Lineker went to Spain to see how they had turned around their own misfortunes.  It’s difficult to see how, now they are currently European & World Champions but before this latest wave of success, Spain had an even worse record than England for underachieving in the big competitions.

Comparisons were drawn to the way La Liga attracted some of the best players in the world in the 1980’s while ignoring the importance of nurturing home-grown Spanish talent.  Gary Lineker himself was a success at Barcelona, as was English manager Terry Venables; and though Spain have only conquered Europe and the rest of the world in the past four years, it was a revolution that allegedly started when Dutch maestro and former player, Johan Cruyff, returned to manage Barcelona in 1988.

Cruyff stated that the national side would be perennial underachievers if the top teams in La Liga continued looking to foreign players for short-term success. Cruyff’s model was to produce better quality indigenous players by a matter of inclusion and focus on a longer term strategy that started at grassroots and ended with national success.  This coupled with the fact that when boys are coached to play football at an early age, they should be learning the skill of playing with the ball, not simply competing to win.  A criticism levelled at English football.

Jurgen Klinsmann kick-started a German revolution after replacing Rudi Voller as manager of Germany in 2004.  Klinsmann initially attracted criticism from some quarters with some poor results leading up to the 2006 World Cup.  He had axed many aging stars and attempted to change the way Germany play.  He wanted Germany to be less rigid, offensive and less constrictive in their play.  For change to take place Klinsmann, like Cruyff at Barcelona, needed to think long term and have the backing of the German FA to see it through.

England wasn’t the only nation to have a poor World Cup in South Africa.  Italy and France had shockers too.  But England’s last and only glory was 44 years ago now; and the England crisis is far deeper than other nations.

While English Premier League teams continue to enjoy European Champions League success the England national team have become worse.  So, as Jose Mourinho said, look at the clubs that have done well in Europe over the past few years (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool & Manchester United) and count their English players.  That is definitely a factor in England’s demise.  But England was failing to qualify for the World Cup and European Championship finals long before the Premier League and English football was filled with top foreign players.

Another cause for England’s poor standing in European and world football is a more entrenched problem.  Boys are told to compete and win over learning to be skilful. I left secondary education in 1981 and I remember way back then we were being told the reason every Dutch football player looks so comfortable and skilful on the ball, is because he is; and England players hoof the ball around and get the ball into the opponents’ penalty area as quickly as possible because that’s what they are taught to do from an early age.

Italy and France relied on past glory and older players, and England juggled unrealistic hope and expectation once again.  All were found out in South Africa, while Spain and Germany, along with Holland, were the best and most exciting teams in the World Cup finals.

Tonight England host Montenegro in a Euro 2012 qualifying game at Wembley.  Look at their squad and ask yourself, how many of those players would get into the Spanish or German starting eleven?

Will England win the next World Cup?

The short answer to ‘will England win the next World Cup?’ is definitely not. Furthermore, they won’t win it again until these deep-rooted problems are addressed; and that can only be achieved with a long term plan and strategy in place. By appointing Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, the English FA has put its head in the sand and attempted to buy the World Cup in the same way as the Premier League buy the best players in the world. So, the only thing England fans can do right now is be grateful they’re not Scotland!

Imagine a competition of top quality football being played by footballers that you are unlikely to have heard of before the tournament, who would probably die for their respective countries for the chance to wear the national shirt.

Imagine a tournament that would erase the disappointing parts of the recent World Cup and instill a new faith in the game, and you have the UEFA Under 19 European Championships.

This tournament has not exactly hogged the headlines despite the quality that has been shown in France where the competition is being held. I was fortunate to find the final game of the group stages being played last week, a cracking game between France and England.

The French team are top quality, passing the ball around like the full international team used to back in the nineties, and they led the game 1-0. While England never quite had the quality of the French team they bombarded the French goal late in the game and in the final minute grabbed an equaliser that sent them, with France into the semi finals.

If France look good, the Spanish team is a junior version of the World Cup winning international team and that’s who England needed to beat to progress to the final.

A gutsy performance from England’s young lions was not enough to upset the smooth passing game played by Spain, who were technically superior and sadly outclassed England.  Spain won the game 3-1 and you can see the goals here, the third Spanish goal is a cheeky but clever free kick that caught everyone by surprise.

In the other semi, France eventually saw off a spirited Croatia who had taken the lead in the third minute and threatened to upset the party for the home side. France had most of the possession after the goal, but Croatia were particularly dangerous on the counter.

France eventually equalised and took the lead in the game, lifting Croatia into the frenzied final part of the game. France held on for a 2-1 win and set up a mouth watering final against Spain which will be played on Friday at 7pm, and broadcast live on Eurosport.

