England grieves as hopes crushed

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LONDON (Reuters) -- England collapsed in grief Friday as Brazil swept its team out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory in Japan, crushing high hopes of victory.

"It is a tragedy. There is no other word for it," said 19-year-old student Rebecca Langfield, wiping tears from her face with a stained flag of St George, the national banner that has become suddenly ubiquitous across the nation this month.

"I really thought we would beat them and then win the World Cup," she sniffed.

"The world has just caved in," said building worker Don Jacobs, 26. "We just weren't good enough."

Streets had been silent in cities across the country as time seemed to stand still during the 90 minutes of the clash of the footballing titans half way around the globe.

There had been an early morning rush of traffic as people rushed to get to work ahead of the 7:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) kickoff.

The red-on-white cross of St George adorned buildings and cars. People at bus stops wore English colors.

Schools hired big screens and invited pupils to come early and have breakfast while watching the match.

Thousands of fans gathered from midnight in London's Trafalgar Square where a giant screen had been erected. Police estimated the numbers packing the square at over 12,000.

Pubs across the country were filled to overflowing as fans sat transfixed, sipping their early morning beers with their eyes glued to the television screens.

Groans followed cheers as the fortunes of the game ebbed and flowed. England scored first followed by two for Brazil, who played the final half-hour with just 10 men after Ronaldinho, scorer of the winning goal, was sent off.

Not all of Britain was so depressed, though. In the northern half of the island, there was glee as Scots cheered on Brazil against their old rivals to the south.

It was the biggest game for England in 12 years, since it lost to Germany in the semifinal of the 1990 World Cup.

History had been against the English. It has failed to beat Brazil ever in a World Cup tournament.

For others left in the tournament it was also a warning -- on the three occasions it has met England at the finals, Brazil has gone all the way to win the trophy.

 

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