<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106591" title="hodgson-capello" src="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hodgson-capello.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="429" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17053605/hodgson-capello.jpg 594w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17053605/hodgson-capello-150x108.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17053605/hodgson-capello-300x216.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px"></figure>
One hundred and eighty minutes is all it takes to send a nation into despair.
Watching <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/06/19/watch-uruguay-2-1-england-luis-suarezs-2-goals-are-killer-blow-match-highlights-video/">England against Uruguay</a> was a confusing experience. Knowing you are watching some very good players but feeling there is something missing, something not quite right.
Just like everybody else, I’ve been enthralled by this World Cup, enthralled by the dynamism, the speed at which the ball is being moved, the devastating counter attacks, the professional abandon that most teams have shown and just ‘gone for&nbsp;it’.
England ‘went for it’ — just not with the same quality.
The interesting point here is the lowering of expectation that has occurred.
Sven was lambasted when we reached the quarter finals. Now that would be seen as a triumph.
The last World Cup showing in 2010 has had a lot to do with shaping the nation’s current mood before this tournament.
We went into the tournament with a squad full of experienced Premier League quality and left it as quite possibly the worst team in the whole tournament.
Fabio Capello came, saw, took and left nothing behind.
Absolutely nothing.
He took £6m per year in wages, for which you would expect a coach to leave behind some kind of soccer ‘legacy’ from his time in charge, something we could say yes we learned from that, we could use that, follow this.
But no. Capello left nothing and worst of all, he left not even one positive memory from that last World Cup.
Being an ex player, you understand the game and how it works, how difficult the game especially at that rarified level can be, but the general lack of pleasure and joy in that particular England team at that World Cup was shocking.
The general feeling after that was that ‘we have had enough’ – everybody had looked forward to the tournament and then to endure that, yes endure – because it was <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/06/20/englands-pathetic-performance-in-miami-foreshadowed-world-cup-demise/">tortuous</a>, made a lot of people shrug their shoulders and lose interest.
Consequently leading up to this World Cup, it has seen an attitude of ‘oh well we won’t get far let’s see what happens.’
The feeling is bad at the moment. We’ve crashed out after two games but at least I feel better than I did last time around as in each of the two games there was something to get excited about.
We ‘went’ for it, maybe not always in the right way (but that’s a debate for another day) but at least we gave the fans watching some excitement and that’s far more than can be said for Capello’s dour, expensive and ultimately unsuccessful (however you define success for England) reign as England coach.
Editor’s note:&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Burke" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Mark Burke</a>&nbsp;is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. A player skilled at retaining the ball, he enjoyed a 15 year professional career in England, the&nbsp;Netherlands, Japan, Romania, and Sweden. He played for clubs including&nbsp;Aston Villa, Rapid Bucharest, Middlesbrough, and Wolves.

England’s Performances at World Cup 2014 Are Still Better Than 2010

England's Performances at World Cup 2014 Are Still Better Than 2010 - World Soccer Talk

<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104326" title="Rooney" src="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Rooney.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="387" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17054116/Rooney.jpg 620w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17054116/Rooney-150x93.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17054116/Rooney-300x187.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/06/17054116/Rooney-600x374.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px"></figure>
Last night’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/06/14/watch-italy-2-1-england-match-highlights-video/">defeat against Italy</a> leaves England with a must-win next game against Uruguay but there were many positive things&nbsp;to take from this for the next match and for the future.
The “Pirlo question” — a player who causes England so many problems — was still not fully dealt with. This time, his influence was more subtle but deadly — creativity at its most sublime, a weighing of angles and appreciation of space possibly unrivaled at present – the dummy for the first goal was an invisible assist.
Having said that, he was still allowed too much space and freedom. A player as important as&nbsp;this needs to be clamped down in a vice-like grip until his spirit sags and his influence is snuffed out.
This aside, there was though, at last, a sense of adventure from an England team, a determination to take the game to the opposition and force their attacking quality on the game.
It worked, in general. Daniel Sturridge was full of confidence and swagger. Danny Welbeck was positive and&nbsp;energetic. And in particular Sterling set the tone with his readiness to turn&nbsp;and run directly at the Italian defense. He is a player other teams will now fear.
Wayne Rooney showed his undoubted quality with a superb cross for Sturridge’s goal. But again <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/06/14/why-dropping-wayne-rooney-would-be-englands-best-chance-of-beating-italy/">his performance and position will invite heated debate</a>.
Rooney is as honest a player as you will find. This is not a sulking superstar who doesn’t like his position. This is a player who will always do his best but one who needs to be constantly involved and used. And when pinned down to a role that includes a specific defensive task then, as many gifted attacking players do, he can find it difficult.
With a relatively new full back behind him needing support (does Leighton Baines have the&nbsp;‘authority’ to push and pull Rooney where he needs him to be?), England were ruthlessly exposed by Italy. In soccer, the enemy’s weaknesses are explored and exploited. Italy did this and England suffered.
How do you get the best of your most talented performer? How do you ensure his strengths outweigh his weaknesses, to ensure the team benefits not suffers?
These are all difficult questions as Uruguay and Costa Rica (if that game matters by then) will surely pinpoint the side Rooney plays on in the next game as a potential source of success.
England has your biggest talent bursting to show his worth and the manager looking for the right&nbsp;spot to fit him in. These are the £3.5m-a-year decisions that Roy has to make.
SEE MORE — Read our <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/argentina-world-cup-2014-team-preview/">England World Cup Preview</a> and listen to our <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/podcasts/2014/england-brazil-2014-world-cup-preview-101217/">England World Cup Preview podcast</a>.
Editor’s note:&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Burke" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Mark Burke</a>&nbsp;is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. A player skilled at retaining the ball, he enjoyed a 15 year professional career in England, the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, and Sweden. He played for clubs including&nbsp;Aston Villa, Rapid Bucharest, Middlesbrough, and Wolves.

England’s Positive Performance Against Italy Reveals Unanswered Questions

England's Positive Performance Against Italy Reveals Unanswered Questions - World Soccer Talk

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England’s Performances at World Cup 2014 Are Still Better Than 2010

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England’s Positive Performance Against Italy Reveals Unanswered Questions