England beat Hungary 3-1 in a friendly which should prompt neither excessive optimism nor despondency. The first-half fitted the standard international format and was a cagey affair, but England played neatly enough. England scored three in a livelier second half. The first two were headers from Beckham free-kicks, put away by Gerrard and Terry respectively. […]

Tony Cascarino presents a radical perspective on how England should organise their midfield this summer. He argues that the team should be built around England’s most important player Steven Gerrard. This is sensible enough comment, but Cascarino’s proposed method for achieving this aim is rather ill-formulated. He states that Gerrard must be positioned at the […]

You know the score, drink a glass of cherryade* every time one of the following happens. This is the second part of this article, to read the first click here.
A player:

attempts a stupid trick that goes wrong
attempts a stupid trick that goes right, but gets the player nowhere
makes a diving motion to the referee when […]

A 10-man Belarus side managed to beat England ‘B’, but we shouldn’t despair! In the first half England dominated and every player put in a respectable enough performance. England deservedly went a goal up in the 35th minute: Owen hit the bar with a good header from a Downing free-kick, and Jenas followed up […]

I’ve selected the players I would feel most happy to see stepping forward for England in the event of a penalty shoot-out at this year’s World Cup:
Frank Lampard has been England’s first choice penalty taker since Beckham missed three in a row. He takes penalties for his club side Chelsea, and I can’t remember him missing one. He found […]

France - Michael Douglas: An ageing team, they’re not the force they used to be but are still very capable of turning in good performances.  They are also living proof that marrying the old with the young won’t necessarily manage to recreate the appeal they had in the 90s.
Mexico - John C Reilly: A consistent and […]

A friend of mine, and a friend of his, have written and performed their own World Cup song. Here is a link, exclusive and free to World Cup Hippo readers and antagonists. Listen and prepare to be dazzled…
World Cup Song: Pride of Lions

Herr Hippo outlines below the credentials of two candidates who he thinks have an outside chance of being top scorer at World Cup 2006.
Jared Borgetti, Mexico
Borgetti scored 14 times in 18 World Cup qualifiers, including goals against Mexico’s closest rivals in the CONCACAF region, USA and Costa Rica. He’s a well-established international striker and has […]