WHUFC.com
Matthew Upson helped England reach the FIFA World Cup second round with a
win over Slovenia
23.06.2010
Matthew Upson enjoyed a superb start to his 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign by
helping England to defeat Slovenia 1-0 in their final Group C fixture and
reach the second round.
The West Ham United captain, who lined up alongside former Academy schoolboy
John Terry, was rock solid on his first appearance in South Africa. Upson
was preferred to Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Dawson due to the absence of
Ledley King and Jamie Carragher through injury and suspension respectively,
and the Hammers defender did not let his country down at all. Indeed, in the
final minute of the 90, it was the 31-year-old who was in exactly the right
place to deny Zlatko Dedic with an inch-perfect sliding challenge.
Upson maintained his perfect record when he has partnered the Chelsea man at
the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth - just as they did in defeating
Slovenia 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley in September 2009. Upson, who caught
the attention of many before kick-off with his passionate singing of the
national anthem, stood firm throughout the contest, making a number of
important blocks and getting forward to good effect. It was another player
with Hammers connections in Jermain Defoe, who spent five seasons at the
Boleyn Ground between 1999 and 2004, who netted the all-important
match-winner. The striker was in the right place to divert James Milner's
right-wing cross through the arms of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic on 22
minutes.
Fabio Capello's side had plenty of chances to add to their lead either side
of half-time but, somehow, the scoreline remained 1-0 in England's favour.
Before the break, Handanovic did well to keep out efforts from Academy
graduate Lampard, Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. Later, Rooney and
Terry were both denied by outstanding saves from Handanovic - the former
seeing his shot deflected on to the post - during an increasingly frantic
second half. Slovenia had their chances, too, with Terry and yet another
Academy graduate, Glen Johnson, making vital blocks to keep out efforts from
Andraz Kirm and Zlatko Dedic before Valter Birsa fired narrowly wide of
David James's goal. As time ran down a seventh player with West Ham
connections - and a fifth to have spent time within the club's famous
Academy - was sent into the action in the shape of substitute Joe Cole.
Following a nail-biting second half, England recovered from their
disappointing draws with the United States and Algeria to book their place
in the last 16. With the US defeating Algeria 1-0, both England and the
Americans go through to the second round, with Bob Bradley's side qualifying
as group winners. The Three Lions will face Germany at the Free State
Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon. Upson scored his only
England goal against the Germans in a Berlin friendly back in November 2008
when Terry's late winner sealed a 2-1 away win.
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High praise for Matt
WHUFC.com
Alan Shearer led the tributes for West Ham United captain Matthew Upson's
strong performance
23.06.2010
Matthew Upson rightly earned rave reviews for his display against Slovenia
as England won through to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday.
The match was broadcast live on the BBC and much of the post-match analysis
of the 1-0 victory in Port Elizabeth focused on his tournament-saving tackle
on Zlatko Dedic in the 90th minute. Upson had only come into the side for
his finals bow following Ledley King's injury and Jamie Carragher's
suspension - and stood up to the task. Focusing on that last-ditch moment,
former England striker Alan Shearer said: "In a clutch of players, Matthew
Upson was brilliant . It must have been mentally tough for him to come in,
seeing the other players ahead of him like King and Carragher, but he came
in and did what he had to do."
Shearer's former international team-mate Lee Dixon was also full of praise,
and suggested as well that Upson should figure in the second-round tie on
Sunday afternoon against the as yet unknown winners of Group D. "He should
keep his place, he did everything he had to do," he said. Former Scotland
centre-back Alan Hansen also had positive things to say and suggested the
combination of Upson with John Terry "worked well". Of that crucial tackle,
he said: "What a tackle at what was a crucial point of the game. It was
absolutely perfect."
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'It was just a reaction'
WHUFC.com
Matthew Upson represented West Ham United to distinction with his defiant
display against Slovenia
23.06.2010
Matthew Upson was delighted to have played a vital role in England winning
through to the second phase of the FIFA World Cup. The West Ham United
captain performed well alongside John Terry in a 1-0 Group C victory over
Slovenia that owed much to a strong defensive display, although Jermain
Defoe will rightly get the headlines for his clinical strike midway through
the first half. Upson had his own decisive moment right at the death,
however, when he had to time a tackle to perfection to deny Zlatko Dedic an
equaliser that would have knocked the Three Lions out. Instead, they qualify
as runners-up behind the United States and face a last-16 tie on Sunday
afternoon against Germany. "It was just a bit of a reaction really," Upson
told the BBC. "The ball got flicked on I think and [there was] a knockdown
so I just turned sideways and saw the opportunity to take it. It had to be
timed right and it was. I was really pleased. "There are lots of
opportunities in a game and lots of decisions to make. Every minute of the
game there is something you have to think about and make a decision. It was
a reaction more than anything."
Upson's performance alongside Terry, Academy graduate Glen Johnson and the
outstanding Ashley Cole to his left helped give Fabio Capello's men the
platform to dominate the match, even if the scoreline did not reflect their
superiority. Going forward England were far removed from the team that had
laboured to draws against the US and Algeria.
"The shackles were off," added the 31-year-old. "It was noticeable to
everyone in the first couple of games that we weren't flowing in the way we
can do. The key for us was the freedom we played with, the change of
attitude and the way we just went about our job like it was a Saturday
afternoon in the Premier League. "The tempo was like that. In the end they
started to hit some long balls, it was dropping down and became a bit
scrappy. We are used to dealing with that kind of football and we did well
to see it through."
