England secured their place in the World Cup in South Africa next year with an easy eighth consecutive victory under Fabio Capello, this time trouncing fierce rival Croatia 5-1 at Wembley.
Croatia had previously put England out of Euro 2008 at the qualification stage, beating England 3-2 at the same stadium which brought to an end the brief and unsuccessful reign of Steve McLaren.
The English FA looked far and wide for a manager who could take England to the summit of the world and turn around the fortunes of a nation full of talent but not much to show for it.
Capello, in accepting the role, has taken on a task to guide a side starved of success to glory on the biggest stage – something only achieved by England in 1966 under the management of Sir Alf Ramsey.
Since that successful campaign, the Three Lions have not made it to the final and have only seen one semi-final appearance. That came in 1990, held in Italy, when they were defeated by Germany on penalties.
Capello does appear to have the mixture right to mount a serious challenge to the title next year and with a similar group of players that McLaren had during his tenure.
The Italian has at his disposal a side full of talent with names such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Wayne Rooney fronting the squad. Yet to this point no manager has been able to yield serious rewards from the squad.
Capello appears to have been able to change the way the players work together with a level or organization that wasn’t apparent under previous leaders.
Not so long ago there was debate as to whether or not the biggest names could successfully work together in particular with the central midfield combination of Lampard and Gerrard. Both midfielders were on the score sheet twice against the Croatians and have been able to perform well under Capello.
Consistency is needed and Capello’s major challenge is to try and keep experienced players such Gerrard and Lampard playing well alongside each other. Furthermore, the slightly lesser names such as Aaron Lennon, who produced a man-of-the-match effort on Wednesday night, will have to continue to work hard to give England a chance a breaking the 44 year drought.
There are some other issues that Capello must address if England is to take home the greatest prize on the international stage. The defence is still capable of making untimely mistakes leading to easy goals, whilst there is still debate over who is to wear the number 1 shirt.
Up the other end of the pitch, there is the issue of who is to play alongside Wayne Rooney. Emile Heskey partnered Rooney in the Croatia game but has not found the back of the net as regular as would be liked. The likes of Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch could also be likely partners for the Manchester United striker, whilst new teammate at Old Trafford Michael Owen will also want to figure in the Italians plans
As good as Rooney is, he has been known for his short fuse and against some of the bigger nations at the important time at the end of the tournament could well lose that touch that has seen him lead the scoring in the qualification stage thus far.
If England can solve these issues there is no reason to suggest they can’t match it match it on the biggest stage with sides with a proven track record such as Brazil, reigning champions Italy and European champions and hot favourites Spain.
However, as it stands right now, England has not won the prize yet. They have just won the right to compete for the title. Time and time again fans have dreamt of celebrating on the biggest stage only to be left disappointed and only time will tell if the fans can celebrate on that stage.
Capello may be the name they cheer at the end of it.
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