On this evidence the future looks brighter than ever for the Spanish full international team and France have the qualities to re-build their under performing full international side from the youngsters on show. For England, they too showed that they have some key players maturing toward the next World Cup, but when it comes to class, they were outshone this time around.

world cup qualifying play off

Giovanni Trappotoni’s Republic of Ireland team were robbed of a World Cup finals place last night when French striker Thierry Henry broke the Irish hearts with a deliberate control of the ball with his hand to set up an extra time goal for William Gallas on 103 minutes.

Ireland had done everything right during a game that they had to win and a well deserved goal from Robbie Keane in the first half had kept their qualification hopes alive.

They played the better football throughout the game, but could not add to the first half goal and at full time the aggregate score was 1-1, with extra time and the possibility of a penalty shoot out beckoning.

John O’Shea, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane all had chances to kill the game off in normal time and how they will rue those missed opportunities.

The Republic of Ireland had cause to breath a sigh of relief around half way through the first period of extra time when Nicolas Anelka appeared to tumble over Shay Givens arm, but the half hearted appeal was waved on.

And then a few minutes later a long ball into the Irish box found Thierry Henry who controlled the ball with his hand before crossing the ball for Gallas to scramble an equaliser on the night, and the winning goal on aggregate.

While Trappatoni refused to get involved in the controversy, simply blaming a ‘great mistake‘ by the referee Martin Hansson, his players were obviously devestated at the way they were knocked out.

Richard Dunne, a rock in Ireland’s defence was consoled at the end of the game by Henry, but admitted that it was like being slapped in the face by the Frenchman.

“He told us we deserved to win. How is that supposed to make me feel?  It makes me feel worse. He’s admitted he cheated. We should have won. He just said, ‘That’s it’. He just said he handled it, he didn’t mean it. Looking at it, it’s quite obvious he did mean it. It’s there for everyone to see and they’re not going to change it now. So what can we do? They’re going to the World Cup and we’re not. That’s it.”

Even the French press could not control themselves in this mornings media, predictably resorting to the ‘Hand of God’ headline, but not praising the team or manager for their efforts.

L’Equipe summing up the feelings of the French nation saying “France have qualified for the 2010 World Cup, that’s for sure, but the result, the most essential thing in sport after all, is not enough to erase the uneasy feeling we had last night.”

world cup qualifying

The Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has called upon his squad to play with ‘warm hearts and cool heads’, ahead of tonight’s World Cup qualifying play off against France.

Words were exchanged in a few heated moments at the end of the first leg in a confrontation between Lassana Diarra and Keith Andrews and Trapattoni is keen for his players to remember the importance of the game and to put Saturday’s game and comments behind them.

The Republic of Ireland lost the first leg 1-0 thanks to a late deflected strike from Anelka and now face the battle of their lives at the Stade de France.

Castrol Perfomance data suggests that the Republic have nothing to fear when they face France on Wednesday night following their draw with World Cup holders Italy  in Bari in April, Ireland restricted the Italians to just two shots on goal in that game while creating 12 chances themselves.

The Republic also controlled the game, having 66% of the overall possession, but they will not need reminding that Italy scored from their only shot on target while Roy Keane’s equaliser did not come until the 87th minute.

Data suggests that Keane could be the key player for Ireland in France if he can emulate his performance from Italy when he had three shots on goal as well as completing 33 of 39 passes  successfully.

Castrol Performance sees the main threat from France coming in the form of Nicolas Anelka, the in form Chelsea striker has been a key factor in France’s bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, his goal on Saturday was his 12th in as many games, with France winning all of those matches.

Anelka has also had more shots on target than any of his team mates during the qualifying campaign and against Ireland he had an outstanding game, receiving 53 passes, showing excellent composure on the ball and completing 90% of his passes (43 out of 48).

castrol performance research

While I would love to see the Republic of Ireland qualify for the World Cup finals in 2010 they do have a massive hill to climb and although France are no longer the threat of a few years ago, only an indifferent performance (not that rare) from ‘Les Bleus’ will allow Ireland to qualify.

Standing on the touchline in the pouring rain watching your team failing to qualify for a major final, is quite sane compared to some of the things that Domenech has done.

Making squad selections based on astrology almost saw Domenech kicked out of his job before the World Cup finals in 2006. A sudden change of fortune and  a pre retirement in form Zidane helped the ageing French side to the final.

This time there is no saviour, Domenech never even considered taking in form striker David Trezeguet to the Euro’s, favouring the out of form Henry and Anelka. Their best players overall in the three games were veteran Makelele and headless chicken Ribberry.

And when France returned home, Domenech tells the nation that he is getting married, “To lift the spirit of the country” after failing at football.

But my favourite story was how Domenech blamed the hotel that the French team were staying in for his teams awful displays at Euro 2008. He said that the Hotel only had one entrance and all the rooms led off corridors making the team feel as though they were in a cul de sac!

Why he hasn’t been shown the door is anybody’s guess.

