Dear England and soccer fans,
I strongly assume that by now most if not all would have seen the England France Euro 2004 match and while I know that what happened was heartbreaking and downheartening and it is like Man U's incredible victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 1999 and though England have lost a great chance for victory and to top the group, I will give you all a few good reasons to stay optimistic and state there is still hope for the 3 lions!!!
Yes, France scored 2 to win 2-1 in the end after England had lead 1-0, but this is where the similarities end. In case anyone forgets, this is NOT the final. Unlike the Champs League final in 1999, England might have lost the battle but they have not lost the war yet.
Assuming England can recover and finish 2nd in the group (it will be a miracle if France fails to top the group), then it will still be all to play for. After looking thru the tournament group and format, you will see that there really might not be much of a difference finishing 1st or 2nd in this group. The Portugal Spain Greece Russia group is the group that will supply the teams that will meet the teams from Englands group in the quarter finals. Honestly do you think that there is much of a difference between meeting Spain, Portugal and Greece in the quarter finals?(assuming that Russia does not qualify and it will be a miracle if they do). Unless Portugal really bucks up which will then change the situation as it might be a bit more difficult to face a good host country team in a match.
Assuming France gets 1st in the group and England is 2nd, and both get thru their games, then it will be onto the semi finals and potential opponents for France will be Holland, Czech Republic or Germany (assuming no big shocks or upsets). England will most likely face the Azzuri Italy or possibly Holland, Czech Republic and Germany too (that group is a tight one).
From my analysis there is not much of a difference between finishing 1st or 2nd in Englands group (barring unexpected results).
So as you can see it is not a complete and total disaster and think about the 1988 tournament in then West Germany. Holland lost their 1st match to Russia but they recovered to reach the final and beat Russia 2-0 So in the end they got the last laugh! (in case you do not recall Marco Van Basten scored an absolute marvellous and fabolous goal in that final)
Hope this soothes the pain and encourages us to remain positive.
Best Regards
THE ANALYST
England not good enough.
