A win at last!
That was better. We played with a bit more purpose and opened Slovenia up now and then. Defoe put some much needed mobility in to the forward line and he took his chance well. Fantastic cross by Milner too which was a pleasant surprise. Rooney was more involved and should have scored Rooney the chance that the keeper saved but he was looking a bit better. If he scores one he’ll score another. The defence hasn’t had the credit it deserves. Upson and Terry were rock solid. Apart from THAT moment fron Green we’ve rarely looked like conceding.
The last five minutes were annoyingly tense because we should have scored another one (or two) to finish them off. When the final whistle finally blew and celebrations commenced I looked around the pub and noticed the Americans watching their game against Algeria suddenly go barmy. At first it seemed they were just acting a bit weird then it dawned on me they were going barmy because of the late winner. Afterwards speaking to some of them it dawned on me they had watched and some of them hadn’t really understood what was happening. Talk of a “Late score” and “Desperate interceptions” is unusual football terminology!
Of course, that late USA goal means it’s Germany next. There’s no reason to fear anyone but it’s common sense that Germany avoidance was preferable. We may pay a heavy price for our slackness in the first two games. The dreaded penalties loom large in our collective mind. I fear our journey will end on Sunday. We usually get knocked out when we face a side with genuine aspirations to win the trophy. 1990 was fantastic but, with all respect Belgium and Cameroon weren’t contenders to win the trophy. I’d love to be wrong.