They say you can never have too much of a good thing, but in the case of the England national team, an abundance of genuinely world-class players proved overwhelming in tournament football. Despite the Three Lions entering a proposed Golden Generation of players, producing some of the best talent across the globe on British shores, neither Sven-Goran Eriksson or Fabio Capello could ever manage to get the side beyond the quarter-finals.
Indeed, with an elite back four that included the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole, a midfield of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes in their prime, and the fearlessness of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and later Jermaine Defoe and their disposal, it was a false dawn as far as England were concerned.
England coach Gareth Southgate. Photo by Football365
Gareth Southgate is hoping to change the model on a more consistent basis. After beating Senegal his side are favourites amongst the England v France odds to reach the last four for a second consecutive time. While they fell short against Croatia, his spirited side still went further than any of the Golden Generation had managed before, but why was that? Let’s take a look at England’s three tournament exits and see why such a talented crop of players couldn’t get over the line.
Brazil – 2002
The Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002 was perhaps the only time England could say they had an elite goalkeeper between the sticks, but ironically it was David Seaman who let the side down against a ruthless Brazil in the last eight. Michael Owen pounced on a loose ball to give the Three Lions the lead after 23 minutes, but Rivaldo equalised on the brink of halftime. An avoidable foul meant for a Brazil free kick in a dangerous area, and with Seaman off his line, Ronaldinho took his chance to chip the keeper from a good 30 yards. Although the samba star was sent off moments later, he had the last laugh as Brazil advanced and ultimately won the trophy in Yokohama.
Portugal – 2006
The dreaded curse of penalties was back to plague England in the 2006 World Cup, with an exit to Portugal. Despite a rather lacklustre campaign in Germany, Eriksson’s side had found themselves in the quarters after squeezing past Ecuador courtesy of a David Beckham free kick. They struggled for creativity throughout most of the 90 against Cristiano Ronaldo and co. Wayne Rooney’s dismissal for a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho limited England further, and even when forcing a shootout, it wasn’t to be their day, with Jamie Carragher’s miss from 12 yards dumping them out.
Germany – 2010
German World Cup Squad. Photo by FIFA
While some of the squad’s core had changed and Capello was appointed between Germany and South Africa ahead of the 2010 World Cup, disappointment was still on the menu. Humiliated and outclassed by a frightening German frontline, England exited the competition after a 4-1 loss in the round of 16. Perhaps things would have been different if Lampard’s rightful goal had been allowed at 2-1 down. Still, given the space that Matthew Upson and the rest of the England backline had afforded the Germans, it would surely have only been a matter of time before the floodgates inevitably opened.
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