HOORAY FOR FRANZ BECKENBAUER

At last, the World Cup wakes up for England as the old sporting enemy, Germany, starts to needle the England team. I can't imagine a better incentive for our players than to hear the comments of Franz Beckenbauer on the limitations of the England team. The problem is that we need to finish second in Group C to come up against the Germans, who are highly likely to win their Group.

There is no doubt that the Germans have had a better start to the tournament but that is because they played the Socceroos. Australia has no tradition of football at all whereas the USA has for decades been a contender and has provided upsets as far back as the win over England in 1950. They are no lightweights, whereas, uniquely in this sport, our Antipodean brethren are.

As for the accusation of 'kick and rush' football, that's just rubbish. England's display wasn't brilliant on Saturday but it certainly wasn't 'kick and rush' either. There were glimpses of the supposed talent we have available and with any luck that talent will finally start to show against Algeria. I'm no fan of our Premiership primadonnas but they can play football - at least when they aren't injured or doing photo shoots for expensive knickers.

The 'kaiser' was right to point out that the Premiership is too dominated with foreign players but then who watches the Bundesliga outside of Germany? Football is a business and the money is in England. That said, I would still favour a national team picked primarily from the Championship as I think we'd see a better quality team, even if the individuals didn't necessarily have the individual skills of their overrated colleagues.

So here's a quandary. I don't want England to win the Group because there is simply nothing to compare with a match at the World Cup against Germany. Let's have a mediocre qualification followed by a classic 'winner takes all' game. And let's hope Beckenbauer is there to have his nose firmly tweaked (I'm being polite) at the end.

And to those who say we should be aiming for an easier progression, the answer is no. Football is a spectacle so let's aim to impress with a bravura display.