da luck：
da spicy bet： As the FIFA World Cup in South Africa draws ever closer many fans are speculating who will win and why. The England fans will be hoping that Fabio Capello’s current Three Lions squad can end a 44 year wait and win the World Cup, here are five reasons why England can win it:
The Weather: As South Africa is in the southern hemisphere it will be their winter during the tournament. As the likes of England have struggled in warmer climates such as the last World Cup in Germany and the previous tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, it is not out of the question that countries used to warmer weather such as Brazil, Argentina and Spain could struggle in the cold.
Wayne Rooney: The Manchester United number 10 has matured a great deal over the last twelve months and has become his club’s most important player following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Rooney, 24, has successfully made the step up and has had the season of his life bagging 34 goals in all competitions.
Every World Cup winning side has a star man and Rooney has earned the right to be named amongst some of the best players in the world and his goals could be crucial this summer.
After he foolishly got sent off against Portugal in 2006 he will have a score to settle which could make him all the more determined to lift the trophy.
Confidence: Although many of the English players have suffered poor seasons in the UEFA Champions League many of them will be coming off the season on a high. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Joe Cole have just won a league and FA Cup double. As I’ve already mentioned Rooney has just enjoyed his best season ever and the Tottenham contingent Ledley King, Aaron Lennon etc have finally broken the top four. Aston Villa’s James Milner has also emerged as a talent who could potentially make an impact for England during the summer’s campaign after an impressive season, which was recognised by his fellow professionals and was awarded the PFA young player of the year award.
…Ok, Steven Gerrard has had an awful season with Liverpool, but he is still a world-class midfielder and could have something to prove.
Faltering rivals: In previous international tournaments England have struggled with the likes of Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal. England were far from convincing during their 3-1 against Mexico last night, but Carlos Queiroz’s Portugal side failed to beat Cape Verde and Diego Maradona is an erratic coach and has done many teams a favour by omitting the likes of Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti from the squad. Similarly French boss Raymond Domenech is an odd character who uses astrology to help him in his team selection, but perhaps he is lucky as ‘Le hand of Frog’ got him into the finals.
Every German side over the last few years has the stigma attached to it of being ‘the worst Germany side so far,’ but always seem to do better than expected. However, Michael Ballack could be a big miss for them this summer.
Fabio Capello: The Italian coach has done a great job in turning the fortunes of England around from a team who failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and into a side ranked amongst the favourites for the World Cup.
Also, the Italian has strict rule, is disciplined and won’t stand for any nonsense. Rightly or wrongly Capello was quick and decisive about stripping Terry of the England captaincy. England’s last World Cup campaign was farcical with the WAGs taking up more of the players’ focus than the tournament itself, but thankfully the Three Lions boss is serious and keen to prevent such distractions as they are there to do a job.
At the end of the day we will need a bit of luck as well and we all know how lady luck hasn’t favoured England in the past…especially in penalty shootouts. But, hopefully the current setup and a different mindset can end our 44 year wait for the World Cup and end the constant talk of ’66 every time an international tournament comes around.
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