While getting on with my pre-match rituals- listening to BBC radio, I realised, there are some things that never change, England’s hype of winning the world cup will never change no matter what, never has it stopped since 1966. Just a few examples of what people were texting to the BBC in the build up to the game:

“I am a taxi driver in London and as I look into my dashboard, it reads 66000 miles.”

“As I walked out of the pub in Liverpool last nigh, I found a 50p on the ground, taking a closer at the date, 1966.”

In the lead up to this morning's game, England's supporters would have done well to remember their match against the US in 1950.

At the time, England was the best team in the world. Apparently, they though they were too big for the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The stage was all set for England to show what the world what it could do.

Its opposition? A USA side made up of dishwashers and accountants, a team which had some of their first team players left out because they couldn't get a time off from work. So bad was the condition, that their participation in the tournament was in doubt because they did not have the money to arrange their kits for the game.

As for the result of the game, legend has it that some newspapers in Britain reported that game was 10-1 to England, after believing it incomprehensible that the outcome could have been a 1-0 loss to the US.

So am I witnessing a repeat of the 1950 this morning or it is a revenge?

No matter what, one thing is for certain, the curse of English goalkeeper will remain.

The Match

The first half was what we have hitherto missed in South Africa, fast paced end to end football, the sort England is known for. The USA certainly did not look out of place, though, even after going one down after just four minutes into the game. They scored just before the break, with Dempsey getting an easy one past Green.

In the second half we probably witnessed a record being broken, Terry and Carragher pairing up to be world’s slowest central defence. As for the football, Rooney suddenly managed to get more involved (I am using the word “more” loosely) and Peter Crouch certainly brought his head but left all the power on the England bench, making a toothless front pairing. The Yanks on the other hand was far more impressive.

The Verdict

It was not the repeat and certainly not the revenge from England. The game just ended, as I predicted, in a 1-1 draw.

To be honest, there is no doubt in my mind that England will end up progressing to the second round and will (as usual) get knocked out in the quarterfinals on penalties. But what I am really worried is about Robert Green - not what Capello will do him but how The Sun newspaper will work his name into that embarrassing thing that they call a “headline”.