Lynne Kiesling
So lackluster play from the England side! John Terry proves what a great defender he is by saving a goal at the end of the half. Even Beckham’s set kicks are finding little oomph, and he’s not been passing very crisply. Blah, blah, blah.
Eric Wynalda really harshed on Peter Crouch in the halftime comments, saying that he doesn’t see why Crouch is playing and that his goal attempt (on a cross from Beckham) looked like what happens when a stork gets his leg stuck in the mud. Ouch!
As an aside, Wynalda is bugging me more (and Marcelo Balboa bugging me less) as the Cup goes on. Wynalda knows what he’s talking about, but I think he’s a bit rude. He runs over Julie Foudy when they are both in the studio and giving analysis, almost like it’s McLaughlin Group instead of soccer commentary!
UPDATE: For example, I think Balboa’s right that Crouch and Owen are not working well together. Sub in Rooney for Crouch, maybe?
FINAL: Well, I was wrong; I thought a Rooney-Owen combo might get Owen back into his speed game, and that would lead to more offense. As it happened, the Beckham-Crouch goal was very nice, and Lennon coming in on RW brought some sass and some drive to the party. Stephen Gerrard’s goal was extremely pretty, and well deserved.