So in summary:

The team that has the best chance of winning: Brazil

Other teams that have a good chance of doing it: England, Germany, Argentina

Teams that have a small chance:Italy, France, Holland, Spain

The rest of the teams who are not mentioned have a longshot at best.

England is overhyped, but not completely.

Players who are overhyped:Beckham (marrying a spice girl made him famous, not just his football skill)
                                            Owen(he was good with liverpool, in his youth, but just not a well rounded striker.
                                            Rio Ferdinand(he can be good but so inconsistent)

Players who are the real deal:

John Terry, Joe cole, Frank Lampard (Chelsea's record speaks for itself)
Rooney(okay so he is a bit overhyped but he is remarkably talented, and is a complete forward who can do so much more than just score goals. While his pure skill level doesnt necessarily match up to say, a henry or a shevchenko he makes up for that in intensity and fearlessness, even in big games. If he had not gotten injured, england would have won euro 2004.
Sole Campbell:This is about as solid a defender as you will find on any world cup squad.


The main problem with england lies in the overhype leading to bad chemistry. Gerrard and Lampard are both fine players, and england will want to see them both, regardless of how well they actually play with each other. Beckham is so popular that the manager will be reluctant to take him out, even in bad form. and lets not mention his penalties. Also because Rio ferdinand is more talented and popular he will probably be played more than a more solid option such as jamie carragher.

Also when your captain and supposed best player (beckham) has an ego problem it is hard for the other players to rally around him and work as a team.

And of course England's most gaping flaw is their complete lack of any suitable goalkeeper. Paul robinson is decent but nothing special and david james, while he can be spectacular has a habit of making huge mistakes that lead to letting in devastating goals at critical times.

Based solely on player abilities i would rank england a not too distant second behind brazil. But it remains to be seen what kind of teamwork, form and luck they will have. However if they get those things, it is not impossible that they win the cup, though Brazil are in fact the favorites.


Dont count germany and argentina out of having a shot at it either.