England Lose 2-1 To Russia | Are We On Way Out Of Euro 2008 and Is Steve McClaren About To Be Fired?
England displayed a combination of a poor performance and terrible bad luck as they lost 2-1 to Russia in this latest Euro 2008 qualifying group game.
This result leaves England on 23 points in the table and needing a minor miracle to get through to next year’s Euro 2008 finals.
We are now relying on Israel either beating or at least securing a draw from their game with Russia, and us beating Croatia at Wembley on November 21st.
Wayne Rooney scored an incredible goal on 29 minutes to put England ahead, and make fans up and own the country truly believe we had a chance of getting through. Victory in Russia would have virtually secured England qualification to the Euro 2008 finals but a super sub and what manager Steve McClaren described as “five minutes of madness” spoilt the party.
Russian player Roman Pavlyuchenko came on as a substitute in the second half, and scored twice to deny England the win they probably deserved. His first goal was a 69th minute penalty as a result of a reckless Rooney tackle, which replays show was actually outside of the box, and should have been a free kick at best. He then scored as a result of a blunder by Egland goalkeeper Paul Robinson, and ruined millions of Englishmen’s days to boot.
McClaren said after the game:
“The players are devastated. I have seen the penalty decision again and it is an absolute disgrace. That decision has cost us. I am not blaming the players. I can’t fault the players’ attitude or endeavour.”
“We were in control and we were defending magnificently. We didn’t allow them a clear shot apart from when they hit the post. We looked a threat on the break and this game turned in four minutes.”
“Qualification is now out of our hands. The group is over 12 games so it is difficult to reflect on that now. No one likes losing games and I don’t like losing games but we have to stick together.”
McClaren is now odds on to be fired by the end of the year, and if England don’t manage to secure the necessary miracle and get through to Euro 2008, it’s almost guaranteed that England will need a new manager.
Rumours are already rife that the FA will be looking to hire a foreign coach if McClaren does indeed bite the bullet. Even though fans were clamouring for a home grown boss after Sven Goran Eriksson’s spell as boss went pear shaped, Steve McClaren has proved a useless mistake, and the FA won’t want to repeat it.
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is the big name that immediately springs to mind, and he is currently favourite to be offered the job. Whether he’ll actually want to step up to International management rather than the club scene is another matter entirely.
The latest odds are:
5/1 Mourinho, Scolari, 7 Capello, 8 Hiddink, Allardyce, 10 O’Neill, 12 Venables, 14 Wenger, 16 Pearce, Lippi, 20 Curbishley, Houllier, 28 Ferguson, 33 Coppell, Hitzfeld, 50 Eriksson, 66 Shearer, 66 Hughes.
A tenner on Mourinho please…
Steve McClaren, Wayne Rooney, England, Soccer, Football, Jose Mourinho, Sven Goran Eriksson, Israel, Russia, Croatia, Wembley, London, UK, British, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Chelsea, English FA
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
[...] Lewis Hamilton Loses Grand Prix | England Lose Rugby World Cup | Terrible Week For English Sport by Dave Parrack Oh dear, what a week that was for English sport. First of all we had the England football team putting in a shocking display and losing to a controversial penalty against Russia. A result which may lead to us not reaching the Euro 2008 finals, and also manager Steve McClaren being fired from his job. You can read the full post about that here. [...]