TOM ROSS: England can win the World Cup, but they won't
THE two biggest football questions on the lips of most fans in offices, factories, pubs and clubs throughout the country are: Can England win the World Cup? And: Will England win the World Cup?
My answers are ‘yes’ and ‘no’, in that order.
I just cannot see Fabio Capello’s team beating the likes of Brazil, Spain and Argentina, which is what they will have to do to lift the trophy.
I am not just reacting to the abysmal display against Japan, I have never felt confident that the players are good enough to progress past the quarter-final stage.
Too much of the goalscoring threat rests on Wayne Rooney. With all due respect, who else will be a major goal threat or a worry to the defences of the major teams?
Is there the required creativity in midfield? Barry, Lampard and Gerrard are all great players but are not really the sort that will unlock teams and create goalscoring chances for the forwards. However, they can – and will – get on the end of things and engineer chances for themselves, but is that enough at World Cup level?
Defensively I’m not sure it’s as good as the hype would have us believe, due mainly to injury and lack of match fitness of key individuals.
If everyone was fit I would definitely feel more confident but too many players will be travelling having recently recovered physically from injury but without playing many games at the highest level.
There are times when you can get away with this but definitely not in the World Cup.
I don’t think Capello’s contract issues have helped the squad’s preparation for the tournament since he was tipped to take over from Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. It was widely reported he discussed his contract with the FA on Monday.
Now Capello made it clear he would not tolerate any player talking about transfers or contract negotiations until after the World Cup so surely that should also apply to the coach?
I just hope the players and manager realise they carry the hopes and dreams of the nation on their shirts.
All we can do is cross anything that can be crossed and then hope, wish and pray that England win the World Cup.
Meanwhile, if the footballing gods could smile on the team and give them a little luck and a few breaks along their World Cup journey, it would be greatly appreciated.
All the players can do is give their all for every single minute of every game, sing the national anthem before the kick-off in every game, apart from Capello, of course, and cry “God for Harry, England and St George”.
