I’m writing this article, not as a bitter Scotsman, but as a football fan. Can England really expect to win the World Cup in South Africa 2010? The bookies have installed England as third favourites, behind Spain and Brazil after receiving a less-than-tough group consisting of the USA, Algeria and Slovenia.

How England qualify from the group stages will determine the path they take and the quality of teams they’ll meet in the knock-out sections. Winning Group C will see them play against the runners-up from Group D (Germany, Australia, Serbia & Ghana). With Germany much fancied to win Group D, England don’t want a potential banana skin in Round 2 if they finish in the runners-up spot.

Yet, when you start talking about who England would like to avoid, that’s when you begin to wonder are they really good enough? Being classed as third favourites out of 32 teams should really mean England should fear no-one. But that’s not the case, is it?

The reason is obvious, too many times have England claimed in the last few decades they were going to win it only to find out, harshly in some cases, they were’nt quite up to the grade. The inevitable frenzy, stirred up by the media, creates a national outpouring of passion and pressure that demands victory. Inevitably, it all ends up as a big bowl of dissapointment and the press looks for a scapegoat to victimize.

So, why has England been favoured ahead of the much more fancied Dutch team or even one of the impressive African teams. Is it because they powered through their qualifying group? Probably! However, England now have a very formidable looking side. World class players in the likes of Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard. But it’s not a side that is littered with class, there are one or two chinks in the armour and Capello understands this.

Teamwork and fighting spirit has never been short in English football and Capello has nourished this well, with Rooney being the prime example of turning a player from a goal threat to a goal scorer. But it is how the full team reacts when things don’t quite go England’s way. It was highlighted against the Dutch in a recent friendly. Capello was lauded for the way his team fought back to earn a respectable draw after being 2-0 down. But if you looked more closely at that game you’ll see England were taught a lesson in the first half on how to retain the ball. The Dutch scored two goals almost at ease then relaxed. Thankfully, Capello got the draw and it helped boost confidence within the team. But it must be at the back of Capello’s mind just how average his team were made to look.

In just over seven months we will find out the answer to our question, “Can England Win the World Cup in 2010?” Yes, there is a lot of work to be done in the meantime but the report card looks decent for England right now. I only hope that penalties doesn’t come into the equation at some point for the English team, because if it does, I know which side I’ll be putting my money on to win.