World Cup: English stew — One Cup faith, one Cup fear

LONDON — "England expects!"

The phrase is everywhere: in the tabloids, on the radio, splashed across ads. It harks back to 1805, when the naval hero Horatio Nelson warned his sailors, "England expects that every man will do his duty."

Now the battle is not against Napoleon's warships but against the USA, which England faces Saturday in its first match of the 2010 World Cup.

So just what does England expect?

The nation's feelings about the faceoff in South Africa are a complicated brew that's as English as a pint in a pub. The mood here is a mixture of bravado and nerves, hope and fear, longing and self-doubt. The English soccer team is ranked eighth in the world, the USA 14th, but in a land steeped in tradition, the Three Lions' tradition consists of letting down the fans. And now fans never dare to voice expectations of victory without adding caveats.

"It's England that we're talking about, so nothing can ever run smoothly," says Neil Regelous, a London bank analyst. "Everyone builds us up to say, 'Yes, this time, we're going to win it!' And then we'll lose to a lesser nation."

England, the country that invented soccer and has one of the top pro leagues in the world, hasn't won the Cup since 1966. In this soccer-mad nation, that adds up to "44 years of hurt," in the words of the Daily Star Sunday.

Despite fans' apprehensions, anticipation is building for an event that unites the country as almost nothing else does. The white-and-red St. George's cross, the flag of England, flutters from cars and windows. Department store John Lewis reports TV sales are up 30 percent over last year.

"Historically, the World Cup has always been a big driver for TV sales," says John Kempner, a buyer at John Lewis.

Up to 20 million Brits are expected to tune in to watch the match, which starts at 7:30 p.m. local time, according to the Football Association. More than 1 million of the few who will be at work Saturday still plan to catch the game, pollster ComRes says.

Fans look forward to a time when the buttoned-up English become cheerful, even talkative.

Saturday's game "is going to be wicked, man," says Travis McKoy, a London security guard. "I love the World Cup. I love the feeling in London during the World Cup. I can't wait."

A series of disappointments