England's World Cup ended in a mixture of humiliation and
controversy as they were thrashed by Germany in Bloemfontein.
Germany's deserved win and convincing victory
margin will be overshadowed forever in the minds of Fabio Capello and
his squad by a moment they believe robbed them of the hope of reaching
the last eight.
Matthew Upson had thrown England a
lifeline just before half-time after a vastly superior Germany had taken
a stranglehold on the game with goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas
Podolski.
But moments after Upson's header, in a grim
echo of Geoff Hurst goal that helped England to victory over West
Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, Frank Lampard's superb lofted
finish landed feet over the line behind German keeper Manuel Neuer, an
incident obvious to almost everyone inside the Free State Stadium.
Capello was leading the England celebrations in his
technical area, only to be stunned as Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda
and his officials waved play on.
England's players
and coaching team, including David Beckham, led vehement protests as the
teams went off at half-time, but all to no avail and Germany made the
most of their reprieve.
The Germans will feel a
measure of justice has been restored 44 years on, but this was of no
consolation to the modern-day England as insult was added to injury by
Joachim Loew's gifted young side.
Lampard struck the
bar as England dominated the early stages of the second half, but
stunning counter-attacks saw Thomas Mueller score twice in the space of
three minutes midway through the second half to send Germany into the
last eight.
England, with some justification, will
bemoan their luck but nothing must disguise the manner in which they
were outclassed by Germany in stages of this game and also what has been
an ultimately bitterly disappointing World Cup campaign in South
Africa.
The brief hope of revival offered by victory
against Slovenia that saw England advance to the knockout phase was
snuffed out emphatically here by their old World Cup adversaries as they
suffered their heaviest defeat at a major championship.
England paid the price for sloppy defending that gifted
Germany goals - with central defenders John Terry and Upson having their
immobility exposed in embarrassing fashion.
Wayne
Rooney will return home having had minimal impact on the World Cup, and
Capello himself must examine how England can move forward after being
handed this painful lesson by Germany.
Capello chose
to keep faith with Upson - but the defender was the central figure in a
moment of defending that was almost indescribably bad as Germany took
the lead after 20 minutes.
Germany keeper Neuer's
long clearance was routine, but both Upson and Terry were caught out of
position, with the West Ham defender compounding his misjudgement by
being brushed aside for Klose to stab home.
England
keeper David James, who had earlier saved well from Mesut Ozil,
prevented England from falling further behind with a crucial block from
Klose as he raced clear, but it was only a temporary reprieve as Germany
extended their lead 12 minutes later.
Again England
were all at sea defensively, with Podolski left with time and space to
score from an angle after Klose and Mueller carved them wide open.
England needed a swift response to at least have some hope
of mounting a revival, and it came from Upson as he made amends for his
earlier error. He beat the flailing Neuer to Steven Gerrard's cross to
head into an unguarded net.
Then came the moment of
huge controversy that will haunt England and Capello for years to come.
Even from high in the stands at the Free State Stadium, it was clear
Lampard's audacious chip had travelled well over the line behind Neuer,
but as Capello celebrated, England were stunned to find play waved on.
Lampard's ill-luck continued as England made a purposeful
start the second half. He fired in a free-kick from 25 yards, but it
rebounded off the bar with the static Neuer beaten.
The
danger was always that Germany would strike on the counter attack, and
they did to deadly effect as Mueller reopened their two-goal advantage
after 67 minutes.
From and England free-kick Gareth
Barry lost possession on the edge of Germany's area, allowing them to
sweep to the other end for Mueller to fire past James from Bastian
Schweinsteiger's pass.
And it was all over three
minutes later, with Barry at fault again. He failed to deal with a
clearance near the touchline, letting in Ozil to provide Mueller with a
simple finish.
England had nothing left to offer and
their World Cup campaign ended with a whimper - although they will
complain bitterly about the moment they will feel had a decisive effect
on the outcome of the game.