On the eve of England's first game of the season,
tonight's friendly in Holland, John Terry laid it on the line: "If
we play like we are we can't rule ourselves out of winning the
World Cup."
There you have it. None of that stuff about taking each
game as it comes and seeing where we are next summer. Under Fabio
Capello, Terry and his Three Lions team-mates firmly believe they
can lift football's biggest prize in South Africa next
July.
The failure to reach the Euro 2008 finals has been
consigned to history and seven World Cup qualifying wins out of
seven has told Terry that England have nothing to
fear.
All they have to do now is finish the
job!
Terry said: "The World Cup will be in the back of
everyone's mind. "We still need to win one game from the last three
qualifiers to get there, but it will be an important year for
everyone.
"When the tournament comes around, we want to be in top
shape and top form, to progress where we want to be. "Every big
team there will have a good chance and we'll be no
different.
"Players would be lying if they told you that in the
past there wasn't any fear coming into big games with England. "But
it's been wiped away. We've overcome that mental barrier. "I
understood that some people doubted me as an England captain with
us not qualifying for the European Championships. I take
responsibility for that. "But I have learned a few things from
before about how not to do things and now everyone's playing freely
and is confident under the new manager.
Even February's 2-0 friendly defeat in Spain did not
dissuade Terry that England can be the world champions. In fact, he
saw it as a blessing. Chelsea's centre-back, 28, insisted: "We
learnt more from losing to Spain than we would have done going
there and beating them.
"There's no mental issue. There's no worry against the
top sides. We've played some good sides and beaten
them."
While Terry talks up England's chances, Capello is
still working on the team which can deliver the
prize.
Aston Villa's Ashley Young gets his chance to impress
in Amsterdam tonight in the absence of Liverpool skipper Steven
Gerrard, who pulled out of the squad yesterday with a groin
injury.
David Beckham is expected to come in on the right for
Theo Walcott while West Ham striker Carlton Cole will partner Wayne
Rooney up front if Emile Heskey is ruled out by his Achilles
problem.
Capello said: "I can't clone Stevie. Every player has a
different style. "Ashley is young and is one of the English players
who can dribble and take people on one-to-one. "He played twice
with me. The first time he was so-so but the second time, he played
very, very well. Against one of the best national teams in the
world, it will be really important for him to have the confidence
to perform.
"There's a lot for the players to play for. I said the
door is open for every player who plays well during the season. "I
hope we can start well. I don't know the real condition of the
players though and I think it will be the same for the Dutch. "We
want to recover the spirit of the group, to start some movement
with the ball that we did during the performances last
year.
"It is really important for the experiment to
understand where we are - the level of the players, the confidence
of the players, what we have to do to arrive at this
level."
Midfield ace Frank Lampard reckons this can be a
defining year in the careers of himself and his pals - and Capello
agreed. The Italian said: "These are very important words from one
of the leaders of the team and the other players feel the same.
It's really important for them and for me.
"First we have to get there. Then we will focus on the
World Cup."
The players and fans are there already, whether Fabio
likes it or not.
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