World Cup: England and Brazil Bow Out

Portugal and England have been traditional allies for centuries. In fact, it is one of the longest standing alliance in Western politics that remains in tact as Portugal even supported Britain on the War in Iraq.

However, it's a little different in soccer. Ever since England defeated Portugal in the semis at the 1966 World Cup, Portugal has dominated the rivalry in recent memory. Many of Portugal's finest players play in England and so the special relationship continued up until 2006.

It all came to a screeching end for England. Tournament favorites before the start, England never found their footing scoring an anemic 5 goals in 5 games. The scoring drought continued into penalty kicks where, if one wants to get technical, a Canadian-born player Owen Hargreaves scored the only English goal. He was also the best player on the pitch.

Brazil came into this tournament as defending champions. However, they were slightly over hyped and unprepared. Their players do not play the traditional Brazilian style with all its intricate passes and slithering meanderings anymore. Most astute observers, myself included (ahem), knew this was not going to be their year. Brazil, contrary to the marketing blitz, played European style football in Germany and therefore were there for the taking so to speak. They were defeated by a patient French team who took advantage of Brazil's inability to launch its legendary offense. What will Nike do now?

Back to England I see some similarities between them, Italy and Team Canada in hockey. Let me explain. Is there any country that has endured more bizarre heartbreaks than England? Italy is the only one that comes close. It seems that England and Italy share two things: they are terrible in penalty kicks (along with Holland) and they usually have players thrown out for sometimes innocuous offenses.

England played very well against Portugal despite being a man down and this is where the Team Canada comparison comes in. England and Team Canada share a common link. They are both considered to be the inventors of the modern game of soccer and hockey. As such, they have a sports heritage steeped in tradition and a love of sport that reaches deep into their respective cultures.

Prior to winning the Olympic gold in 2002, Canada had not won the gold since 1952. Canadians acted like they didn't care but they did. While the Russians sent their professionals to the Olympics, Canada sent amateurs and did rather well all things considered. As the Soviets dominated the Olympics, proud Canadians decided to create a tournament that pitted the world's best pro players called the Canada Cup (now the World Cup). Canada dominated the tournament. By the 1990s, they began to do well at the World Championships once again (another tournament they once owned) and have remained a force at the World Juniors.

Al that was missing elusive gold medal Canadians wanted. They yearned for it. Finally it came after 50 years and I can't describe how this country reacted to the victory. I can't help but think this is how England views the World Cup. They have been waiting 40 years and now it will be 44 by the time the next tourney rolls in. The pain continues.

One final comparison. We often hear that Canada plays with "heart." In England, they play with "spirit."