Hello, we’re banging the drum of doom…

God, how depressing was Saturday? Never before has a 5-1 victory felt so damn flat. It was rubbish. And while absolutely no one in Europe accurately knows where Belarus is, it could turn out to be the worst place ever, according to our pals over at Chickendinner. It’s going to be a gloomy night for English football. Here’s why:

1. In their last competitive home game last November, Belarus triumphed 2-1 over a Holland side that had lost just one of their previous 24 tournament qualifying matches.

2. They have lost just two of their last twelve matches and have recorded impressive friendly results, including home draws against Turkey and Argentina, not to mention coming from behind to draw 2-2 away to Euro 2008 runners-up Germany.

3. MOST IMPORTANTLY… They have beaten England before. While Belarus’s 2-1 victory at the Madejski Stadium in May 2006 was officially against an England “B” team, eleven of the players involved in that match are in the current England squad, while other big names such as Jamie Carragher, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole and Michael Owen also played. On that day, Belarus scored their winner with just ten men.