For the second time in six months England were crushed by the World Cup. After the humiliation of a 4-1 defeat to Germany in South Africa came another resounding rejection for the mother country. Shuttle diplomacy of David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham yesterday only succeeded in exposing the English bid as out of touch with the brutal realities of Fifa’s politics; Vladimir Putin scored a victory over his British counterpart without even being in Zurich for the ballot. Instead, Russia’s prime minister swept in last night recounting tales of the bombardment of Leningrad in the second world war and how football had helped Russians endure “tragic” deprivation. He told the Fifa executive committee, after they had awarded England only two votes out of a possible 22: “We’re honoured by your decision. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” So much for the English late charm offensive. Fifa treated their bid with contempt. From No 10 downward the leaders of England’s bid mis-read the signals and frittered £15m on a campaign that failed to leave a dent in Russia’s quest to use football to force through infrastructure change. Putin’s greater mission in the hours before the vote had…