – was his strength. He brought vibrancy and fearlessness into a team that had been introverted and insular, he brought pace and penetration, and visibly lifted the rest of the side.

Everyone worked hard, everyone played well (except James) and England illustrated last night why the FA are prepared to pay Capello £6m per year. He achieved in his second competitive game what Mclaren could not in his whole era, and what Sven only touched on.

But lets not get carried away. Yes England were good, yes we all hope its the start of a brave new dawn, and yes it gave us hope that if – if – England’s big guns perform we can be amongst the best in the world. But one swallow does not make a summer. England must show consistency, Walcott, Rooney, Lampard and Heskey must perform consistently at International level, and then we can get excited.

A few more performances like this, and we may permit ourselves just a tiny bit of hope that we may at least compete in a major tournament.

But that is a long way off. Let this be seen as an indicator of our potential – and let’s pray Capello can release it.

Fabio Capello has come out and said he’s happier to be playing away because the England fans are a negative influence on the side.

I am glad he has said this. As fans we are all too happy to blame the players, or the manager, or the English football system, but never ourselves – because fans turn up and pay money they are somehow absolved from responsibility, as if that automatically makes them untouchable.

That’s not the case. Its certainly arguable, as Capello suggests, that the England team are under such pressure from the supporters that they cannot perform freely, properly, without inhibition; that we are underperforming because of the fans.

Andorra is a perfect example of this. We didn’t score for 20 minutes and the crowd started heckling. This gets the players down and puts them under excess pressure, which means they take the safe option (a backward pass, a lump to the striker, a cross from deep) instead of attempting that bit of invention that could unlock a defence. The fans made us struggle.

Although Andorra are by no means top class opposition, their nine-men-behind-the-ball philosophy required a spark or moment of imagination to break through – under such supporter pressure none of the players seemed willing to try for risk of opprobrium.

After a crescendo of boos at half time it was no surprise that Joe Cole, a substitute who had not been forced to endure the wrath and scorn of his own supporters, was the one to break the deadlock. He was not under such pressure, was not feeling the weight of expection and impending backlash – arguably had he been, he would have missed.

Our fans are great when thigs are going well – passionate, singing and shouting, cheering us on (admittedly in a tubthumping, jingoistic way) – but when things are not going well, as now, they add to the weight dragging us down.

Get off the backs of the England team. It will do more harm than good. You are the cause of the very thing you are moaning about.

A quote from earlier in this blog:

Thursday, 21 August 2008

England

Dear oh dear. So much for a brave new world under Capello. England were as boring and disappointing as ever last night, completely underwhelming and totally underperforming. Rooney dropped off too much, Defoe looked short of international class, Gerrard didn’t play like he does for Liverpool, David James raised the same old questions, etc etc etc.

Writing about the failings of England is as boring as England themselves.

I stand by that. Replace Gerrard and Liverpool with Downing (who was abysmal) and Middlesbrough, and last night with Saturday…

Let’s hope we can up our game against Croatia. Walcott looked decent for the first 5 minutes and on a couple of other isolated occasions, I think its worth persisting with him for something different… bring Joe Cole in for Downing, and swap Owen for Defoe (obviously this won’t happpen) – then we might not embarrass ourselves.