Are England really good Enough to win the World Cup

England lost their big friendly game with Brazil 1-0 and its lead me to wonder are England good enough to the World Cup. I have pondered this long and hard but I still don’t have an answer.

Shadow team

The England team that took to the field against Brazil was far from England’s first eleven. In fact only two out of the eleven that started against the Samba Boys are likely to start for England next summer. Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry and of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Backups

The team that played struggled against an opposition that was a class above. None of backup players made much of an impact apart from James Milner who had a decent game. They were playing against one of the worlds best teams and showed why they aren’t yet first team England players.

Better standard

The usual first team eleven of England would surely fare better against Brazil. However the Brazilians weren’t at their classic best either, so they could move up a gear also. Injuries obviously hampered Capello’s preparations for this game with a lot of his best players pulling out of his squad. You can guarantee the likes of Gerrard, Terry and Lampard will be fit for next years tournament.

Worries

The worries I have about England at the moment is the defence. I’m just hoping that Rio Ferdinand comes out of his current slump of form by next year. The reason is because Joleon Lescott is currently looking out of his depth at international level.

Even his club form is starting to become shaky. The other back-up central defenders Matthew Upson and Ledley King are very injury prone. King is a top defender in my book but unfortunately for him and Spurs his knees just cant cope with much competitive action.

Left-Back

The left-back position could also become a problem also. If Ashley Cole gets injured then we could have to rely on Wayne Bridge. Now his club form alongside Lescott at City has also looked less than convincing. I really wouldn’t have much confidence in the former Chelsea star. Aston Villa left-back Stephen Warnock is a solid performer but he has little international experience.

Right-Back

Also the right-back position is a concern. Glen Johnson’s threat going forward is superb and although I think he can improve defensively that’s not what concerns me. What concerns me is the lack of back-up for the Liverpool star. United’s Wes Brown really isn’t good enough and he showed that against Brazil.

He is a decent central defender but decent isnt good enough for a team wanting to challenge for trophy. To me Manchester City youngster Micah Richards would be a far better option to cover right-back and he can also play in the centre of the defence.

Brazil’s backup right-back is Barcelona star Daniel Alves. You cant even compare Brown to Alves. They simply aren’t even on the same planet. That’s my concern. Brazil are the team that everybody aspires to be and the team that are expected to play the best football at next years World Cup.

Superb first eleven

England’s first eleven must be able to compete with the worlds best and if everybody stays fit I can see that happening. Like Brazilian midfielder Kaka said in an interview earlier this week England are one of the teams with a chance of winning the trophy as long as we get a bit of luck.

That includes injuries and fitness of players. For Englands sake I hope none of the top players are struck down by the dreaded metarsyl injury, which seems to plague one English player just before every major tournament! Next year could be a very good year for the Three Lions but only if the Fabio Capello call on his star players. If not it could be just another tournament that we have underperformed and underachieved in.