No English clubs left in the Champions League and a growing possibility of Montenegro, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan and Panama at the 2014 World Cup but not England. March has not been a good month for the country that gave the world its favorite sport.
The usual European suspects — Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland and Russia — top their qualifying groups with England left licking its wounds after a 1-1 draw that felt more like a defeat against Montenegro, the leaders of Group H.
Since missing out on USA '94 England has qualified for the last four World Cups with few problems. Its fate is still in its own hands, Roy Hodgson boosted by the fact that three of England's last four qualifying games are at home, the manager overlooking or forgetting that in the last three years the national team has won only two of five competitive games, failing to defeat Switzerland, Montenegro and Ukraine.