No surprise there then as I wouldn’t have been totally shocked to see Sven play Wayne Rooney against Trinidad and Tobago from the start either. It’s quite obvious that England (and by default, Sven) are pinning their entire hopes for achieving anything resembling success at this World Cup on Wayne Rooney and I think it’s both a kop out on everyone else’s behalf and a damning indictment of the Sven / Steve McLaren regime.

I’m not going to mention the Theo Walcott selection again because it doesn’t even start there, they’ve got a squad full of quality players. What World Cup squad wouldn’t be overjoyed to have the likes of John Terry, Gary Neville, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Michael OWen in their ranks? Quality players with the experience at the top level to make other teams hurt when it comes down to it but Sven, after so many eyars in the job, still has no idea how to make them function as an effective team and can owe the gratitude for not succumbing to another humiliating defeat to minnows Trinidad & Tobago to John Terry’s first half goal line clearance.

Frank Lampard looks like a world beater in his role for Chelsea, Steven Gerrard likewise for Liverpool, Michael Owen scores goals for fun wherever he’s played and yet Sven can find no way of playing these three men together to the best of their combined abilities. Brazil can incorporate the individual talents of Kaka, Robinho, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo in an attacking quintet which works and Sven can’t quite juggle the tactics to get the best out of two hard working, goal scoring midfielders and a nippy goalscoring striker?

Don’t let the thought of Sven leaving give England fans hope for the future either. Remember who is the tactical brains behind the current England management team and then think of who is going to take over the England job.

Too much pressure on Wayne Rooney as an individual and nowhere near enough pressure on the idea-less coaches who are holding the side back from doing their best. I know who I’d be blaming once they do go out and it won’t be the Scouser with the looks of Shrek and the footballing touch of an angel.

Some teams arrive at the World Cup as the finished product. They play well from the beginning and never let up. In 2002 Brazil won all three of their group games handily and never looked back.

Often though a team will use the group stages to prepare themselves for the knockout rounds. They have the quality to get past the lower level teams in their group, but need fine tuning if they are to succeed later against stronger teams.

In 1994, Italy barely made it out of their group, finishing third and surviving solely on goal differential. They ended up in the final. In Italia 90, Argentina also finished third in their group with an identical 1-1-1 record before playing in the final.

England fans will be hoping that their poor form will have the same results (except for maybe actually winning the final). They clearly have work to do, but there are signs that things could and should be looking up.

In yesterday’s 2-0 defeat of Trinidad & Tobago, Wayne Rooney’s appearance gave an immediate spark to a team that had previously seemed lost and he will almost certainly start from now on. Though Peter Crouch missed several easy chances, he was at least in a position to put the ball in the net and he did recover to put his team ahead.

The decision of coach Sven Goran Erikkson change to a 3-5-2 formation with David Beckham playing deeper and more central showed that maybe he is willing to take a few chances which also bodes well for England. And the addition of Aaron Lennon brought pace down the right side which England haven’t taken advantage of yet.

Its up to Sven to use the tools he has at his disposal, but if he does, England will most certainly improve as the tournament goes on.

In the end, while not living up to their expectations as far as form, England still haven’t given up a goal, are top of their group and with the return of Rooney, finally healthy at all positions.

Last night’s 1-0 defeat of Poland by Germany was a stark reminder at how much of a difference a small roster decision can make. Both teams were immensely affected by their decisions to include or not include certain players.

Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann decided he didn’t have enough speed in the lineup towards the end of the match. He called upon Oliver Neuville and David Odonkor. Neuville has appeared for his country 53 times and was certain to be on the World Cup roster. Though Odonkor had played for the U-21 and U-19 teams, he had no senior national team appearances and was called upon ahead of proven veteran Kevin Kuranyi.

The decision by Klinsmann to name Odonkor caused a huge backlash from the German public and press. But the coach defended himself saying the 22 year old “?gives us something we urgently need: speed, surprise and a bit of cheekiness.”

Klinsmann’s instincts were correct and Odonkor’s speed down the right side completely changed the complexion of the match, concluding with the injury time winner, started with a pass from Odonkor to Neuville.

Poland have not scored in their two World Cup matches and have looked bereft of ideas upfront. Curiously coach Pawel Janas decided to leave the Poles leading scorer during qualification, Tomasz Frankowski off of the team. Overall the striker, who plays for Wolverhampton in England, had scored 10 times in 18 national team appearances. But Janas was not convinced by Frankowski’s recent club form and he was left at home.

