WAGS to riches: England seeks soccer glory
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-29 08:35 England, which considers itself football's founding nation, hasn't won a
World Cup since its only title in 1966, a championship won in its home stadium,
Wembley. The lack of success during the past four decades weighs on the team,
the media and the fans as if their shoulders were bearing Admiral Nelson's
statue and the granite column it sits upon in London's Trafalgar Square.
Supporters, who cross the English Channel by the tens of thousands, have
endless hope ¡ª along with what seems to be limitless alcohol that spurs a
segment to cause trouble in town centers before matches.
Rooney, the 20-year-old prodigy, is back after breaking his foot April 29.
Papers pin hopes for a turnaround on the forward, dismissing play thus far as if
Monty Python characters were running aimlessly on the field.
"I don't think you take too much note of the criticism," Rooney said. "We
know what is the job we have to do. If we keep winning, then I don't see no
problem, none at all."
Portugal, which lost to England in the 1966 World Cup semifinals, beat the
English two years ago in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.
Saturday's winner advances to a semifinal against defending champion Brazil or
France, so the path to the final will be treacherous.
"When you look at players we have," Owen Hargreaves said, "the expectation is
there not just to be at the World Cup, but to win the World Cup."
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