England, Quietly Optimistic?

ThisDrinkingLife and The World Cup: England

Every time England get into the World Cup expectations rise, but this year one can feel that with the hard group England got, may English fans are not exactly brimming with much confidence. Many feel England will be lucky even to get out of the group never mind getting to another quarter finals.

To be fair, it is one hell of a tough group. To be lumped in with an rejuvenated Italy under Prandelli, and Uruguay with the ever impressive Suarez seemingly scoring for fun, its a toughie alright. But I believe that England do have a fair chance of getting out of this group. In many ways playing Italy first is not as bad as first appears. Both teams in their first game could well play a cagey and dour game, which might result in a draw for the English team. And knowing that they have to play Coast Rica last in the group, who I predict will be the whipping boys, they can also play it tight against Uruguay. 5 points would be good enough to get out of the group.

If England do get out of the group I think they might have a decent chance of getting to the semi’s, or at the very least the quarters. It all depends on how it works out with other groups. They will definitely have a tough game in the last eight, either against a Brazil/Netherlands/Spain team, but they could sneak a victory. Or am I mad? You can never really tell with the England team. When you expect them to do well they disappoint but when they are up against it they can pull out a result. Will the real England please step up!

England’s strengths lie in its midfield, its the teams engine. Lampard and Gerrard, in their last world cup, and the new guys Wilshere and Henderson all point to a midfield that will be tough to crack. But that means someone has to score the goals. Can Rooney finally stick his finger out and do something in a major championships? Perhaps he can, but I think Daniel Sturridge could be England’s key player. He has had a cracking season and must be raring to go in his first world cup. If Stephen Hawkings says he will be England top goal scorer, over Rooney, well who am I to argue with a genius. I think he just might power England to a semi’s.

So I stick my neck on the line and predict a decent World Cup for Roy’s Boys. Lets hope Roy Hodgson, a manger I rate and a top class bloke, takes the brakes off the team and just lets them play football. The Montenegro game should have been a wake up call. No one wants to see that rubbish. The England team is good enough to get to a semi’s, they just need believe they can.

And would I be an arsehole if I mentioned penalties?