by Stanley Courage Dugah

Created on: June 12, 2010   Last Updated: June 18, 2010

Since England hosted and won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, they are yet to stamp their authority on the game again as its rightful inventors. A part from that first and only world cup triumph, the best they’ve managed since then was a semi-final berth in 1990. With a history of always crashing out at the quarterfinals stage at the hands of a team that played a more skillful and beautiful football, the English team will be hoping to make an easy win of the US which has a similar style of play to their own.

They ended up being the highest goal scoring qualifier from the European zone with 34 goals and have some of the most well-known players in the footballing world; Frank Lampard, John Terry, Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole.

They have in the form of Rooney, a world class striker, who can score on anyway and win a match. The midfield duo of Lampard and Gerald can also score from any distance and Chelsea captain Terry, may not be at his best, but he's obviously in a good mood after leading Chelsea to the Premier League Title and will be thinking about making it double with England.

It however remains to be seen whether the Tree Lions’ can reproduce the fine form they exhibited in the world cup qualifiers against the US, who are no mean opponents.

Since a 1-0 defeat of England in 1950, the US has developed into one of the surprise packages in the game of football, nevertheless average in being consistent.

Their best performances in the world cup were a quarterfinal berth at Japan-Korea 2002. They were however, denied qualification from the group stages in Germany 2006 by Ghana, despite drawing 1-1 with fellow group members and eventual winners, Italy.

A second place finish at the recent 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in Egypt has improved the confidence in camp and the US is hoping to repeat the 1950 surprise by shocking group favorites England. It remains to be seen if they can do that. I personally will go for a draw and an England win.  A Landon Donavan inspired victory over the English is not impossible, but it will be a long shot.

While the English may be thinking about stamping their authority on the other group members, Algeria and Slovakia, they’ll also consider this first match a priority and a match from which they must escape with a draw, at least.

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