But in their matches against Germany and Ecuador, the Poles have not scored and have managed just 9 shots on target. Perhaps the next Polish coach, as Janas is sure to be replaced after this tournament, will get things right going into Euro 2008 qualification.

Watching the US v Czech Republic yesterday, I was thinking it must have been an incredible blow to the Americans to realize that their World Cup was likely over after just 36 minutes. At that point the Czechs went up 2-0, all but assuring that the US would not be able to advance out of their group, unless they find a way to shock Italy on Saturday.

The same feeling of distress must have been felt by the Poles and Ivorians as their losses almost certainly mean they will be going home after three matches. In 2002 only one team, Turkey was able to recover from a opening match loss to make it to the second round. And in 1998, no teams in the second round had lost their first games. You have to go back to 1994 to find more than one team advancing after losing their first match.

Of the teams that have lost their opening matches so far, the Ivory Coast would seem to be the most talented, but their group may be too difficult to recover from. One would have thought that Poland would have the best chance of recovering, but they will face a determined England on Thursday.

Ivory Coast coach Henri Michel put it mildly when he said, “We have players who come from the top European clubs but we are inexperienced as a team on this level. We were close, so close, but we did not have that ruthless streak. Perhaps that is something we will learn from this tournament.”

Four days into the World Cup, many countries are taking lessons in the difference between having several players of quality and a team that can excel at this level. The most striking example of this was the Argentina v Ivory Coast match but it’s been illustrated everyday.

During their first half against Argentina, the Ivory Coast looked like a team that could win the World Cup. They worked together, were pacy and aggressive and had the confidence that world beaters need. Their problem was that the Argentinians possessed the same qualities but always looked to have a little more. Where Ivorian midfielder Didier Zakora made strong runs into the heart of the Argentine defense, South American midfielder Juan Riquelme made the same runs, but knew when and where to lay the ball off. Unfortunately for the Africans, in the 38th minute, the ball went to the resurgent Javier Saviola, who delivered the deciding goal.

The United States came into this tournament with loads of confidence built on their performance in 2002. But 36 minutes into their opening match with the Czech Republic, a Tomas Rosicky strike increased the European lead to 2-0 and the US fans’ chants of “2010″, looking ahead to the next World Cup were totally appropriate. For 90 minutes the Czechs, especially Pavel Nedved, were of a completely different class and talent level. Whenever the Americans, who had a majority of the possession, attempted to put anything together, they were stifled by the Europeans defense and counterattack. The Czech Republic was always a step ahead.

Sometimes it?s a player that steps up and provide the class that can carry a team. Holland’s Arjen Robben was not only superior to Serbia & Montenegro, but he was head and shoulders above the quality of his teammates. While fellow Dutch players Robin Van Persie and Ruud Van Nistelrooy struggled somewhat to find their feet, Robben and his blistering pace were all over the park and was a constant threat. If his teammates can find a way to catch up, the Netherlands will go deep into this tournament.

The actual question that sparked this idea off was “If England swapped Peter Crouch for Luca Toni, would they win the World Cup?”, posted on the From The Lane messageboard.

Maybe it’s a little harsh on the robotic dancer to single him out as the man to go in a swap for Toni but I’m sure he’d understand. Luca Toni’s credentials over the past season are exemplorary with over 30 goals in a season in Serie A making him top scorer and the highest league scorer in Italy in decades. His powerful runs and vicious shooting last night for Italy against Ghana shown just how much of a handful he is and with Gilardino playing off him and Francesco Totti providing the ammunition from a withdrawn role we got a look at a man who has the potential to make big waves at this World Cup.

The most surprising thing for normal punters who don’t follow Italian football would be his age. Toni isn’t some 17 year old wonderkid like Theo Walcott or even a 20 year old great white hope like Wayne Rooney, he’s in his late 20s, the proverbial late bloomer and a fine example of age being no barrier for true class.

If he was English though, could they find a system to fully utilise his pace, power and strength enough or would it be the same old England tactics of get the ball to Becks and let him hit it 40 yards long from the byeline in the hope of a knock on? Joe Cole’s stint in the “Number 10″ position against Paraguay did nothing to show that he could the man to play Totti-like in that position providing craft and guile and the required class of through ball to capitalise on a player like Luca Toni.

