URN

So in the last 12 months the England National Football Team has beaten Spain and Brazil at Wembley, so surely no-one can question our position as 6th in the FIFA World Rankings. Although this may well reflect the media hype and expectation that will result from such a performance, England fans will know all too well from the past not to get too excited with the win. Enduring pessimism aside however there were extremely encouraging signs from a young England team that faced Brazil last night, a unit that looked capable all over the pitch.

England vs France – Wednesday 17th November 2010 at Wembley Stadium.

Exclusively for URN, Louis Cotgrove reports on the England vs. France friendly international, which can only be described as a waste of 20 quid.

Passion, commitment, desire, enjoyment, entertainment. These five words can be applied to any England national team, except perhaps football. The players seemed to merely pay lip service to the honour of representing one’s country in a sporting medium. The defence was shoddy, the midfield lacklustre, the attack limited. When I told people, I was at the England game, the responses were all the same, “Commiserations”, “I turned it over halfway through”, “They are [awful], why [on earth] would you go to see them play?” I wish I could disagree…

Ashes: Can England pull this off?

If ever there was a chance to beat Australia on their home turf it is now. England’s last attempt at winning the Ashes in Australia ended in a humiliating 5 -0 defeat. However with the aging Australian team, bowling legends such as Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Brett Lee now gone, it is left to players such as Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger and the inexperienced spinner Xavier Doherty -who was selected ahead of the more experienced Nathan Hauritz - to be the strike bowlers for Australia. England’s bowling line up can rely on the experience of Grame Swann and Jimmy Anderson who will aid their quest in attempting to hold the Ashes on foreign soil. Australia however boast the experience of Ricky Pointing who has the ability to produce great match winning innings under pressure.

England's barmy army will be hoping they can end a run of 24 years without an Ashes victory in Australia