England’s World Cup finally gets underway in the heat of Manaus tonight. Here are three reasons why we believe the Three Lions will be victorious in their first match of the 2014 campaign: England have a poor record versus Italy. The Three Lions have won just one of their last 11 matches versus the Azurri, losing six of them and drawing three. The final game of these 11 came in quarter-finals the European Championships in 2012, where Italy were victorious on penalties following a 0-0. These two teams have met only once before in the World Cup. Hosts Italy won the 1990 tournaments third-place play-off 2-1. A goal from Roberto Baggio and a late penalty scored by Salvatore Schillaci cancelled out David Platts 81st minute strike. Of their last 16 World Cup matches, England have lost just two games in normal time. They have won seven and drawn seven, although two of those draws led to defeats in subsequent penalty shoot-outs. England are notoriously poor at penalty shoot-outs, having been eliminated from no fewer than seven international tournaments on penalties in the past. However, England are much better from twelve yards during normal play having scored eight from eight. England midfielder Frank Lampard has the enviable record of having had more shots than any player in World Cup recorded history without scoring. The former Chelsea man has had 39 attempts at goal in World Cup Finals games without hitting the net. Wayne Rooney has almost as poor a record for the Three Lions at the World Cup. In his 594 minutes on the pitch during England World Cup matches, the Manchester United forward is yet to get on the score-sheet. Since Euro 2012 however, the 28 year old has scored in every competitive game he has played for his country, with seven goals in six outings. That last time Italy failed to score in a World Cup game was in 1998 as they lost to hosts France on penalties following a 0-0 draw. This run now stretches over 14 games at the finals and includes their 2006 success. Italy have been particularly impressive from set-pieces in the World Cup. Of their last 17 goals in the finals, the Azurri have scored seven from corners which equates to around 41% of their goals in the competition. They are however, vulnerable to long shots. Theyve conceded more goals from outside the box than any other team since 1966, with 14 goals having been scored from long range.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:36:46 +0000
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