Steven Gerrard is a fantastic player but he’s not quite cut out for that kind of attacking role while Frank Lampard is too similar to Gerrard to really stand out from the crowd. In reality you are looking strength, pace, aggression and the ability to play a killer through ball as a traditional number 10 then Wayne Rooney is England’s only answer. He’s got the lot as a certain bleached blond Chelsea “I’m a celebrity, look at me” Sky Sports presenter might say before looking for sycophantic laughter from the cast and crew.

If Rooney is Totti and Toni is Toni, does that make Michael Owen Gilardino? In this scenario we’ll say yes for the sake of easy argument, the real problems for England would come in finding a suitable combination of three midfielders to sit behind this attacking trio. Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham are the obvious names on the teamsheet although as a defensive unit the three together don’t really offer enough protection, you can see Becks running out of puff chasing men down and then jumping over tackles a la the Brazil game in 2002.

While I’m not much of a fan of Michael Carrick this week with his impending move to Manchester United looking ever more likely, I really think a midfield three of Carrick holding and Gerrard and Lampard along side him would provide the necessary power and energy so it’s goodbye Golden Balls. Whether Ashley Cole and Gary Neville have the legs to provide the support on the wings this very narrow formation would need is debatable but would it really be that much of a disaster to give something like this a go?

The only problem the England management would then find would be that, sadly for them, Luca Toni isn’t actually English after all and with Peter Crouch up front they’re resigned to lobbing long balls to him to knock down. Who said it was a beautiful game?

Its commonly held that Brazil will stroll through this World Cup, but I’m here to tell you that not only will that probably not happen, but it won’t happen. Along the way we will see dreams shattered, countries thrown into turmoil, at least one African country make it out of the group stage, and at the end, Italy lifting the World Cup trophy.

ROUND OF 16:

A Winner GERMANY v B Runner-up SWEDEN - German defense finds a way to stifle the Ljunberg, Larssoon, Ibrahimovic triumverate and Ballack scores a late header for the win.

C Winner HOLLAND v D Runner-up MEXICO - Speed versus speed cancel each other out, but Dutch have way too much quality.

E Winner ITALY v F Runner-up AUSTRALIA - Gattuso is back in full force, Italians shut down Aussie midfield, Kewell and Cahill humbled, Hiddink trades in Outback for long Russian winter.

G Winner FRANCE v H Runner-up TUNISIA - Tighter game than expected comes apart at the end with Henry goal(s), world learns how to pronounce “Ribery”.

B Winner ENGLAND v A Runner-up POLAND - Poles scare Sven’s men, Rooney comes on in the 60th minute, all is well.

D Winner PORTUGAL v H Runner-up ARGENTINA - Dubbed the “Teams With Potential” match, Argentina finally lives up to theirs.

F Winner BRAZIL v E Runner-up UNITED STATES - American public wakes up and jumps on World Cup bandwagon, not enough to stop Brazilian onslaught.

H Winner SPAIN v G Runner-up SWITZERLAND - Spaniards go crazy, four or five different players score, someone makes joke about defenders and Swiss cheese.

QUARTERFINALS:

SPAIN v BRAZIL - Upset of the tournament as Spanish wingers continuously get behind Brazil’s ageing fullbacks and Alonso and Xavi stifle service to “Brazilian Four (or Five)”.

ENGLAND v ARGENTINA - Rooney starts, but Crouch comes on late to earn draw. Going to penalties, Beckham, who hasn’t been sent off, secures win.

ITALY v FRANCE - Old men of France tire and wilt in German heat, replay of Euro 2000 final goes other way, Luca Toni becomes household name, Chelsea offers ?50m for his services.

HOLLAND V GERMANY - German lack of class finally shows. Ballack frustrated, Robben/Ruud/Kuijt roam at will, Dutch stroll to semis.

SEMI-FINALS:

ENGLAND v SPAIN - Cole and Neville are not Cafu and Carlos and actually play defense, Crouch again is hero, tearing apart Spanish defense, leaves ball for Rooney to score late winner.

ITALY v HOLLAND - Italians revert to old ways and put nine men behind ball, Dutch have nowhere to run, Totti scores in extra time.

