England's World Cup descended into frustration on Friday night as a furious supporter confronted David Beckham in the dressing room, moments after a sarcastic Wayne Rooney had questioned the loyalty of the travelling fans as he left the pitch.
A goalless draw against Algeria, ranked 30th in the world and in their first finals for 24 years, prompted boos on the final whistle from the England contingent in the crowd.
Rooney, whose performance had spluttered uncharacteristically, reacted by shouting into a television camera: “Nice to see your own fans booing you. If that's what loyal support is...for f*&#'s sake.”
The mood turned poisonous moments later when a fan wearing an England replica kit barged his way through the security around the changing rooms and shouted abuse at Beckham, who is a non-playing member of Fabio Capello's staff. The supporter was eventually pulled away by stewards. Prince William and Prince Harry had been due in the dressing room moments later.
The Football Association was outraged — there is no suggestion that its own security protocol had failed — and submitted a formal complaint to FIFA.
“It is unacceptable,” said an FA spokesman. “Thankfully there was no serious harm done, but we will be complaining to FIFA.”
England must now beat Slovenia — who are top of Group C after drawing with USA — in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday if they are to reach the knock-out phase.
This performance did little to suggest they are a side capable of making a lasting impression at the finals. Jamie Carragher will miss the Slovenia game through suspension, leaving Capello to reassemble his centre defence for a third successive game.
The Italian was at a loss to explain his team's display, rather half-heartedly blaming expectation for having disrupted his side's rhythm. The manager offered his crestfallen players a reminder that they can still progress, and even top the group, though his main task now appears to be repairing battered confidence.
“The pressure of the World Cup does not help, probably,” said Capello. “These players train very well and at a fast speed but they were not the same team that I know in these two games. I told the players in the dressing room that they have another chance on Wednesday, and we are really lucky with that. We have a big chance because USA drew. But I hope to see the England team on Wednesday. This is not the England team I know.
“I remember when I started as England manager, I saw the same things when we played at Wembley. I hope, when we play the next game, we forget this performance and we forget to play with fear and without confidence.
“It's incredible, the mistakes of the players. When they can't control the ball or miss easy passes...we missed everything. This is incredible given the level of the England players. The pressure is so big because the performance of the players was not as I know.”
First among his concerns will be Rooney. The striker was unrecognisable from the player who rampaged through the Premier League.
“Rooney didn't play like Rooney,” said Capello. “I can change the tactics, I will try to do something different. But we know what we have to do. Sometimes after one big performance, the minds of the players will be free and then we can play like England. Like the England that I know. This is really important.”
The captain, Steven Gerrard, said: “We're not happy with the performance, we need more. We want to stay in this tournament until the final stages. We were not good enough to make the breakthrough in the final third. We were not aggressive enough and didn't have the cutting edge. Give (Algeria) credit but we have to look at ourselves. We've not got any excuses: we know what we have to do. We have to win the final game, which adds to the pressure, but at this level you have to handle that pressure.” — © Guardian News and Media 2010
