England's road to the FIFA World Cup: When lions enter the jungle without any roar
The race to this summer’s World Cup is going to be one of the most interesting in recent years of international tournament. Teams like Brazil, Argentina, England, Uruguay, Belgium and many others want to prove a point at an international tournament. Brazil has already shown what they are capable of at international level, but it is an important tournament for Argentina and England. Although Argentina has the world’s best strike force and Messi who wants to show his value to his country, they lack an extra dimension in the defence which will play an important role in determining whether they will win or lose.
For me, England is one of the dark horses in this tournament. They have enough unproven quality to win World Cup for them. They have a mixed combination of golden generation and the young ones which can provide an extra dimension for Roy Hodgson to exploit. The so called big four is going to play a major role for England this summer.
Liverpool
Liverpool is still one of the biggest clubs in England. Emergence of Liverpool to the top four is must not only for club but also for country. The club has been a major source of players for national squad for many years. The club has not been in the top four for the past few seasons, but still provides three major players- Steven Gerrard (Captain), Glen Johnson (Right-Back) and Daniel Sturridge (Striker). There is no doubt over their quality, but their link up with Lampard (Carrick or Barry), Walcott (Milner) and Rooney respectively is most important.
Liverpool has won many trophies under Gerrard’s captaincy and now his leadership at country level can prove to be a deciding factor in crunch situations. He motivates his teammates through his game and brings the best out of them. The way he supported Rooney publicly has given him confidence and he repaid the faith shown by his captain by scoring the openers against Montenegro and Poland.
In near future, Raheem Sterling will also be there in the first team. Jordan Henderson is a player who I want to see this season. His form can be important both for Liverpool and England. If he can bang in 10-15 goals and add 4-5 assists this season, it will not be a surprise to see Liverpool finish 2nd or 3rd in the league and Henderson getting a call-up for the World Cup squad. He might be next Lampard for England.
Manchester United
We all know and especially, Mourinho knows what a revived Rooney can do. He is the heart of United and his form is going to be crucial. If he can somehow manage to bring United into the top four which right now seems an impossible task for him as well as Moyes, then that is going to be the highest talking point of the season. He can score goals with ease and his contribution to his teammates’ performance is very crucial. For that, the management has to show faith in him and there will be no better place than United to develop his skills.
Evans, Smalling, Carrick, Welbeck, Jones and Cleverley are the other players who can contribute to the national side. But, I am not expecting them to have a great impact in the national squad simply because of United’s current form. Talking of Januzaj at this point is irrelevant, considering the confusion regarding his nationality.