England

Tom Oldfield

It always feels somewhat hopeful to make positive predictions about England’s chances at major tournaments, considering all the painful failures of the past 40-odd years.

Heading into the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and so on, there was no shortage of pundits adamant that England’s time had come, that they had the array of stars to triumph and that they were a match for any of the other top nations.

Yet, whether it was in normal time or in the dreaded penalty shootout, it has never quite happened for the players, leading many to steer well clear of such hasty optimism.

But, whisper it quietly, manager Fabio Capello has whipped the current England crop into impressive shape since taking charge and appears to be getting the best out of players who have flattered to deceive in previous years.

The 5-1 victory over rivals Croatia on Wednesday confirmed England’s place at the 2010 World Cup and completed a thoroughly outstanding route to qualification. Eight wins out of eight is as flawless as it gets and 31 goals for and just five against is no small achievement. Frank Lampard’s penalty settled any English nerves after just seven minutes, following a foul on the lively Aaron Lennon, then the floodgates well and truly opened and the party began.

Lampard helped himself to another and Steven Gerrard matched the Chelsea man with two goals of his own before Wayne Rooney capped a fine all-round display with the fifth. The crowd lapped up every minute of England’s dominance as the ghosts of the costly defeat to Croatia that stopped Rooney and company reaching Euro 2008 were firmly put to rest.

But, as Capello himself would surely be quick to acknowledge, qualification is merely step one in the process. It is something to celebrate and is worthy of a collective pat on the back yet there will be little champagne being uncorked in the dressing room – and nor should there be.

The swagger with which England are playing is particularly encouraging, though. And it is enough to suggest that they can seriously mix it with the likes of Brazil and Spain when the World Cup kicks off in South Africa next summer.

A lot of the pieces are now in place. Going forward, Rooney and Gerrard are the key men and have put in some superb performances in the qualifiers. They are the most obvious match-winners and both can conjure the moment of magic to beat the big guns. Then Emile Heskey and Jermain Defoe offer different options as a partner for Rooney. Heskey has had his critics but, despite desperately needing to get a few goals under his belt, he remains the in-favour target man while Defoe is the poacher in pole position.

And Capello has a string of other world class performers at his disposal to go with Rooney and Gerrard. Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry, along with Frank Lampard in midfield, are all in that bracket – and the spine of the team looks rock solid.

Not everything is entirely rosy, however. Concerns remain over the goalkeeping position, with no one making a substantial claim to it. West Ham’s Rob Green is the man in possession but Ben Foster and David James, of Manchester United and Portsmouth respectively, will be determined to state their case over the coming months.

Then there is Glen Johnson at right-back. The Liverpool man has had some torrid moments recently in the England shirt. At times he was exposed against the Slovenians while the Croatian goal at Wembley, scored by Arsenal’s Eduardo, came from an attack down the visitors’ left.

But Johnson looks set to keep his spot as Capello appears willing to accept that the full-back’s attacking prowess outweighs any defensive weaknesses. It is a bold move and one that more often than not will probably come off for the Italian. It is certainly a statement of intent.

Few England fans will need reminding that after another 5-1 victory – against Germany in Munich back in 2001 – then manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was hailed as the man to lead England to glory. That did not go to plan and there are no guarantees that Capello can succeed where the Swede failed.

But England seemingly now have the belief that they can be world beaters. They will definitely be appearing on the radar of the other World Cup contenders and few will fancy tackling a team packed with quality and meticulously managed.

This might just be another false dawn and the years of hurt may continue but, at the risk of adding to the misplaced optimism that has gone hand in hand with the England squad ahead of past tournaments, Capello’s men seem ready to mount their most serious bid for glory since reaching the semi-final at Euro 96.

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