England Going For The World Cup

Happy July 4th! The United States of America is 242 years old. And so, on this day of the nation’s birth, we praise … England?

Yes, our old oppressor, imposer of the stamp tax, colonial ruler, vicious opponent in the Revolutionary War. OK, guys, all is forgiven now.

England advanced on Tuesday in World Cup play by beating Colombia on penalty kicks. Forget how horrible a way that is to decide anything of import. Consider that England nearly didn’t advance, giving up the tying goal in a 1-1 match in stoppage time (those are the minutes tacked on to make up for the many briefs breaks while players roll around on the turf, holding their shins and yowling in pain, only to quickly rise and sprint again).

England is so well known globally for its Premier League, for Manchester United and Arsenal, but as a national side it has not been to the quarterfinals of the World Cup since 2006. And it won a game on penalties for the first time since 1996. So a match that had gone reasonably well and seemed to be won was nearly lost, then won again.

Next up for the Brits: Sweden on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

Have a safe, fun July 4th!

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman