Going all the way?
18/06/02 | by Alex Walker

Ever since the Argentina game, I've had this strange feeling of optimism about England's chances of making it to the final. The Nigeria game told us little that we didn't already know about the England team's ability to get results when needed, but Saturday's emphatic win over Denmark has further fuelled my hopes of this World Cup ending in glory for this sceptred isle.

And now we're only three games away from being World Champions and the excitement has never been greater. The demise of Argentina, France and Portugal has left the door wide open in one of the most unpredictable World Cups ever, meaning England, whose chances looked to have been dashed by numerous injuries, now stand a great chance of making it to the final hurdle.

Quarter-final

Brazil

So with Brazil's win over Belgium, Friday morning's game is set to be a titanic clash between two of football's greatest nations: the country who invented the game, and the country that took it to new levels of skill and glamour.

So far Brazil have cruised through the tournament with a staggering 13 goals and on the surface they have looked just as impressive as the great teams of old.

But you would expect a group of Turkey, China and Costa Rica to hold few challenges for any Brazilian side and even then they had problems. They struggled to beat the Turks, eventually resorting to cheating to gain the advantage. Against China they gave away numerous chances which a better team would have buried, and they even conceded two goals against those greats of world football, Costa Rica.

Against Belgium they were also shown to be very ordinary by a team who only qualified for the second round at the last gasp. In the end, it was only their superior fire-power that helped them through, but I'm not even sure that Rivaldo's goal wouldn't have been blasted straight over were it not for Daniel van Buyten's deflection.

I have no doubts that Brazil have the best attacking force in the tournament, but in England they will come against the best defense. Watching Rio battling with Ronaldo will make for a great spectacle, possibly matching Bobby Moore and Pele in 1970.

England have already shown themselves capable of containing and restricting strong attacking forces such as that of Argentina (who were ahead of Brazil in the pre-tournament reckonings) and if they can successfully dampen down the Brazilian flair, they can start exploiting the weaknesses in the Brazil side.

Defensively, Brazil have been poor despite not coming up against any quality opposition. European footballer of the year, Michael Owen, will be a stern test of their credentials.

All England need to do is deny the Brazilians the possession they crave. If they do that, there will be little opportunity for their star names such as Rivaldo and Edilson to shine.

Regardless of progress beyond this stage, should England win Friday's match, the team will go down as legends in English and international football.

Semi-finals

Senegal

In a matter of weeks, Senegal have transformed from what many saw as a bunch of plucky outsiders, to a team of multi-million pound stars who we may well see next year playing for the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and, ahem, Birmingham City.

Despite reaching the final of the African Nations Cup earlier this year, few would have expected Senegal to put up much of a fight against the French team they defeated so famously, let alone progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

But should they defeat the enigmatic Turkey side, they will be England's opponents in the semi-final. England must be wary of the Senegalese, as they, like Brazil, will be used to playing in the high temperatures of the Far East. While our strikers have tired easily in these conditions, theirs will thrive and England must not approach the Africans with complacency.

But the fact remains, England have got enough ability to beat Senegal and they will not go into the game with the same arrogance that was France's undoing.

Turkey

England's Euro 2004 qualifying group-mates, may also be their World Cup 2002 semi-final opponents. The Turks followed Brazil out of Group C and then spoiled the party by beating the hosts Japan.

It's 48 years since Turkey last played in a World Cup finals, so the prospect of seeing them in the actual final is certainly a far-fetched one. But anything can happen, and so far it has.

They have a number of star players, but I doubt they have the overall ability throughout the team to defeat this well-disciplined England side.

Possible aggression between English and Turkey fans must be a concern to tournament organizers as there is still tension following the murder of two Leeds fans in Turkey two years ago. Hopefully England can prove themselves on the pitch instead.

The final

Germany

Well what would it mean for England to beat Germany again in the final? The Germans have proved a lot of people wrong in this World Cup. Written off as shadows of their former greatness, the 1990 champions have scored an impressive 12 goals so far, but eight of them were in that infamous match with Saudi Arabia.

And after the setback of drawing against Ireland, they have progressed to the last eight despite lacking the typically-German efficiency that marked previous sides. Having beaten them 5-1 just 10 months ago England should have little to fear of this below-par side, but their record of beating the odds in World Cup competitions is enviable.

USA

You know that 'genuine' extract from a US Sports site that waffled on about "top-bodying the sphere into the score bag" that has been doing the rounds? Well it was actually from the Guardian, but that shouldn't be any less reason for the US not to win the World Cup. Considering the Americans don't care about the 'World Soccer Series' or whatever, they have done remarkably well.

They beat the well-fancied Portuguese, and then knocked out the Mexicans who, after their excellent performance against Italy, I had expected to do quite well in the rest of the competition.

I think it is unlikely that USA will be able to beat the experienced German side, but it would be unwise to write them off. Should they reach the final, I doubt England would have much trouble putting the "sphere" into the "score bag" against them.

Spain

Of all the talked-about teams of this World Cup, Spain have been the one I have been most cautious about writing off. This is mainly because I haven't had the opportunity to watch many of their games and it is a natural human reaction to fear the unknown. But having watched them defeat the Irish on penalties, I am still undecided on them.

Mainly because I am still undecided about Ireland themselves - are they a team packed full of raw talent that have proved themselves to be one of Europe's best sides, or just a bunch of jammy gits?

I haven't a clue, and therefor I don't really feel it fair to judge the Spanish by their match against Ireland. All I know is that have scored 10 goals and shown themselves to have more spirit than other potential winners such as Italy and Portugal in that when they went behind against Paraguay they remained focused enough to come back into the game.

Their desire to prove critics who say that, for all their individual talent, they have never come together as one team capable of winning things, could be enough to drive them all the way. Sven should pay special attention to Spain's matches.

South Korea

Of all the teams England could play in the final, South Korea are the ones I do not want to get.

As much as I want to see them do well for all the benefits it will bring to Asian football and the host nation, the support they received during their shock win over Italy was phenomenal.

For all the support England are getting over there, coming up against this level of support would just be plain intimidating for our boys. Not to mention, were we to beat the hosts, I couldn't help feeling like a bunch of spoil sports.