Former England and Chelsea defender John Terry offered up a new explanation for why the Three Lions were dumped out of the 2010 World Cup.
Fabio Capello’s side were hammered 4-1 by Germany in the round of 16 in South Africa but Terry revealed the squad’s pre-match ordeal might have been a contributing factor to their lacklustre display.
He claimed the players had asked to remove their FA approved Marks & Spencer suits during their journey to the fixture, with conditions on the team bus less than ideal.
‘We had an hour and 20 minutes on the bus and all the players were asking, “[Steven Gerrard], speak to the gaffer about suits, we don’t want to wear suits, it’s hot, it’s horrible”.’ He told The Sun.
Terry claimed they were told the FA had a deal with the retail giant as their request was denied. He said when they got off the bus, sweating as the air conditioning was not working, they saw their opponents arriving in Bloemfontein in shorts and flip flops.
John Terry has shed light on England’s less than ideal journey to their knockout stage clash against Germany at the 2010 World Cup
The Three Lions were dumped out of the competition after a crushing 4-1 defeat by Germany
Terry claimed the squad had asked to removed their Marks & Spencer suits on the bus to the fixture but they were denied
‘Someone’s responsible for that.’ The Blues defender added before admitting that the team underachieved in the clash more than a decade ago.
England were put to the sword by a rampant Germany side, who would go on to finish third in the competition before winning the World Cup four years later.
Goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski gave the then-three time winners a commanding lead ahead of Matthew Upson’s header which halved the deficit.
However, only moments later, England were denied an equaliser when Frank Lampard’s lob was not given despite it clearly crossing the goal line.
Though, feelings of what might have been were quickly dispelled in the second period when the Germans reasserted their dominance, as a three-minute brace from Thomas Muller put the result beyond doubt.
‘There’s no getting away from the fact it’s us as players.’ Terry added. ‘We were miles off it.’
