Up in Arms : British Press Doesn’t Think Highly of Loss to United States in Soccer

LONDON —  There was no stiff-upper-lipping going on Thursday in England, just lots of Brit-bashing, by Brits.

England’s 2-0 defeat by the United States in the U.S. Cup soccer tournament Wednesday was the ultimate humiliation for the country that invented the game.

As the Daily Mirror put it, “We Can’t Get Any Lower.”

According to the Daily Express, the defeat was “an abject failure against a third-rate soccer nation.”

“English football died of shame last night--and the coffin could be draped with the Stars and Stripes,” added the Express, lamenting that England’s stars had been beaten by “a collection of college boys and second-rate professionals.”

“Yanks 2, Planks 0,” headlined the Sun.

“Flops Reach All-Time Low,” said Today.

“Wanted Dead or Alive: Graham Taylor--the outlaw of English football,” said the Mirror, with the England coach’s glum face featured on an Old West-style flier.

Even the quality papers held nothing back.

“The reputation of English football plumbed to new depths,” said the Times. “England is without cohesion and the basic belief in themselves or their skills. If it was possible to worsen a losing performance against an unrated opponent, England did it.”