Thaindian News

By Venkata Vemuri
London, June 24 (IANS) After two full days of headlines screaming about England’s do-or-die match against Slovenia in the World Cup, the British media heaved a sigh of relief after Jermain Defoe’s decisive goal and reminded that the next “crunch clash” was with “old enemy Germany”.

The Daily Mail splashed the headline which pointed out that England’s worries are about to begin afresh: “Phew! Nation breathes a sigh of relief as England scrape through (but it’s the Germans next… isn’t it always?)”.

Finally it came good, the daily began, ending with the caution: “But the joy at beating Slovenia one-nil fell a little flat last night as it became clear that a match against old rivals Germany awaits.”

The Telegraph’s tone was appreciative, even nationalistic.

It led the story with the headline with a jingoistic quote from a player: “World Cup 2010: everyone will fear England’s passion and pace, says Frank Lampard”.

The story began by touching upon British sporting values: “The squad may have turned down Fabio Capello’s old-school offer of a beer the night before the game, but by falling back on the modern English qualities of pace and directness they delivered the win required to secure a second-round berth.”

In contrast, The Independent was realistic in its praise of the English victory. The heading of its lead story on the match nearly asked the players not to begin counting their chickens: “England unite at last but Capello is left to count cost of missed chances”.

The story began with a clear warning to the players about the uphill task of playing Germany.

It read: “Fabio Capello’s England squad is built around a core of players who were born roughly 30 years ago and for whom the first World Cup finals they can remember clearly was 1990 - when a generation of English boys were taught a sober lesson on the ruthless efficiency of German football.”

The Guardian, which had been critical of the English players for their lacklustre performances in the opening games, gave a plaintive headline to its top story: “World Cup 2010: England progress after Jermain Defoe sinks Slovenia”.

And the first paragraph brought the players down to earth: “England, as it was, won their first game at this tournament by looking as if they were engaged in a wholly different competition. The side gave a display of high-tempo football redolent of a Premier League afternoon in winter. It may not be an approach that will ever lead to greatness but it was necessary to bring Fabio Capello’s side back to a semblance of purpose and order.”

The Times led with a headline that would boost the players’ morale: “Wayne Rooney scares us, say Germany”.

The story’s crux comes in the third paragraph: “And Joachim Löw, the Germany coach, appeared to hand England an early psychological advantage when he said that his team would be fearful of Wayne Rooney’s impact.”

The tabloid, Sun, was true to its colours, utterly aggressive. The kicker reads: “Defoe goal sets up clash with you know who….” And then comes the headline, big and bold: “Bring on Germans”.

The story began with a reminder of the past relations between the two countries and not confined to the sporting arena: “Jermain Defoe fired England into the last 16 of the World Cup - and a crunch clash with old enemy Germany.”

(Venkata Vemuri can be contacted at venkata.v@ians.in)