I don’t expect you to be too surprised that I have predicted the results of all four games thus far, as all have gone according to plan, though I must confess to being surprised by the way both Switizerland and Austria battled their way through their opening matches to lose by a single goal to Czech Republic and Croatia, respectively.

The Portugal v Turkey game was the best so far.  Portugal were up against a well balanced team who possibly surprised them by coming out to attack, rather than defending cautiously. But Ronaldo hit the post in the first half with a cracking free kick and then took centre stage in the second half, as he was moved into the striker/captain role.

Potugal were too good for Turkey, though they will cause problems for Switzerland and Czech Republic.

So tonight, who will be victorious in the ‘group of death?’ I think France should be too strong for Romania and take all three points.  France, Italy and Holland are among the favourites to win the tournament, so each of them will be looking to gain three points from Romania.

As for Italy v Holland, this one is a tight call, and a draw looks the most likely outcome.

Of the games so far, Germany look well disciplined, as did Croatia.  But both looked better in defence because of weak opposition.  Croatia most defintely missed the injured Arsenal striker, Eduardo; while Germany’s central defenders both looked slightly off the pace.

Hopefully we will see lots of goals tonight and two open, exciting games of football as the colour of the Euro 2008 Championships comes to life.

But the most exciting news has to be that the legendary Danny Baker returns to the 6-0-6 phone-in show for the duration of the Euro 2008 on Radio Five Live.  Surely Danny cannot be sacked for a third time!

It promises to be an exciting and possibly very open championships as there are a few teams that are certainly good enough to win the competition, this time round. France, Spain, Holland, Italy and my outside bet, Russia are all potential winners. Though one thing is for sure the co-hosts, Switzerland and Austria have absolutely no chance.

The ‘group of death’ – there’s always one, has to be Group C. With France, Italy and Holland (Netherlands) joined by Romania. Considering Romania finished top of their qualifying group, there could be two of the critics favourites not even making the second round!

I’m betting on Russia or Spain to win Euro 2008 and Fernando Torres or Ruud Van Nistlerooy for the Golden Boot.

So, who do you think will win Euro 2008 and who do you think will win the Golden Boot?

See the complete list of Euro 2008 fixtures and times.

England started the game brightly and seemed full of confidence. They were passing the ball around, back and forth, looking for an opening while keeping possession instead of hoofing it up field and hoping to get a knock down.

The game itself was a pretty dull affair as the two teams cancelled each other out. That was until an exceptional through ball by Francois Clerc was met by a perfectly well timed blistering run from Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka that left the England defence motionless, that was except for a charging David James who was beaten to the ball and in the process collided with Anelka to give away a penalty kick.

Franck Ribery scored a convincing penalty in the 32nd minute and it was at that stage that the England performance began to show signs of a wobble.

There were few shots on goal throughout the whole game. Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Franck Ribery went close, while England’s best attempts were two wasted headers by Steven Gerrard.

A bit of panic and possibly shock set in after the goal, and the half time whistle appeared to give England time to regroup. Capello made changes at half time, including a change to the formation from a 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2 with the non-effective partnership of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard being replaced by little and large – Michael Owen and Peter Crouch.

Joe Cole and John Terry were also replaced at half-time by the left-footed Stewart Downing and Jolien Lescott.

Though England continued to try and pass the ball more than under recent England managers, they soon reverted to a longer ball searching out the big man upfront. This didn’t work, and the second half lacked invention and even less penetration than the first half. This was true of both England and France.

The six England substitutions were completed by the introduction Of David Bentley and Glenn Johnson for David Beckham and Wes Brown on 63 minutes.

In the post-match interview Fabio Capello said he was happy and praised the performance and England’s ‘personality’.

“I’m actually quite happy because I have seen improvements.” Fabio Capello told Sky Sports.

So what have we learnt as England fans?

After the Switzerland game Fabio Capello said he had learnt Wayne Rooney could not play as the loan striker. Against France he tried a 4-3-1-1 using Steven Gerrard playing just behind Rooney, similar to the latest role he has adopted with Liverpool. The difference with Liverpool is he is playing with one of the best strikers in the world, in Spain’s Fernando Torres.

It was a shame that England reverted to a 4-4-2 as it might have been more useful to see Rooney or Gerrard play behind Peter Crouch. But that I think is the main problem, England didn’t have enough fire power, and a 4-4-1-1 is more fluid than a flat 4-4-2 but only with a striker like Torres or Nicolas Anelka, who had a great game for France.

My conclusion to the game is that it has probably helped Fabio Capello and England to lose a tight game against top class opposition. They looked pretty comfortable, if not penetrating with the 4-4-1-1 formation, but Capello now knows there is no simple remedy as to why England players can’t play as well as they do for their club teams.

Frank Lampard went home not feeling well. I wonder if that was before or after Fabio Capello told him he wasn’t playing!