Before the tournament, if you had told me we would be leading Netherlands after 60 mins, and sitting above Spain after two games - I would have taken that… Right now, not so much. Oh well, early exit means → relax earlier…
I’m not really angry - now that England are (probably) coming home, I can do the classic English thing and switch support to Holland! 
@Colin
It’s a mathematical possibility, but…I dunno…
(Is there any precedent at all for a team at the WM losing the first two group games and yet still qualifying? :-0)
@ Jay
Well at least this might cheer you up
Teams have lost their first two matches and gone on in the past (when in similar situations as England is now). It’s not the common way of going about world cup business, but it’s not unprecedented.
@Jay: I was expecting some criticism due to my comment but this just shows that you know how to enjoy football to its fullest unlike those who say that this sport is an indispensable part of their lives and act like some loonies.
Holland , eh ? Well I think Germany too has some high chances to go very far( can’t wait to see how they will defeat Ghana 
).
France-Switzerland 5-2. It’s a surprise considering the fact that there was a possibility of reaching an ‘agreement’ so they could both qualify to the next stage.
Look at the table and you’ll see that what you say is nonsense.
Some of the richest and most flowery English I come across tends to be from English sports columns, why is that?
I had to look up a few words I have to admit.
In my opinion it has to do with entirely with demographics.
The average professional player from (say) Germany comes from a fairly normal family, is reasonably well educated, is averagely intelligent (at least), is articulate, probably speaks several languages, etc.
The average professional player from England is someone like Wayne Rooney or John Terry - basically a bonehead from a thuggish council estate. Boys from better homes here simply don’t aspire to be professional footballers. Rugby or Cricket maybe - but not football.
It really comes down to intelligence and breed.
(I’m only half kidding, BTW…)
Don’t feel bad Friedemann. Football talk is not real English. The language does not consist of individual words put together in a grammatically correct way to create meaningful sentences. It consists of standard football phrases pasted together in arbitrary ways to create meaningless nonsense. Here is a standard piece of football talk
down the line - sticks it in the mixer - striker 'eads it on - keeper’s in no man’s land - defense is a shambles - man at the far post - on the 'ead - it’s in the back of the net!
What has the players’ upbringing to do with the type of language employed in a newspaper article? I read a lot of English online media, BBC, CNN and then of course countless blogs and forums and rarely have to look up words. In Germany much of the sports columns are a lot more tabloid in nature. I found the phrasing and language in this column quite sophisticated, and all the more so because it is about something as mundane as football. But maybe it depends on the particular newspaper.
Well, I didn’t fully understand his message either, in a way linking Britain’s decline as a global super power to its underperforming in football tournaments. I think the main reason must be the large number of foreign players in the Premier League.
Also I think a UK team would add some formidable players to the squad.
The idea of a UK team is pretty much an anathema - to the Scots especially. But you are, of course, right. There have always been outstanding players like George Best and Ryan Giggs (today Gareth Bale) who would make a UK team much stronger.
Having four different teams doesn’t make too much sense really. If England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get to have separate teams, then why not have different teams for each Bundesland in Germany too? (After all, I believe Bayern still had its own king, long after Scotland and England were united…! :-0)
I don’t know what the guy in the Telegraph article was trying to say. Whatever. I am supporting Germany for the rest of the world cup. A Germany vs Netherlands final would be brilliant!
@Colin: “…I am supporting Germany for the rest of the world cup…”
The are a decent side, and I don’t have any beef against them. But I’m still secretly hoping that Klinsmann’s US team can pull off an upset. The sight of Klinsmann jumping around to celebrate goals scored against Germany would just be so delightfully bizarre, somehow!
Just don’t tell Robert I am supporting Germany or he will turn up in Vienna with his uzi 9mm and start killing every Colin Johnstone in the phonebook.
Excellent match!
@Jorgis : What do you mean ? France had a win and Switzerland had a win and if they had a draw they would’ve occupied the first 2 positions.
Man that match with Germany was a real doozy. I didn’t expect Ghana to be a real threat for the Germans. What I don’t understand is why didn’t Joachim Löw put Schweinsteiger and Klose earlier on the pitch . Klose’s goal just proved my indignation .
Ok, I’ll be watching the US-Portugal game. First time to watch a Soccer match since the last world cup. How does one make sure that they’re in the room when a score actually happens, again?