What they're saying about England abroad

Often in England the media are accused of over-reaction towards the national team, of knee-jerk reactions, and of unfounded negativity. So, following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with USA, the Guardian thought it would be good to see what our World Cup rivals made of England’s display...

Argentina: Ole
Green couldn’t stop a little ‘shottie’ and the US rescued a point. England were supposed to be a candidate but they showed little in their opening game. The betting had England down as clear favourites – you could barely win a peso or two on victory. But that wasn’t the case once the ball started to roll. Even the coach said that England had a team to reach the final but when it was time for the steaks, there was no evidence. Capello has a lot of work ahead of him.

Italy: La Repubblica
The great Fabio made a fundamental mistake for which so many managers have paid so dearly: Goalkeepers, they say, cannot handle uncertainty. And above all the great teams are born from great No. 1s. Much better was Tim Howard, the American No. 1. Goalkeepers have caught the eye in these first days much more than goalscorers. After Ribery, so ineffective for France, followed Wayne Rooney.

USA: Sports Illustrated
The US frustrated Rooney to no end. England’s superstar didn’t have many goalscoring chances, a testament to the excellent US team defence spearheaded by centre-backs Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit. As the second half wore on, Rooney came deeper and deeper into the midfield, desperately trying to get the ball. You could sense how frustrated Rooney became late on when he waved his arms madly at referee Carlos Simon when Rooney thought that a US foul deserved a yellow card. For all the gains Rooney has made in controlling his temper, it was clear he’s not all the way there yet.

Spain: AS
England are fighting against expectation, the doubts that surround their starting XI and their own limitations. This was a day to examine Robert Green, a goalkeeper with little personality who likes to live on his line but who only plays because David James has just had a knee injury. But Capello’s irritation was as much about the collective as the keeper. As soon as Gerrard put them in the lead they lost the ball. Not that it mattered – it was part of the strategy. But they also lost the initiative – and that wasn’t. They were not able to frighten the Americans on the break as they had planned to.