- England suffered a 4-1 defeat to Germany in the round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup.
- The team had traveled to the game by bus in the sweltering South African heat.
- ‘He’s reaching De Bruyne levels!’ Arsenal maestro Martin Odegaard HAS to be in the race for Player of the Year – Listen to the It’s all starting! Podcast
Former England and Chelsea defender John Terry has offered a new explanation for why the Three Lions were knocked out of the 2010 World Cup.
Fabio Capello’s side were beaten 4-1 by Germany in the last 16 in South Africa, but Terry revealed the team’s ordeal before the match could have been a contributing factor to their lackluster performance.
He claimed that players had asked to remove their FA-approved Marks & Spencer suits during the journey to the match, and that conditions on the team bus were not ideal.
“We had an hour and 20 minutes on the bus and all the players were asking us: ‘(Steven Gerrard), talk to the boss about suits, we don’t want to wear suits, it’s hot, it’s horrible.'” He he said to the sun.
Terry claimed they were told the FA had an agreement with the retail giant because their application was denied. He said that when they got off the bus, sweating because the air conditioning was not working, they saw their opponents arrive in Bloemfontein in shorts and flip-flops.
John Terry has shed light on England’s less than ideal journey towards their last 16 clash against Germany at the 2010 World Cup.
The Three Lions were eliminated from the competition after a crushing 4-1 defeat to Germany.
Terry claimed the team had asked to take off their Marks & Spencer suits on the bus to the game, but were denied.
“Someone is responsible for that.” The Blues defender added before admitting that the team did not perform satisfactorily in the clash more than a decade ago.
England were put to the sword by a rampaging Germany, who would finish third in the competition before winning the World Cup four years later.
Goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski gave the then three winners a commanding lead before a Matthew Upson header halved the deficit.
However, just moments later, England were denied an equalizer when Frank Lampard’s lob was not released despite clearly crossing the goal line.
However, feelings of what might have been were quickly dispelled in the second half as the Germans reasserted their dominance, as a three-minute brace from Thomas Muller put the result beyond doubt.
“You can’t ignore the fact that it’s us as players.” Terry added. “We were miles apart.”