Shame, I really fancied him to do well. Disappointing to see so many top players missing out through injury.

Robben is out of Holland's first group game. Gareth Barry has returned to full training today.

Oh say can you see...

England expects.

There are no more excuses. We have the manager, the calibre of players, the preperation.

It's time to deliver.

If we don't make the final it will be a major dissapointment, and for alot of the ''golden generation'' it will be their last chance, and they will be forever remembered as underachievers on the big stage.

I don't actually think it's a bad shout. My money is on Gilardino and RVP though.

I don't mean to rub the whole 'I can't wait to see us fail' stuff in, but you can't expect at least second when there are a few sides better than us. Football isn't played on paper.

David Villa to waltz the top scorer by at least two clear goals ahead of everyone else. Higuain a close second.

Luis Fabiano will likely be top goalscorer having got 5 goals start from Brazil's first game.

Oh, and this is why England won't win the World Cup. [urlhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/06/video_spains_second_goal_vs_po.html[/url They couldn't score a goal like that on Playstation, let alone for real.

So friendly goals decide who wins the WC? We must have a reasonable chance with that one Defoe netted the other day against the Platinum Stars then.

I usually go into big tournaments with a deluded feeling that we will go all the way. Don't have that so much this year. Though I do think with Capello in chance we could go all the way, I just don't expect us to. A lot will of course rest on Rooney keeping his head.

Double Post

USA.....USA.....USA

lol.

I doubt greece could score a goal like that, but that didn't stop them winning euro 2004.

Remember argentina's wonder goal in the group stages of 2006? where there were about 28 passes involved?

What happened to them, how far did they go in that tournament. It's not about the quality of goals. On world rankings at the time england had the toughest qualifying group of anybody and breezed through it.

If you want a dose of confidence look at the 2006 world cup and watch the highlights of our QF with portugal.

You are a traitor to this country and should be executed for high treason.

Quite.

People say ''oh we don't have enough world class players'' but it's about how well you play as a unit, and of course you need abit of luck.

Was that the game when England played with a fast, tenacious defensive midfield player? Do you see that player in the squad now? Do you see any midfielder of ours who is defensively outstanding? The defensive midfield player is becoming more and more key to sides wanting to win titles. Do you think Spain would have won it without Senna in 2008? Many felt he was one of the players who made the difference for Spain. Italy wouldn't have won it in 2006 without Gattuso, etc. I've heard many say England need to start playing like England and not trying to play like Spain or Argentina, but I don't understand what Capello is trying to achieve with that midfield, it is so pedestrian and the main reason our centre halves look average when in an England strip is because the midfield forever leaves them exposed 1v1.

Good luck.

We'll have barry soon. Who's proven to be a class player for england. Advantage of barry over hargreaves is he's left footed and that makes a big difference to balance of distribution when all your other midfielders are right footed.

What's capello trying to achieve with his midfield?

He's trying to put all our best players in their best position. I find it bizzare you call our midfield pedestrian. Lampard and gerrard and are up and down like yoyos. Look at the 2006 game after we went down to 10 men, our midfielders were trojans. There really is nothing llike adversity to bring out the english lion spirit.

Part of the issue with English midfielders is that they are judged more on their workrate than their ability.

Do you reckon Spanish fans sit down and watch Xavi then turn to each other and complain about how he's not constantly going from box to box and isn't the quickest over 10 yards?

You think having a left footed midfielder is a bigger advantage than having a quick, strong and tenacious midfielder? Jesus Christ, you'll have to tell all those coaches that play right footed midfielders then, the lefty is key to victory.

But Capello isn't putting players in their best position, and if he did, it would work even worse for balance. He plays Gerrard on the left, he plays Lampard in CM in a 4-4-2 when he's far better in a three man central midfield, as is Gerrard. Rooney has had some excellent games this season up front on his own, although I think he works just as well with a partner, I think 4-4-2 is the wrong formation for England.

Lampard and Gerrard work best in a three man midfield, preferably being the most advanced of the three. It isn't all about work rate and running around the field, discipline, protecting the defence, reading the game well and breaking up play is massive in a game of football. Our midfielders were trojans and it was Hargreaves who won MOTM in that game IIRC. Why do you think that is? Because he was the quick, industrious midfielder we'd been crying out for, and still are. Honestly, considering we're hardly a great passing side, we have to make ourselves 'hard to beat' against better sides, Lampard and Barry in midfield is not hard to beat.

The thing with Xavi is he's clever enough to make up for his limitations, although he does work better with a Toure or a Senna next to him. He reads the game well defensively, he doesn't get stuck in as much but he closes down well, without looking like a headless chicken.

Senna is not a Gattuso/Mascherano type "tenacious" defesive midfielder. He's a deep-lying midfielder who can read the game and break up play when required and then distribute the ball effectively. In fact, he's exactly the same sort of player as Xabi Alonso, Busquets and Javi Martinez, so Spain, with their system, are hardly missing out in not taking him.

The fact is that Spain don't need a terrier DM because they hardly ever lose the ball. England, on the other hand...

For me the Golden Boot will be between Messi, Villa and Fabiano. Fabiano has the upper hand as North Korea are in Brazil's group.

The North Koreans will run around like idiots and make it hard for the opponents if they are anything like the South Koreans.

Villa could get a hatful against Honduras with the midfield pulling the strings behind him, not to mention possible goals against the Swiss and Chileans.

Javi Martinez isn't like Alonso. If he's like anybody, he's like a lesser Ballack. A strong, box-to-box player with a good engine. Senna isn't as quick as Mascherano, but he was certainly tenacious. Whenever the opposition went into Spain's half, he was at their heels winning the ball back. For Spain, he didn't play the Alonso type role, for Villarreal he does, though.

Alonso and Buesquets are capable of doing this defensive role, Alonso probably less so because he isn't quick over any distance, but he reads the game well and is a terrific man marker.

England don't really have any kind of defensive midfielder, if it was to be anyone, it would be Barry or Huddlestone. I don't think THudd is quick or mobile enough in a two man midfield, whilst I think Barry is only average at anchoring the midfield, and will be shown to be average by any half decent side.