[ENGLAND] England will head to the World Cup brimming with confidence. It doesn’t hurt that the English have been placed in what they will view as an easy groupin which to play.
After the low of failing to qualify for Euro ’08, England ran off eight straight wins to win Europe’s Group 6.
The person responsible for England’srecovery is Fabio Capello, a no-nonsense Italian with a long history of success as a coach at AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid.
“We’vecome a very long way under the manager,” midfield stalwart Frank Lampard told the Mirror recently . “Our confidence was rock bottom from not qualifying [forEuro 2008]. For England not to qualify for a major tournament, I know it’s happened quite a few times over the years, but it is a low point. We’re a top nation with top players and we should bequalifying.”
England captain John Terry isn’t yet guaranteeing World Cup success. After all, England has advanced to the semifinals of the WorldCup only once – Italia ’90 – since winning the World Cup at home in 1966.
“We’ve got huge improvements to make all over the field, in defense and going forward,” said the Chelseadefender, “and I’m sure the manager in the next few games will try different things.”
Besides a core of stars – Steven Gerrard,
Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham shouldmake the team but faces stiff competition on the right side of midfield, where Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon has stood out recently.
Goalkeepers
Robert Green (West Ham)
David James (Portsmouth)
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Rio Ferdinand (Man. United)
Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
Matt Upson (West Ham)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Midfielders
Gareth Barry (Man. City)
David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Frank Lampard(Chelsea)
Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Forwards
Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)
Emile Heskey (AstonVilla)
Wayne Rooney (Man. United)