England vs. Germany FIFA World Cup: Dismal England Fail Again

England are out of the World Cup. It’s as simple as that. The Three Lions barely uttered a purr, let alone roar as they were outplayed by a German side that they really should be beating.

A poor start from the English gave Germany a foothold in the game and despite superior possession, Germany were looking the better side.

It wasn’t long before they took an inevitable lead after a goal kick from Manuel Neuer fell at the feet of Miroslav Klose, who fended off Matthew Upson and slotted past David James. Immediate deflation for everyone English.

One shortly became two when awful tracking from James Milner left Lukas Podolski free to increase the lead. It looked bleak until Upson looped a header into the back of the net, but that was the only time England would register on the scoreboard.

In fairness it could have all have been different if not for an appalling decision not to award a goal when Frank Lampard’s shot came down off the crossbar and crossed the line. It was obvious to everyone except the referee and his assistant and England were denied a fantastic fight back.

Things went from bad to worse and as England attacked, two counter attacks in the space of three minutes made it 4-1 and there was no way back for Capello’s men. 

The campaign was doomed from the 40^th minute of the first game in Rustenburg  when Robert Green’s catastrophic error set the tone for what would turn out to be an utterly disappointing two weeks.

A dismal performance against Algeria reaffirmed the worry of the Barmy Army, but an overrated win against Slovenia gave fans a glimmer of hope.

The mood amongst fans was one of disappointment and a feeling of same old England. There was widespread head shaking a booing. It was coupled with numerous four letter tirades, whilst some fans simply sat in disbelief, too gutted to show any other emotion than utter sadness. A few tried to keep the faith with chants of 'En-ger-land' but it wasn't catching on.

Not much else was said at the final whistle. Fans slunk into the seats and sobbed into their pints as the nation’s footballers had let the country down again, each of them wondering what might have been.

Typically it ended up being the old enemy of Germany who would send England packing and leave fans flattened and wondering what if.

What if Landon Donovan hadn’t scored in the last minute of USA versus Algeria? What if we’d topped the group and played Ghana to set up a quarter final clash with Uruguay? What if Lampard’s goal had rightly stood?

It has become a running trend of English post tournament debate and it doesn’t look like changing any time soon.

It remains to be seen whether England can regroup and improve from here. Will Capello stay at the helm? I'd like to think so, but the proud Italian may see this failure as a reason to resign from his post and accept defeat. On that note, this could be the last chance to give Roy Hodgson a chance to take on the job. Many are of the belief that he can find the right balance of order and fun, but if Liverpool's interest turns into the job that looks likely then Hodgson is unlikely to become available for England before he hangs up his managerial coat.

I for one will be right behind Capello if he decides to stay on and make turn things around for Euro 2012 and then Brazil 2014. Let's hope the next generation will be more interested in fighting for their country.

If they continue to progress as expected, England could be looking to go to the next World Cup with Joe Hart, Chris Smalling, Jack Rodwell, Jack Wilshire, Adam Johnson and Daniel Sturridge along with Rooney, Lennon, Milner and Glen Johnson

The future is not bleak, let's hope they can bring back some English spirit and get rid of the primadonna attitude of the current bunch