There was plenty embarrassment on the pitch yesterday in South Africa.
Germany handed long-time foe England its worst defeat in World Cup play, 4-1. Down early by two goals, the English scored once in the 37th minute and then appeared to equalize just a minute later before a referee blunder marred another game.
A Frank Lampard shot from distance struck the post and bounced in — replays cleary showed the ball bounced at least two feet behind the goal line before bouncing back out — but the referee and linesman saw it differently, negating a goal that would have leveled the game.
“We made some mistakes when they played the counterattack. The referee made bigger mistakes,” England coach Fabio Capello said.
A call also stripped momentum away from Mexico in its game with undefeated Argentina. Carlos Tevez easily headed in the game’s first goal but was clearly offsides. The referee and the linesman once again missed it, dooming Mexico to play catch-up. Argentina went on to win, 3-1.
