LiveBlog: England vs. Belarus

May 25th, 2006 | by: Sean Keener | View Comments

This is my attempt at LiveBlogging. Thanks to England Blogger Shawn for letting me grace his blog for a few hours. I am a footie fan, always cheering for the underdawg. As for England…I have liked them in the past, not sure how I feel about them now. I am watching this game in London, England.

Half-time: England 1 – Belarus 0

44:00: I will take a break and get some dinner at halftime. Belarus just had a weak chance in England’s box. Judging by the attendance, not many fans care about this friendly either. Games like this, they just don’t mean much….I wouldn’t want a person new to football/soccer watch this game. No meaning, little passion…still good warm-up for England and me. Thanks for having me Shawn!

40:00 Weak corner for England. Commentary on Beckham, even though he is not playing. I reckon he hurts England’s chances in the World Cup. He is slow, not that creative. Sure, he can still bend it…but I reckon he is just an old man that does not make England better. For all you Beckham lovers…lucky that he is such a star/draw and keeps playing. Gerrard IMO, is way better and can make more happen.

36:00: I doubt goals will come that easy in World Cup. But it still must feel good to get one in iduring warm-up. Replays show that Owen was clearly offside on the free kick that led to the goal.

33:45: Goal by Jenas. Free kick to a header, hits cross bar, Jenas head it back in. Weak defense. England 1 – Belarus 0.

32:00: Theo Walcott is warming up!

29:00: Maybe I spoke too soon. Belarus with a few more chances, a bit more serious this time…oops – England counter attack gets a free kick just outside the 18. 1st set piece from this game. (I think)

25:45: Belarus has had a few week chances the past minute. Even when they do get chances, it never looks threatening. I think I could go out there for about 5 minutes and mount a better attack. My Charles Barkley move from basketball could work in Football?

22:10: All of England’s players appear to have way more pace. (Lennon can get by his man every time) Appear to be the superior team as everyone in the world suspects. It would be kinda fun to see Belarus win tonight, and then read the papers in the morning as everyone panics.

16:00: Crouch volley chance goes high. I read in the paper today that Crouch was “on a couch” 4 years ago for the World Cup and didn’t feel he had a chance in hell to ever play for England. Good on him.

13:30: Lennon nice chance. Not much suspense for this game, is there?

11:00: Not much action…We will be doing some video coverage from Germany. No, not at the games, tickets too expensive and they would not give us press passes…but we wil attempt to find fans, interview ‘em and and capture the experience of “being there.” Here is a sample video of me from this morning doing some testing.

8:10: England goal called off-sides – replay says it was in fact, off sides.

7:03: David James touches the ball for the 1st time in the game. Almost gives up a chance to belarus. World Class keeper.

4:30: Owen good chance…Commentators are stoked at Owen’s start. Just found my profile page on WorldCupBlog.

1 minute: Belarus finished 5th out of 6th in there World Cup group Qualifying. Should make for an easy tune-up for England B.

Kickoff: Walcott on the sidelines to start. I want to see this kid play.

Pregame: Ian Payne, Glenn Hoddle, and David Platt on Sky. Talking about Theo Walcott…will he get a change. Today’s metro mentioned him and that is is quicker than Henry.

I remember David Platt at Euro ‘96. He has lost a lot of hair and gained some weight since then. Maybe I have too.

Sven says:
- No report on Rooney ie his status
- Owen will play – Sven is wondering about his form – hoping for 1 hour from Owen. Golden opp for the young players. Sven’s bald head is sunburnt…I hope he uses sunscreen. An old girlfriend told me that sunscreen is the best way to protect my skin from the affects of aging. Hope Sven know this.

More Pre-game Chatter:
- talking about Aaron Lennan (sp?) – 19 year old from Tottem.
- more Owen interviews – he says he is “as fit as the other lads”
- the stands are not even close to being filled yet.
- not sure why there is no bet for this game. Sporting Odds does have it.

My Prediction: England 3 – Belarus 0