FIFA World Cup 2010: Italy and England in Crisis

England were felled by a superior German side Sunday as the World Cup reached the second day of it's knockout stage.  Italy, who didn't even make it to the knockout stage, finished dead last in a group they were fully expected to dominate.

Along with France, both teams suffered early exits that belayed the weighty expectations that had been placed on them.  France seem to have a talented side with whole host of issues that would warrant a series of articles all their own.

England and Italy, however seem to be suffering from similar problems that have slowly crawled up into the hearts of these great European football nations like a creeping malaise.  And no, I'm not talking about Fabio Capello.

Both countries fielded sides made up of players who when called upon to perform at the highest level, against the toughest competition on the biggest stage of all, were simply not up to the task.

In the case of Italy, it's easy to say the players were old and past their prime.  After all, the Italian Serie A, long-regarded as football's showpiece league has fallen badly into disrepair over the last decade.

The English Premiere League on the other hand is the biggest, richest, and allegedly the best in the world.  However the English team, which is essentially a collection of the EPL's domestic all-stars, struggled through the group stage, putting on listless, disjointed performances. 

Aside from a spirited opening match against the USA, they mainly looked as if they couldn't be bothered.  Against Germany they looked slow, old and at times amateurish. 

While even the Italian team themselves ultimately acknowledge they were over the hill, many of these English players are considered to be in their prime.

So while age may be a factor in the two nations under performing, there are other problems. 

For the past few seaons the Italian Seria A has been dominated by Inter Milan, a team that won this year's Champions League without a single Italian player in the starting lineup.

England's top teams, with the exception of Arsenal, field a respectable number of English players.  Yet aside from Wayne Rooney, the home grown players on these teams are largely the supporting cast.

Manchester United have fallen down the totem pole without the attacking sparkle of Cristiano Ronaldo on the wing.  Chelsea owe as much of their good form to Didier Drogba, as Liverpool owes their lack of form to Fernando Torres' injuries.

Lampard, Gerrard, and Terry are all important players on their club teams.  But none of them is a match winner.

With a subdued Rooney, England were outmaneuvered in their group by a fired up team from the USA.  Aside from some fleeting moments provided by Lampard and Jermaine DeFoe, they had little to no attacking flair.

Even so, they were worlds better than Italy.  The Italians, like the Americans, seemed to make it standard procedure to give up the first goal.  However unlike the Americans, the Italian fight seemed to at best lead to an unimpressive draw.

When they finally did come to life in the last ten minutes of their final defeat by Slovakia, they showed us an intriguing glimpse of a great football nation that had until that moment, not turned up at all in South Africa.

Certainly there are many, many key players on both squads who have a few good years left playing at top club level.  But with the exception of a few players, both England and Italy are expected to put these teams out to pasture.

The questions the players, fans and football associations in both countries must now ask is, who will replace them?  And beyond that, what must they do to nurture a new generation of talent that will be ready compete with the likes of Spain, Germany and Argentina?

As of this moment, for both countries, there are certainly more questions than answers.