The weight of expectation placed upon England players is a heavy burden to carry. Nothing short of lifting the World Cup trophy suffices in the minds of supporters and as we have become accustomed to in the past few decades, the cracks start to show in the pressure cooker.
A near-flawless qualification for the showpiece in South Africa has been attained by another foreign manager for the English. Fabio Capello has brought an Italian influence of organisation in defence and robustness in midfield with the crown jewel, Wayne Rooney, leading the charge up front.
England comfortably topped Group 6 of the European qualifying section, winning all matches bar one against the Ukraine after qualification was already guaranteed. The victories against Croatia, 4-1 and 5-1, were the most impressive performances from Capello’s men.
It is astonishing that our neighbours have won just one World Cup as previous squads have boasted players of supreme individual talent. Capello has been carefully constructing a squad which will have similar characteristics to the flat-lining players of the past and the main crux of England’s chances of success in South Africa may hinge on their choice of goalkeeper.
David James, Joe Hart and Robert Green can all stake equal claims for the number one shirt and the Italian’s choice may be the difference between becoming the nearly-men once more or going the distance. And when they fall short, as they undoubtedly will, we’ll be there chuckling at their demise.
Star Player: Wayne Rooney
A nation held its breath when ‘Wazza’ rolled around the field clutching his ankle in Manchester United’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich.
Wayne Rooney is undoubtedly the firepower behind England’s World Cup aspirations in South Africa. He has hobbled and winced a little since that injury setback but the striker has a clean bill of health for an assault on the world’s best defences.
Rooney with another England star, Glen Johnson
The stats read: 34 goals in 44 matches for his club in the season just passed and 25 goals in 58 international appearances. Not a bad return for a 24-year-old who has regularly been described in football circles as the “White Peléâ€.
His likely partner up front will be Aston Villa’s Emile Heskey, who puts donkey into donkey-work. Peter Crouch could come in and do a similar job as the under-rated Heskey but if the time comes when you see Rooney making a scything challenge way down in the left-back position then it’s squeaky-bum time for England fans.
Manager: Fabio Capello
Well, we don’t know as much as you may think about the England head coach because of his lack of an English vocabulary in press conferences.
The Italian has brought an image of ultra-professionalism and organization, well, that was until he got caught out in the infamous “Capello Indexâ€, a fantasy football league in which he was supposed to be paid for rating every player after World Cup matches. That has since been scrapped by the English FA.
Anyway, Capello has lived up to expectations so far by guiding the side to South Africa with relative ease. He became yet another foreign manager of the England national team in 2008 and brought an exemplary CV with him into the job, having managed all of Real Madrid, Roma, Milan and Juventus to League titles.
Should he win the tournament, Capello will surely be rewarded with a statue. Anything less than a semi-final appearance and the press gang will be sniffing blood.
Prediction: Semi-final stage
We’ve mapped it out that England will meet Brazil in the semi-final with all going to plan. Their group opponents of the USA, Algeria and Slovenia pose little threat to topping it and claiming a seeded advantage from the Last 16 round. The odds of England finishing on top are 1/3 with most bookies.
Brazil knocked England out in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final and a repeat of that scenario is on the cards. Kaka, Fabiano and Robinho may prove too hot to handle for the likes of John Terry and Gareth Barry.
Odds: 6/1
Irishness rating: 8/10
So many roads we could travel down here but if our predictions are correct, we think England will meet France in the quarter-finals. If so, then for one night only the entire Island will go nuts for Engerland. Anyone but the cheating French.
If they were a car they’d be…
Any new BMW 5 series – Always plenty of hype but never lives up to its promise.
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