Yes. No. Probably not.

The pound shop car flags are flying and the time has come. Once again that most powerful epidemic, World Cup fever, has infected the nation. Experience tells us to be more realistic in our expectations this time, but we never really learn. At some stage the majority of the nation will be seduced by the idea that football’s coming home. All England followers will ask themselves two questions. At least we should ask ourselves two questions, but most of us will just get giddy with excitement after answering number one and not bother with question number two.



ARE ENGLAND CAPABLE OF WINNING THE WORLD CUP ? Yes.
WILL ENGLAND WIN THE WORLD CUP ? No. Probably not.


England are capable, because every dog has it's day. Forget what's happened in the past and just look at the squad. We have enough high level players to string together enough results to win one of these tournaments. Only the most blinkered England supporter would claim the squad is stuffed full of “world class” players, but phrases like “world class” are often misleading and unhelpful anyway. The bottom line is that England have enough Champions League players to form the basis of a decent unit. If we get the system right and we get on a roll and we get some luck and we grow in confidence throughout the tournament, then it can be done. Just look at Spain. Everyone thought they were a bigger bunch of underachievers than us until Euro 2008.



So why the negative answer to question two ? Oh so very many reasons. Some wounds have been self-inflicted, sometimes it’s been down to bad luck, bad decisions or bad judgement. Remember Penalties, metatarsals, red cards and wags ? The list is endless. When you consider the unseen factors like the nation's overwhelming and fierce expectation and the fawning self-regard of our “golden generation” of players, you wonder why we bother putting ourselves through it.



Because we might win.



That's the reason and that's the problem and that's also the beautiful temptation that keeps us coming back for more.



True, we haven't got the best squad of players in South Africa. But the best teams don’t always win. Italy weren’t the best team at the World Cup in 2006 and Greece certainly weren't the best team at Euro 2004. We just seem to lack the nerve for it, which is ironic for a nation that prides itself on a stiff upper lip. We can’t take a decent penalty when the chips are down. We can’t shake off our inhibition and play with freedom in the later stages. Or the group stages come to that. We’re unable to control our emotions and we often lose faith in what we are doing and how we’re planning to do it.



But this is where things might be different this time. It’s not the players, as they’re largely the same bunch of international underachievers who’ve been disappointing us for the last few years. It’s the Head Coach. Fabio Capello is a proper football manager. He knows how to win games, he knows how to win tournaments. He knows how he wants his team to play and he’s got the nerve to stick to his guns when the media and the masses are begging him to try something else. He knows Wayne Rooney is the key to everything and he knows he needs to construct his team to reflect that. He doesn’t give a toss for celebrity and wags and reputations. He knows there are better squads than his at the World Cup, but he knows that his squad are capable of beating every single one of them on their day. He has the strength of his vast experience and the courage of his convictions and if he thinks things work best when Emile Heskey plays, then Emile Heskey's going to play. He will have a plan B, but he won’t deviate from plan A just because the ranters on 606 are calling for one up front.



Of course that doesn’t mean England are going to beat Spain, or Brazil. Of course Capello is still at the mercy of fate. He won’t referee the games and he won’t take the penalties in the quarter-final shoot-out. But he won’t bow down and he won’t blink and god help me if Rooney fires, this might be our year.



But probably not.