Wilshere didn't help his own cause the way he played when he came on. He was responsible for what must be one of the worst passes in the history of the World Cup. Rooney, in an otherwise decent match, had the worst corner kick ever. His pass on the England goal though - with his left foot - was inch perfect.
I watched the match with someone (a Brit) who doesn't normally watch football. At one point when England seemed to be going backwards he said "c'mon, pass it to the darkies" because to him they seemed to be making things happen when they got the ball. It wouldn't surprise me if Hodgson saw it the same way.
As for Italy, as The Philosopher mentions, it was a beautiful cross that had to be perfect. Besides that header Balotelli was invisible other than his offsides. (Immobile, who replaced him, was unnecessarily offside at least once as well). Of course, Balotelli is a striker so if he only touches it once and scores he's done his job but the media coverage has been completely over the top just like two years ago when he scored against Germany.
I watched the match with someone (a Brit) who doesn't normally watch football. At one point when England seemed to be going backwards he said "c'mon, pass it to the darkies" because to him they seemed to be making things happen when they got the ball. It wouldn't surprise me if Hodgson saw it the same way.
As for Italy, as The Philosopher mentions, it was a beautiful cross that had to be perfect. Besides that header Balotelli was invisible other than his offsides. (Immobile, who replaced him, was unnecessarily offside at least once as well). Of course, Balotelli is a striker so if he only touches it once and scores he's done his job but the media coverage has been completely over the top just like two years ago when he scored against Germany.