England full of shooting stars

14 April 2012

On a misty afternoon in Northumberland a little boy was wide-eyed as he posed for a photograph with Sven-Goran Eriksson. "How many goals will we score, Sven?" he asked.

"As long as we win I don't really mind," replied the England coach kindly. "Talking about how many goals you should score in the next match brings always bad luck."

However, the plain truth, as Eriksson knows, is England will beat Azerbaijan handsomely at St James' Park tonight to retain their lead at the top of World Cup qualifying Group Six.

He knows this because:

Poland have just beaten Azerbaijan 8-0
England are significantly more accomplished than Azerbaijan
England have just coasted to a 4-0 win over Northern Ireland

These factors have contributed to the growing sense of well-being among Eriksson's squad.

The coach has sensed this mood of World Cup optimism, partly fuelled by the success of Chelsea's trio of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, and is claiming his preparations are further advanced than before the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.

When I asked if he already knew his best starting 11 for the World Cup he replied: "Yes, if the tournament was starting tomorrow. But it's still far away and you never know what might happen."

Eriksson's confidence is based on the fact he now has a starting XI capable of scoring goals from almost all positions. And because of that, England will almost certainly secure a World Cup place even if Poland finish top of the group and clinch the one automatic qualifying spot.

The two best runners-up from the eight European groups qualify automatically while the six other runnersup are paired in three two-leg play-off matches next November.

The goalscoring exploits of players such as Michael Owen and Lampard have helped secure 13 points - - and 11 goals - from the first five matches and this suggests that, at worst, England will finish as one of the top two runners-up.

Tonight's game will add a further three points and more goals, and there's nothing to indicate that England's position at the top of the table will be seriously threatened until the final qualifier against the Poles at Old Trafford in October.

By then, qualification should be assured - either as group winners or runners-up.

The 4-0 win over Northern Ireland produced a euphoric reaction which was as exaggerated as the despondency that followed the 0-0 draw with Holland and 1-0 defeat in Spain.

Eriksson's team are neither brilliant nor awful but are progressing steadily and now have 15 months to polish a tactical framework for the World Cup in Germany next year.

Those who criticise Eriksson for a lack of entertainment should realise that his current first-choice side are

one of the most attacking England teams I can remember. Owen and Wayne Rooney score and create, the midfield four score and create, Terry scores from corners and Ashley Cole is widely regarded as the best attacking left-back in the world.

Between them, nine of England's outfield players on duty tonight have scored 77 goals for club and country this season, a list topped by Rooney (15), Lampard (14) and Owen (13).

Even Terry has eight, unlike Rio Ferdinand, who's never scored for Manchester United and whose one England goal came against Denmark in the 2002 World Cup.

England are joint eighth highest scorers among the European qualifying teams, though they could shoot up the table tonight. The Portuguese, boosted by the six goals of Pauleta, are top scorers with 20, followed by Poland, whose 18 goals included those eight against Azerbaijan.

"That was an unreal game," said Eriksson. "Everything Poland did went well for them and everything went wrong for Azerbaijan. I don't think they're as bad as that result suggests and I don't think Poland are that good."

But, even if England don't threaten the record 13-0 win against the Irish in 1882, a packed house at St James' Park will be expecting a few goals.

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England full of shooting stars

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