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Matt-through
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 23rd June 2010
By: Staff Writer
Matthew Upson produced a fault-free performance at the heart of the England
defence as Fabio Capello's side squeezed through to the knockout stages of
the World Cup Finals.
The West Ham centre half was finally given an opportunity to add to his
numerous appearances during the qualifying stage as England qualified as
runners-up from Group C by virtue of a 1-0 win. Despite looking a little off
the pace once or twice during the early stages the Hammers captain was on
hand to make a number of vital interventions, including one notable block in
the final frantic minutes that averted what looked like a goalbound effort.
Speaking about that moment after the game, a delighted Upson said: "It was
just a reaction really, the ball got played into the box and it was flicked
on to the inside of me and I just took the opportunity. It had to be timed
right and I was really pleased I was able to. "I think it was noticeable in
the first couple of games we weren't flowing the way we can do and I thought
we showed that in patches today. There were lots of opportunities in the
game and every minute we had to make decisions and there was always
something to think about. It was just the reaction that was pleasing."
The England team, littered with West Ham stars both present and (mostly)
past secured a mouth-watering last 16 tie against old foe Germany thanks to
Jermain Defoe's first half strike. Accompanying Upson and Defoe in Capello's
team were former Hammers John Terry, Glenn Johnson, Frank Lampard and
(substitute) Joe Cole. Forgotten man Robert Green, whose World Cup appears
to be over since he was dropped following the disappointing 1-1 draw with
the USA was an unused substitute.
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Well Done Matt Upson, as Germany and Argentina lay ahead!
West Ham Till I Die
Matt Upson received criticism from Hammers fans last season, some of which
was justified and some not. I have always believed that Upson is an
experienced and quality left sided central defender. However, we did not
see enough of that quality last season. By his previous standards, he had
an indifferent season as part of a squad that almost imploded under the
burden of its inherent deficiencies.
However, Upson always performed well for England in the World Cup
qualifiers. He never let England down then and he did not yesterday either.
However, it has to be said that he has been treated pretty shabbily by the
England management, who relied heavily upon him in the qualifiers only to
later demote him in the squad's pecking order, as King and Carragher were
parachuted in ahead of him.
But he did the professional thing, he kept positive, trained and awaited his
chance to play. When it came along, he took it. He now deserves to stay in
the team for the Germany match. Capello must not do a 'Alvin Martin. ' You
may recall that in the last 16 match of the 1986 Finals, Alvin Martin came
in against Paraguay and did a sterling job in a 3-0 victory. Yet in the
quarter-final against Argentina, Martin was omitted once again, in favour of
Fenwick and Butcher. Maradona subsequently had a field day against them in
the infamous 2-1 defeat. Would Martin have done any better? I believe that
he would have done, but regardless, his prior display had earned him the
opportunity to play against Argentina.
Anyway, well done Matt Upson, you had the fans brick bats last season, now
accept the boquets! Just keep focused, maintain concentration and continue
doing the straightforward defensive things well. If you can also manage
some more top class tackles and ariel sortees in the opposition penalty
area, then so much the better!
Qualifying for the latter stages, as 2nd in their group, means that they
have a challenging route to the Semi-Finals. It means Germany in the last
sixteen and Argentina in the quarter-finals (failing a upset by Mexico).
Should we fear these contests? Of course not, the World Cup Final is about
playing and hopefully beating the best. These two teams are probably
England's greatest rivals in world football. We as fans should relish the
spectacle, the challenge, the passion and the history.
Although, I hasten to add that this is football rivalry, not some sort of
rematch of two World Wars and the Falklands conflict. Sport is sport, it is
not war by other means, as much as some tabloids would have us believe that
it is. National pride is fine, but we need to keep it rationale and real.
With regard to the England players, they have a golden opportunity to make
the nation banish past disappointments and focus on renewed glory. It's a
chance to avenge he reverses of 1970 and 1990, in the case of the Germans,
and the 1986 and 1998 defeats to Argentina. In addition, they can prove
their ability on the greatest stage of all, representing their country in
the latter stages of the FIFA World Cup Finals. What greater incentive
would any footballer want or need?
Can England win it, my pre-tournament prediction was that they could
progress to the semi-finals. Once they get to the latter stages it takes
not only good individual performances, team tactics and organisation, but
also a bit of good fortune at strategic junctures. We have had such
enormous bad luck since 1970, and that milestone defeat in Leon, maybe now
the pendulum is set to finally swing back the other way? So, lets keep our
feet on the ground, but be open to the possibility that, in the right
circumstances, we could progress to the Final.
And Brazil or Spain will likely await us at some point. Are they very good?
Yes. Are they unbeatable? No. The French proved in 1998 that a
passionate, committed and organised European team, with sufficient quality,
can beat Brazil. While, more recently, Switzerland destroyed Spain's myth
of invincibility. Certainly, if we were to beat Germany, Argentina and
Brazil or Spain, that would be a great achievement.
Could it happen? It is possible, if not probable! As the the popular
saying has it, stranger things have happened! And there may well be 'more
things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than dreamt of in your philosophy.'
(Hamlet, Act 1, Scene v)
If the odds ultimately prove too great, then at least give us fans a
glorious adventure that makes us proud of the players that wear the three
lions on their chest. While the team must be able to later look themselves
in the mirror and say, without regret, that individually and collectively
they gave it their very best shot.
SJ. Chandos.
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