Come on England!

I worry for England tomorrow in an away game against Croatia. The latter has remained unbeaten in home for the past 16 years and given the bad condition of many England players, I don't know how the team will survive. Their game against Macedonia last Saturday ended in a nil nil draw, a very disappointing result. Very bad passes, bad tackles, poor attempts to goal. The only good things were the defence and well, the GK. Let's give credit to Robinson for keeping a clean sheet for England.

Anyway, tomorrow, Gerrard doesn't play after receiving his second yellow from the previous match. Add to that Rooney's and Gerrard's slump forms. Then Rio Ferdinand's coming from a back spasm which led him to miss last Saturday's game; we could only but presume that he still ain't 100% fit. Johnson's still out of the squad, a complete bummer. Don't forget Downing's undeserving spot in the XI. Parker's playing, I think. At least we got someone in very good form to play in the midfield. We all hope he plays well. Carrick, paired with Lampard in central midfield, i think is okay. Although there have been criticisms of him not really doing much as well (at least not as worthless as Downing). Oh, Bring-Beckham-Back campaign's still ongoing!

I believe, tomorrow, Macca's following a 3-5-2 formation for the first time in 6 years. I somehow worry. Defence is one of the few good things about the team at the moment. Would it be better to apply that formation and bring more in the midfield? Croatia's gonna be tough so keeping the defence intact is one of the most crucial strategies we could employ. Though from another standpoint, it also makes sense to increase people in the midfield, which could mean creating more chances to score and getting past through the opponent's defence.

Well, well. All I could do now is wait and pray for England. A defeat tomorrow could be the beginning of the team's suffering. With the next qualifier still almost half a year from tomorrow, England would just have to end things bright against Croatia. People have been saying that to walk out with more than a draw would be surprising, given the opponent's undefeated home match records. If England could break that spell, then maybe that draw against Macedonia last Saturday could only be taken to be a temporary failure instead of what many predict to be a gradual deterioration leading to a long-term stagnation. (Transformation from a world class footballing national team to merely an overrated, overhyped underdogs, anyone?)