2010 Footbal World Cup Hopes for England

England can easily win the world cup!

As South Africa 2010 quickly approaches, the buzz and press hype seems to be building. But can this seriously be our year? It’s been over four generations since we raised the cup, not a perfect stat for the country that claims to “own” the game.

But can we do it? Fabio Capello and a host of other international managers seem to think so. And why argue? On paper, we have a team certainly of winning in South Africa. But then, don’t we continually say this? Let’s go back 4 years to Germany and take a glimpse at another England team that were ‘on paper’ going to win the world cup.

So here is the team of the ‘Golden Generation’. A team that had an underwhelming world cup bid, crashing out against a winking Portugal in the quarter finals with Wayne Rooney seeing red.

Robinson, Neville, Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Beckham, Downing, Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Owen, Cole, Campbell, James, Bridge, Carragher, Hargreaves, Jenas, Carrick , Lennon, Crouch, Carson, Walcott.

Is it just me or does anyone see a handful of similarities? Take a look at the key players in this team and you’ll notice that they are still the key players in our current squad. But has the 4 year gap made a difference for the better? Are we a more rounded and experienced squad? More importantly, can we win?

Let’s look at the positives…

We have currently (barring personal injury) one of the finest forwards in the world with Wayne Rooney. A player that has in the last 4 years, matured as a player and improved just about every part of his game. Rooney is a nuisance to any world class back line, and in present-day form, will be key for England having success in South Africa.

The Pauli Exclusion Principle… by this i mean that 2 objects cannot occupy the exact same space at the same time… and by this i mean Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. It would appear that Mr Capello has somehow managed to escape the laws of science and make the impossible, possible. Gerrard and Lampard can now both play with the mobility they need without having constantly treading on each others toes. This will be a major boost to England’s 2010 world cup bid.

Additions of the likes of Jermain Defoe, Carlton Cole and James Milner have strengthened our squad giving us much more choice in attacking positions. Plus, with Joe Cole back from injury and improving his match health and fitness, we have a team able of picking apart any defence.

Last but not least let us not forget the principal man Mr Capello. Since taking over, he has managed to do what both Sven and McClaren never could. He’s made us perform like a team.
4 years ago we looked at our rising talents (Lennon, Walcott, Richards, Wright-Phillips) with a great expectation of things to come. But have they lived up to the hype? Allot of you will argue that injury has been a major factor here but putting that aside, i was expecting that 4 years on, these would be players to mount a world cup campaign on. Instead, we’ve really just had glimmers of greatness. Is this good enough for a world cup winning side? Did Bobby Moore only have glimmers of greatness?

So i ask you, do you think England can handle the likes of Messi, Torres, Robinho, Kaka or Ronaldo? Can we find a way through a world class defence? What would you do? Who would you take? Is 2010 going to be our year or just another over-hyped disappointment?

Either way, one thing I’m positive of is that when the 12th of June rolls around, we’ll ALL be camped infront of our TV’s, sat next to the radio or (like me) in the pub absolutely certain that England WILL win the world cup.