The England national football team will face an uphill battle in progressing beyond the group stage at the 2014 World Cup, after a 2-1 loss to Italy on Saturday set the team back in the standings for the competitive Group D. Italy and England were about equally matched going into their first appearances in this year's World Cup, with respective positions of 9 and 10 on FIFA's world rankings list. In fact, England might have had a slight edge, what with the home team position that was afforded the team. However, even the England 2014 World Cup home jersey couldn't quite withstand Italy's tireless level of play.
The game was a grueling one for both sides, played at the Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil. The intense heat and humidity inherent from playing a soccer game more or less in the middle of the Amazon rainforest had the Brits sweating through their England soccer jerseys, and may have sapped some of their energy.
An Evenly Matched First Half
Not that the heat took its toll on England or Italy right away. Both teams ignited out of the gate at the start of the match, and played more or less at the same level throughout the first half. Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio put away the first goal of the match, delivering a beautiful shot from far outside the goal area to put Italy up 1-0. Just two minutes later, England returned the favor, with striker Daniel Sturridge finding the back of the net to tie the game. As the match went to halftime, it appeared that either England or Italy could easily take the victory.
The 1-1 score wasn't all England and Italy shared at halftime either. Coming into this World Cup, British fans had been hoping that the England 2014 World Cup home jersey would be a greater luck charm for the team than the 2010 shirt had been. England had a disappointing showing in the World Cup four years ago, making it past the group stage, but ultimately losing in a 4-1 round of 16 match against Germany, and exiting the tournament with only a single win.
A single win for the England soccer jerseys was better than what Italy got in 2010, though. The four-time World Cup champions looked positively amateurish in South Africa, exiting after the group stage without winning a single match. Drawn into a group with minor teams like Paraguay, Slovakia, and New Zealand, Italy looked like a surefire dominator four years ago, and the team's early elimination is undoubtedly still fresh in the minds of Italian players and fans alike.
Italy Outlasts England
Perhaps it was the bitterness of the 2010 World Cup fiasco that fueled Italy's players to a strong and resilient performance during the second half of their 2014 World Cup debut, even as their English rivals slowed down and lost their ferocity thanks to the intense heat. At the 50 minute mark, just after the recommencement of the match, Italian winger Antonio Candreva set up a golden shot opportunity for star striker Mario Balotelli, who drilled the ball home to put Italy up 2-1.
The goal was all it took to secure Italy the win. Although the match lasted for another 40 minutes after Balotelli landed his first ever World Cup goal, those 40 minutes were largely uneventful. The fight seemed to go out of the England team, whose players began showing visible signs of pain (likely from cramps), dehydration, and overall exhaustion as the clock winded down. When time had run out, the players in the England soccer jerseys slinked off the field in disappointment, leaving Italy to celebrate its victory.
England's disappointment was, of course, justified. Even without the heat, which added a demoralizing factor to an already difficult loss for England, the defeat stands to make things very challenging for the team if it is still hoping on progressing past the group stage. That statement is especially true after Saturday's other Group D match, which saw Costa Rica defeat two-time World Cup champions Uruguay in a 3-1 match. Since Costa Rica was pegged as England's only "easy" opponent in the group, it's possible that 2014 is just not destined to be England's year.
With that said, if you still believe in England's chances, then it can't hurt to cheer the team on. Stop by Soccer Box today and pick up an England World Cup home jersey from our store.