FINALS:

ITALY v ENGLAND - Italians revert to old ways, put nine men behind ball, England strikers have nowhere to run, Toni and Totti score late to seal win, Beckham and Lampard tearfully leave field.

Germany’s World Cup hopes have hit a snag as their captain and inspirational leader Michael ballack has been ruled out of the opeing showpiece against Costa Rica with injury.

Having been unable to train for most of the past week, Ballack had looked doubtful but it has been confirmed this morning that the Chelsea new boy will miss the Costa Rica game and possibly more of the group games. The Chelsea midfielder sustained a calf injury in a friendly against Colombia on 2 June and was forced to pull out of training on Wednesday.

The news will come as a blow to Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann who, despite having an uneasy relationship with Ballack, will have been depending on the midfielder to provide the creative spark for his side and help relieve some of the pressure on his own position.

Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann said:

“He is not available, he was forced to end practice after 30 minutes.

“It does not look as if he will be able to play tomorrow against Costa Rica.”

Predicted Order of Finish: Spain, Tunisia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia

This is certain to be Spain’s year. No really. They are going to do it this time. Really.

Spain (alongside Argentina, Portugal and England) are one of those teams that has not lived up to their potential over the years. Many reasons have been put forward but mostly, they have just failed to perform at the most inopportune moments. What could prove to be different this year is that part of their core plays abroad, adding an extra dimension to their team. Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso alongside Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas or Barcelona’s Xavi are a dream pairing in central midfield while upfront Fernando Torres, David Villa, and Raul are sure to score many goals. Undefeated since September 2004, this could finally be the year the Spanish make some noise. No, really.

Tunisia are due to the be the surprise of the tournament, besting Ukraine to get out of the group stages for the first time. The African Nations Cup ‘04 winners impressed on the way to Germany playing very well against Serbia & Montenegro and easily defeating Belarus. French coach Roger Lemerre has the Tunisians playing a disciplined game with the occasional breakout from Brazilian born striker Franciluedo dos Santos who has become a national hero in the North African country.

Ukraine live and die by the feet of Andriy Shevchenko and his recent struggle with fitness have worried coach Oleg Blohkin to the point where he’s publicly admonished the Ukranian Football Federation for not working hard enough to provide him with enough depth. For them to advance, Shevchenko will have to be one of the top scorers of the tournament.

Saudi Arabia talk a good game, and are certainly one of the top two or three teams in Asia, going undefeated in qualifying, but on the world stage they have mostly failed miserably. They did get out of the group stage in USA ‘94. Sadly, things have gone downhill since then and they’ve not won a match the last two World Cups. Look for that trend to continue in Germany ‘06.

Predicted Order of Finish: France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo

Group G, which includes the countries that have hosted the last two World Cups, should be the most predictable of the groups. France is the clear talent, Switzerland is a strong but distant second, South Korea will not replicate their 2002 success, and Togo are just happy to have qualified.

Even with the terrible leg break of Djibril Cisse, France will not worry, as it has one of the deepest teams in the tournament. Cisse was named to start in attack alongside Thierry Henry, but David Trezeguet and Louis Saha are more than able replacements. Called into the roster in Cisse’s absence will be Nicolas Anelka or Ludovic Giuly. Play will still go through Zinedane Zidane, who will be alongside Patrick Viera, Claude Makelele and Lyon’s Florent Madoula. Again, it?s the depth of the French team that puts them ahead most other teams, as in midfield they can call on pacy winger Franck Ribery, Alou Diarra, or veteran Vakoosh Dhorasoo.

Switzerland qualified for the World Cup through a somewhat fortuitous playoff win against Turkey and don’t look to make much of a dent in the Finals. But they did draw France twice during qualifications, so the potential is there. Coach Kobi Kuhn is doing a great job mixing veterans and newcomers. Somewhat inexperienced players like Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta will make names for themselves this summer, and the Swiss should do okay, with one eye being kept on a future that sees them co-hosting Euro 2008.

The brilliant coaching of Guus Hiddink, home field advantage, and some curious refereeing decisions propelled South Korea to a semi-final place in the 2002 World Cup. They will not be so lucky this time. A recent 3-1 loss to Ghana and a draw with uninspired Senegal revealed that this team may be a one-hit wonder.

No matter how poorly Togo do in the Finals, their first time qualification is a great story. All eyes will be on Arsenal’s exciting striker Emmanuel Adebayor as he is their one (and only) spark.