Germany coach Joachim Low says England's lack of defensive ability in midfield was their soft spot.After their 4-1 triumph, Low confirmed Germany had targeted a defensive weakness in English ranks which his young side exploited to the full.
"We knew that the midfielders - Gerrard and Lampard - always support the forwards and that their midfield would be open, we knew there would be spaces.
"Our objective was to set Terry up with Klose to force him to come out of the defence. We knew the full-backs would be very much to the side, and that would create space that we could penetrate.
"We could have been 3-0 up in the first half because we did penetrate them."
England v Germany: Philip Lahm laments lack of respect from Three LionsPhilip Lahm accused England of not paying Germany enough respect and that is why they are heading home following a 4-1 defeat in the last 16 of the World Cup in South Africa.
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Published: 4:39AM BST 28 Jun 2010
Two goals from Thomas Muller helped secure a place in the World Cup quarter-finals with Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski also on target.
Matthew Upson pulled a goal back for England but they are en route to London today while Germany are celebrating.
Lahm expressed his pride at the result and lauded his young up-and-coming side.
''Maybe England were not prepared for this game as they should be,'' said the Germany captain.
''Maybe they underestimated us because our players are not as famous as the England players.
''The reason their defence could not handle our players was because we have very good strikers.
''We knew that we would have chances on the break if we let England attack. It was very important for us to be good on the defence because we always have the quality to get forward.
''We can play short, quick passes and we have a good team. It is a young team, but it is a good team.''
Germany got stronger as the game progressed and Lahm added: ''England have good players, they aren't too old. They have young players behind the first team like (Aaron) Lennon, too.
''We have good fitness coaches who have prepared us, not for three games, but for the whole tournament. We are ready for everything and we are very happy.''
Meanwhile goalkeeper Manuel Neuer all but admitted he had a lucky escape after the goal that never was.
With England 2-1 down, Frank Lampard was convinced he had equalised when his shot beat Neuer before hitting the underside of the bar.
The ball bounced down and TV replays showed it had gone about two feet over the line. To Lampard's astonishment, Uruguay referee Jorge Larrionda disallowed his effort.
It was pivotal moment in the match and Neuer was all smiles at the end of the game.
He said: ''I tried not to react to the referee and just concentrate on what was happening – it was difficult. I knew it was close.
''Then I saw it on the television in the doping control office and what actually happened. I knew it was tight – probably about two metres.''
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they did it with keegan
after hoddle who the media couldnt stand they had to bring in someone the fans and media wanted
keegan being the main guy
he was a motivator
couldnt get out the groups in euro 2000 but stayed in the job because they beat germany
but then losing in the wcq to germany in the last wembly game he quit........... fa could never sack him though
imo would be the same with arry...... would prefer hodgson who has international experience.... only prob is media will turn on him so quick if he dont play the team they want or thump sh*t teams at the start
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The Somalian
The whole keegan sacking thing was a joke imo
A week before the defeat to germany
The mans mum died no way on earth his mind can be thinking about football
Still think it was very harsh
the medias influence>>>>
its a big hinderence and underminds people
they want the best for the team but then expose the
captain they r just c****
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The Infamous
Really don't see the point in typing. Someone people have covered it nicely.
Kick and rush football with no tactical discipline. Along with no creative number 10.
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Mr. Gayle
Brian Clough springs to mind, FA just dont wanna take a risk
/
But TBH if a man with such pedigree as Capello cant do well with Eng, would Arry do a better job ?
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The Infamous
f*ck Harry don't know what this sudden wank fest is..
He is a VERY average manager
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Mr Q
Most damning stat I have read today is this though -
A lot of things about the way football is run in this country is sh*t, our level of coaches shows this.
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Michel Kane
LOL
That is f*ckED.
/
Real question, how hard is it as an aspiring coach to make links with clubs? Not just paying money & doing courses & but actually getting an opportunity to work at professional clubs?
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The Somalian
Lmao at making Beckham his number 2 for him to be England manager next wc
These guys live in dream land, that’s even worse than bringing in Shearer to fight a relegation battle.
These media guys are jokers
Remember them saying yes Cappelo wont be familiar with the players do stuff like military what the team needs
Coz mc-clown was to friendly now they have a problem with that approach to kmt
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Michel Kane
IF Beckham actually pursued coaching (he won't), he'd make a better coach than most man realise.
He's played abroad. He'd have learned how football is played on a more, cultured level.
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Mame Biram Diouf
Harry is sick manager but hes poor tactician.
People talking about passing football is not our style of play, I would agree with that but we can't even string 3 passes together without either giving the ball away or just hoofing it up the field. No patience they don't wait to break a team down they want everything to happen asap. Were too slow to play counter attacking football like Germany, too deficient in technical ability to play like Spain, not clinical and inspired enough to go gung ho upfront.
Not sure why people feel all our world class players have to start, look at Uraguay, Chile even Ghana. 1 or 2 world class players in them 3 teams altogether yet Terry, Cole, Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard all labelled as world class but can't play against a team and fail to even motivate themselves for a world cup.
Another thing is we are way to predictable and so sh*t off the ball, someone passes the ball and just stays where they are and doesn't carry on running to make more space. You can't have a team in this day and age which lacks pace either just look at Italy. It's a shame Micah Richards discovered protein shakes.
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Mr Q
I agree Beckham would make a good coach, played with some of the best players and played in all of the top leagues.
But look, lets be honest I suppose that stat about coaches isn't even that surprising just look how they let Southgate manage Middlesbrough.
And its not all journos, there are some good journos on twitter with good perspective, just idiots that work for the mirror/scum/daily mail toe a party line of moronic behaviour.
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The Somalian
True but will man be ready for this ting by 2014 which means he needs to be ready in 26 months for the qualifiers
no way
Glad they changed qualifers to Fridays and Tuesdays
But what happens with under 21 matches?
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Mr. Gayle
They will say "he is not passionate enough" or "he doesnt shout, rant and rave"
Used to hate that when they said it about Sven
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Michel Kane
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/audio/2010/jun/28/world-cup-daily-2010
Absolute quality podcast by OG James Richardson.
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Mr Q
Was thinking this, all of our best players do not need to start if they do not fit in the damn system, its pretty simple. But whatever manager decides to drop that player will get a roasting from the media. This is the weird thing, Capello wasn't afraid to shake things up at Real Madrid didn't give a f*ck if he upset someone by dropping them, here he just seems restrained.
And I hate the common theme that runs through our pundits and managers/a lot of journos that says that players need a kiss and a cuddle.
/
More damning stats and proof to what a lot of people saying that we can't pass -
78% - England's passing accuracy is ranked 18th at the 2010 #worldcup and below the average of 80% completion.
18th out of 30! LMFAO, joke
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