http://goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/06/03/1302678/england-must-be-more-like-spain-steven-gerrard

Sounds promising, but do the England senior squad really have the players to make it happen?

That would mean they would have to work as a team

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Exactly right.

There is some similarity overall, as most of the Spanish stars are based in their own country as are the England squad.

However, the central partnership for Spain of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, probably the highest-rated in the world right now following the Champions League final, play together in competitive matches and training all of the time, throughout the season. In contrast, the preoccupation of England observers is whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play together at all.

Spain's defensive line-up is established and drawn from a handful of top clubs, England's is still unsettled. The Spanish forwards are all world class and complement each other perfectly, not many major European sides are fighting to sign England strikers. The goalkeeping staff of Spain are amongst the best around and have practice playing together with the defenders. England is considering turning to Arsenal's Almunia. Head Coach del Bosque is probably the equal of Fabio.

England has a good team and could win the World Cup, but would be relying on someone else (Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina) putting the Spanish team out first.