2010 FIFA World Cup: It's the Hope That Kills You...England at the World Cup

Watching the World Cup these past two weeks, the same phrase keeps coming up from commentators in reference to teams that are on the verge of going out: “It’s the hope that kills you.”

The phrase came up again today in reference to England’s dismal 4-1 defeat to Germany, but when it comes to England, it’s more a case of "it’s the blind optimism that kills you."

We are consistently told by well-meaning, slightly-deluded pundits, as well as the brash and over-confident hyperboles of the tabloid press, that England are world-beaters. On what basis? What is it that makes us believe we are among the main contenders for these trophies?

Let’s take semifinal appearances as a yardstick for a nation’s ability to go deep into the latter stages of a World Cup. In the past 40 years, we have managed one appearance in the World Cup semifinals, which is the same number as a collection of international football heavyweights including Uruguay, Belgium, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal, Turkey, and South Korea

In that same 40-year period, Poland have two semifinal appearances, Holland and Argentina have three,  France have four, Brazil and Italy have six each, and Germany have seven. History suggests that our record at the business end of football’s biggest stage is nothing of which to be proud.

Yet continually we’re sold the hope that this could just be our year. This will be the year that we repeat 1966, add to that impressive one star we have on our shirts and "bring football home." Television adverts, billboards, tabloid campaigns, and a myriad of other outlets seek to convince us that football’s biggest prize is there for the taking for the Three Lions.

Then the tournament starts, and we realise that once again, we’re a step behind the world’s best teams.

It’s not like we’re lacking talent. Every four years we go into the tournament with the majority of our starting lineup, if not our entire squad, playing for some of the world’s biggest and best club sides. Yet every time we get knocked out, usually by a team that we’ve decided that we are somehow better than.

David James’ claims the day before our 4-1 defeat that "we are a better team than Germany" seemed to be based on little more than wishful thinking. By what other measure could he make that claim? Our performances in the World Cup so far? Our history of success at major tournaments? Our record against Germany?

James’ self-belief is admirable and to some extent necessary, but less sensible are the comments of a host of ex-players turned pundits, all of whom were of the opinion that as long as we turned up and played half-decently, we would win. Their opinions on England’s superiority, which were unanimous across our broadcasting networks, just smacked of delusion, as well as a lack of respect to a very talented young German side.

Succeeding at the World Cup is about so much more than just having 11 or more talented individuals, it is about bringing together every facet of winning football; the technical, the physical, the psychological, the tactical, the individual, and the collective. Tournament after tournament, we consistently see less-fancied teams, full of players who aren’t fit to lace the boots of our boys at club level, go out and perform way above expectations.

Take Slovenia, a nation of three million people, whose top player is Robert Koren, recently released by Championship runners-up West Bromich Albion. The Slovenians were one goal away from topping our group and sending us packing even earlier than Germany did. How is that possible given their playing talent?

Simply put, teams like Slovenia embody the notion of the collective being worth more than the sum of their parts. These teams are defensively organised, well-drilled, and play a system which maximises what they have at their disposal. Surely there is a lot for us to learn from these sides?

After another tournament watching our players play out of position, or way below their best, or both, hope is wearing thin as to the future of this England side, particularly as far as the World Cup is concerned. Four years is an eternity in football, and there must be real fears that the chance has passed for the majority of our best players. By the time the England team, should they qualify, travel to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Ashley Cole and John Terry will be 33, Steven Gerrard will be 34, Rio Ferdinand will be 35, and Frank Lampard will be 36.

How many of them are realistically going to have an impact at the top level at that age, and perhaps more importantly, who is coming through to replace them? Right now hope is wearing thin, with very few players having been introduced successfully to the side in the past few years. The sight of young German quartet Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, and Mesut Ozil (all of whom played for the German under-21 side which won the European Championships last summer, beating England 4-0 in the final) playing such a part in today’s victory, was impressive.

Even younger than those four is 20-year-old winger Thomas Muller, scorer of two goals today. Muller only made his international debut three months ago, but already looks at home in the side where he has become a key part of the German system. The success of Germany’s current youth system is something we can only look at with envy, given that of our team from that under-21 final loss, the only one to make the World Cup squad is James Milner.

Perhaps others from that squad, the likes of Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell, Theo Walcott, and Kieran Gibbs, will end up becoming real stars for England in the future, but right now that is simply speculation. Perhaps when 2014 comes around, there will be a whole new crop of young players to add to the likes of Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, James Milner, and Wayne Rooney, who by then will be at the peak of their powers, but right now, that is more than speculation—it’s full on dreamland.

So in four years time, who knows what our attitude will be towards the approaching World Cup? Perhaps we’ll remember the lessons of previous years and go in with much more measured expectations.

Then again, this is England we’re talking about. Blind optimism is what we do best.