World Cup Special: It's Mourning in England (Matlin)

Last Saturday night, Team USA was knocked out of football's World Cup. But how many Americans noticed? According to an “in-depth” survey carried out after the defeat by Ghana, most were unaware of the World Cup, , and the vast majority of those who recognised something was happening didn’t really care that much.

(OK, full disclosure: the survey, better known as a straw poll, was carried out by the writer who e-mailed and skyped a number of friends and relations in the States.)

A day later, England was defeated by Germany, the olde football enemy. Since 1966, the one time England won the World Cup, defeating the Germans in the final, Germany has had the high sign over the English: 1990 World Cup, 1996 European Championship, and now England's worst-ever defeat before its biggest-ever audience.

It's safe to say many noticed. The good people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have wallowed in our dismay. Television and newspapers have carried out a 48-hour post-mortem on the woeful performance of the England players. Those who were enthusiastic are now merciless.

The story is not confined to the sports pages. It is front page news, with the castigation of overpaid players, some of whom earn £6 million –-- that’s pounds not dollars –-- before they receive cheques for endorsements and image rights. The England manager is paid £4 million and probably has a large severance package waiting for him at the end of the week.The diatribe against all concerned in the England defeat will be conducted not only by the media and the pundits but also by the 30 million prospective new England managers until mid-August, when the football season starts here. Then much will be forgiven.

I have asked myself why things are so different in America. Sure, I expect the people of Indiana were put out when the Indianapolis Colts were upset in this year’s football (American rather than international version) Super Bowl but was there a call for mass punishment or at least dismissals? Not really

It's just not the same because it is rare for America to produce a national team. In American football, this has never happened --- after all, there is no other nation to play, except maybe for Canada (and with their inferior variety of the game, they could easily be vanquished). The Olympics are a debatable exception --- basketball, baseball, andice hockey are graced by Team USA --- but the traumas are few and far between: the 1972 basketball upset by the Soviet Union (and they cheated, they had to have cheated) has faded, and so what if the US got trounced by the Cubans at some random point in baseball?

So this week, when those EA readers who are American contemplate the difference between our two countries, please know that a depression, both emotional and economic, will have settled over England and will not be lifted for some weeks. If our neophyte Prime Minister, David Cameron (who apparently watched the World Cup debacle alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel) and his coalition partners looked for a Three Lions win to relieve the economic plight of this small island, they have been sadly disappointed.

We English are now officially in mourning.