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News: England make early World Cup exit
2007-10-12
England began the final day of group matches, knowing that 2 wins would almost certainly see them qualify for the semi-finals and knock out stage of the competition.
First up would be Belgium. England started strongly and had the majority of possession and territory in the early stages. As England pushed to capitalise on their dominance, Belgium managed a rare raid forward and took the lead against the run of play. This shocked the England players and seemed to affect their rhythm for the remainder of the half.
The players started the second half well and started to stamp their authority on the match. It was not long before England were back level, thanks to a good finish by Stevie Pearson. England now had all the momentum and were putting the Belgium goal under constant threat. As time was running out, England continued to press, but were unable to create that important chance to win the game. This was again, an improved performance by the team, but qualification would now be down to other results to determine where England would finish.
After a brief break, the squad were back on court preparing for a must win game. If England could not defeat Portugal, they would stand no chance of progressing to the knock-out stages.
England started the game positively, and were soon having the lions share of possession. Some solid and determined defending by Portugal, kept the game level in the early stages but surely it was just a matter of time before the game produced an opening goal. The England fans did not have to wait too much longer, as the team broke through the Portuguese defence and there was Faye Stevenson to open the England account. The team maintained their early momentum and following another well worked England move, Johnny Bolding soon made it 2-0 before half time.
England started the 2nd half as they finished the first. The team were now full of confidence and finally found their goal scoring form. Further goals from the captain Jamil Khan, a second from Johnny Bolding, two from Edward Common and a final goal by Stevie Pearson capped off a fine second half performance. A 7-0 score line was good way to finish the group stage, but a nervous time awaited the team as the final fixtures were played to determine the final Group Standings.
If Belgium could beat Portugal in their final group match, England’s World Cup campaign would be over. A great performance by the Belgium team saw them defeat Portugal and take the final place in the knock-out stage. They would join USA, France and Japan in tomorrow’s semi-finals.
This marked the end of England’s competition, but the young team will have learnt from their experience and England will return to start preparing for the next tournament.
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