in emile heskey, wayne rooney has found the perfect foil and provider to ensure that england will perform well in south africa

No one could ever accuse the British media of understatement, particular when it come to the England national football team – and with the nation’s draw against USA the press have excelled themselves.

They can’t be totally to blame for what is a general malaise in England after a 1-1 draw against USA in the opening Group C game of the South Africa World Cup, but most people’s depression is severely misguided.

The bare facts of the matter are that the bookies have absolutely no doubt that England will qualify from the group (currently 1/10), and they are still massive, massive favourites to win the group.

I have seen nothing to believe otherwise, in fact, after the draw against USA I have far more confidence in England progressing to the latter stages of the tournament than I have had in the last six months.

Three myths must be dispelled immediately. The first is that England have shown that they are not good enough to win the World Cup because they could not beat a minnow like USA. Not true. USA are ranked 14th in the world, and are no longer the minnows that most mis-informed people in England (albeit, the vast majority of non-football fans who have attached themselves to the game in the last week or so) believe them to be.

Second, Lampard and Gerrard cannot work together. This is one that I will argue right up until the semi-final stages when England face either Holland or Brazil. Coach Fabio Capello has been tweaking and tweaking and has finally found how to fit two of the best midfielders England have ever produced into the same starting XI. By giving Gerrard a roving role and forcing Lampard to be the “majority defensive” midfielder, he has unlocked Gerrard’s genius (he only plays well when he is in charge) while not negating Lampard’s biggest strength, the ability to be lethal on the break.

And finally, Rooney has no partner up front. Paul Ince, in his column in the News of the World continues to prove that on the pitch he may have been fantastic, but his tactical acumen is no more sophisticated than that of a lower league manager. He says that Emile Heskey had a shocker because he failed to score – and continues to do so – but the big man is a genius at taking two or three players out of the game, which is a brilliant thing when you have the likes of Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney to finish the job. Not convinced? Look up Stephane Guivarc’h who played as a lone striker up front for France in 1998 and failed to score, but is widely seen as the enigmatic fulcrum of a side that held the World by its throat before throttling Brazil in Paris in the final.

The only significant price changes have been in the overall market where bwin now go as low as 17/2 (9.5) for England to win in Johannesburg on July 11. With Algeria and Slovenia to come (both poor, poor sides) that’s the best you’re going to get.