The team:
History lesson:
Knocked out in the quarter-finals six times, the semi-finals once and won it in 1966 when King Harold took an arrow in the eye for the lads. Forty-four years of frustration and soul-searching have followed, undone by scapegoated reserve goalkeepers (1970), semi-fit talismen missing sitters (1982), devious Argentinians (1986 and 1998), hubris (2002 and 2006) and unscrupulous foreigners practising penalties (1990, 1998 and 2006).
Tactics board:
Fabio Capello has used 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 but 4-2-3-1 has been his most successful formation with Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard the two central midfielders, a right-wing flyer in Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon, Steven Gerrard floating about the left and desperate to cut inside to create room for Ashley Cole up the flank, and Wayne Rooney playing off Emile Heskey who grinds down defenders with his running but almost never scores. The first-choice back four has hardly played together recently but that hasn't tempered the usual optimism that “this time, more than any other time, we'll get it right”.
Grudge match:
Anyone who has metaphorically spilt their pint over the past two centuries — basically every team but especially Germany, Portugal and Argentina.
Also known as:
The Three Lions — a marketing man's overhaul of the old Ingerland brand.
The players:
Vuvuzela superstar: Wayne Rooney has evolved from a spud-faced nipper with a cocker spaniel's inability to leave any ball unchased and a turbulent temper that endangered the Portuguese in the last World Cup into a truly world-class spud-faced forward who has harnessed his skills and drive. All this and the swashbuckler's natural, off-the-cuff talent to make defenders look as if they're playing in lead boots, too. There's always Bolton: Nothing doing, David James apart, if he's willing to shift his Chopper collection and begin a painstaking search for a visually-impaired Bolton barber. Lager lout: The 2009's Daddies Sauce dad of the year and former captain John “JT” Terry is the lawyer's friend. We blame the parents. The coach: Body double: Stick on a fez and whip off the specs and just like that you've got Tommy Cooper. Otherwise, Capello's Postman Pat in a foul temper. Big game hunter: Six Serie A titles (or seven depending on your view of calciopoli) with Milan, Roma and Juventus as a coach and two in Spain 10 years apart with Real Madrid. Milan's 4-0 drubbing of Barcelona in the 1994 European Cup final was an astoundingly courageous tactical masterpiece. Loved or loathed: Respect has blossomed into affection. Oddly masochistic relish remains at his “iron fist” and “rod of iron”. The country: Commentators' kit: Fabio Capello is fastidious about what he wears but his contempt for the ankle sock is strange. “When a gentleman crosses his legs and the trouser leg rides up to show hairy shins at the top of the sock,” he says, “it offends my eyes.” More than one reason, then, for his team to pull them up. They gave the world: Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Charles Babbage, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Sir Winston Churchill, William Wilberforce, John, Paul, George and Ringo. In short, they gave the world a fine hand in almost any game of international bragging rights, not that they like to dwell on the past. Qualifying: Cruised to qualification after a ropey first-half during their first game against Andorra. Hammered Croatia 4-1 away and 5-1 at home to banish the Wally with the Brolly hangover. Won nine and lost only to Ukraine. The Triesman tapes ... what he didn't say: “This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise... this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this Ingerland.”
Statistics:
World Cup record: 12 finals P55 W25 D17 L13 F74 A47 Winners: 1, 1966 9: England have negotiated the group stage successfully on their last nine appearances in World Cup finals Fixtures: USA, 12 June, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, 7.30pm Algeria, 18 June, Green Point Stadium, 7.30pm Slovenia, 23 June, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 3pm
The verdict:
The trust in Fabio Capello is accompanied by a fear that the squad is too thin to withstand much adversity. If Wayne Rooney stayed fit, if Steven Gerrard got his form back and if the centre-backs were in rude health, England would present a severe problem to most. Capello needs to refresh a dynamism that has waned. Semi-finalists.
© Guardian News and Media Ltd 2010
