by David Richardson

Created on: June 10, 2010

This World Cup could prove to be historic for the England Football team, as for the first time in decades they will be playing in the equivalent of their winter. 

With South Africa being in the southern hemisphere, June and July are their winter months.  So there’ll be no more keeling over in the summer sun of a foreign continent.  No more players collapsing at the end of extra time in the summer heat, before having to face the ‘long walk of doom’ to miss that vital penalty.

In fact, the weather will definitely be England’s extra man.  For example, June and July in Cape Town, where they play their second game, are the wettest months of the year.  And Port Elizabeth, where they play their third game, has their lowest humidity of the year. 

Also, the minimal time difference between South Africa and England, means that they won’t be playing their socks off at midday to satisfy the worldwide TV audience.  Remember that in that infamous ‘Hand of God’ match against Argentina in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico in 1986, the match kicked off at twelve o’clock, noon.

It’s true that they have been in Austria acclimatising, and with the Italian coach Fabio Capello there maybe a different approach to preparation this time.

So, could 2010 be the year that the England fans will finally be chanting ‘Come on England!’ all the way to the final?  Err, no.

History shows that apart from 1966 when they won it on home soil, England are about good enough to reach the quarter-finals.  The one exception was twenty years ago in 1990, when they rode their luck to be beaten by West Germany, in the semi-final, on penalties.

You might say, ‘Well didn’t England qualify, the top of their group, losing only one game out of ten?’  Yes, that is true.  But in 1986 they also qualified top, undefeated.  And yet where did England go out of the competition?  Yes – the quarter-finals, again (though this time not on penalties).

The Premier League is still a strength shattering, physically draining league to play in.  And overall tiredness, both mental and physical cannot be improved with training camps, and practice games.

It is an encouraging group from which England should qualify, and the favourable draw in the second stage means that with a good run, England could meet Brazil in the semi-final.  But for the eventual winners, I’d be looking at Spain, or of course Brazil.

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