England will travel to South Africa this summer, with high hopes of winning the World Cup. But how good are they?
Without doubt Fabio Capello has transformed England into potential champions, after the debacle of the McClaren era. However it is obvious that Spain is still the team to beat.
What is less clear is how many of our England ‘stars’ would actually get into the Spain 1st XI. I will argue alarmingly few, as the Spanish are technically superior and are vastly more-experienced at major tournaments.
The goalkeeper area is a concern for England, with doubts over David James, Rob Green and Ben Foster. Where as Spain has an embarrassment of goalkeeping riches with Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina, both regarded as two of the best in the world.
Right-back is another concern with doubts over Glen Johnson’s defensive qualities. Spain have Sergio Ramos, who has cemented his place at Real Madrid and the national team. On the other side of the defence, England posses a world-class left-back in Ashley Cole, although Spain are not far behind with Joan Capdevila.
England’s centre-back pairing has been a source of national pride in recent years, with John Terry easily outstripping his Spanish counterpart Carlos Puyol. However Rio Ferdinand’s injury worries and high-profile blunders, has placed his position under threat. Whilst Gerard Pique has performed superbly, cementing his starting place for Spain and Barcelona in a little over a year.
Midfield Differences
England pride themselves on having the best midfielders in the world. And compared to most teams, England are strong. However Spain are not most teams, they are the best. They have the evergreen Marcos Senna, who although the wrong side of thirty, is more dynamic than Gareth Barry. David Silva would also get the nod ahead of Aaron Lennon.
Spain can then call upon the core of the all-conquering Barcelona team, Andres Iniesta and Xavi. England claim to have their equal in Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, although they have faced criticism for their performances together. There would be a strong argument for Gerrard to be in the team to link up with his club-mate Fernando Torres.
Torres would certainly be ahead of the un-prolific Emile Heskey as the central striker. However his partner is a lot more difficult to decide on. Wayne Rooney is the one player, England cannot do without. His class and work-rate is enough to get in any team. However David Villa should not be ignored and neither should his record of 30 goals in 46 internationals.
What is certain is that the World Cup will not be won on paper and Spain will undoubtedly start as favourites. But Capello has said the ingredients needed to win the trophy are “fitness” and “luck”. England will need both if they are to replicate ‘that’ momentous day in 1966.
Tags: England, South Africa, Spain, World Cup
