Former England manager Terry Venables has told the current squad they need to go to South Africa believing they can win the World Cup (13/5 England – Top European Team – World Cup 2010).
Venables guided England to the semi-finals of Euro ‘96 and knows all about what it takes to succeed as a club and international manager.
And he has warned the England squad their mental approach will be one of the decisive factors in how they perform in the World Cup.
He said: “They have got to be actually thinking about winning it. People keep asking me how do I think they will do, will they reach the quarter-finals or the semi-finals?
“But they have got to be thinking about the final and then winning it. If you don’t really expect to win it, you won’t win it.
“You have got to think you are going to win as a group of players and a management team.
“I think there’s a very good chance, although you can’t see much past Spain and Brazil.
“Brazil know how to win these competitions and while it was the European Championships Spain won two years ago, a lot of the time, the European Championships are tougher than the World Cup because there are so many strong teams in Europe.”
There is much emphasis placed on the fitness of Wayne Rooney (6/4 Top England Goalscorer – World Cup 2010), who suffered a calf strain in the final Premier League game of the season against Stoke City.
But Venables says that Rooney should not be considered as England’s biggest hope.
He said: “I understand the focus on Wayne Rooney, but although he is the outstanding player, he is part of a team.
“We need all our best players, and the team the manager would like to put out, fit and in form.
“We have got Ashley Cole back, and it looks like Rio Ferdinand is going to be fit and strong.
“You need all your best players fit, and that goes for every country.”
Venables is fronting a charity competition to select England’s fantasy World Cup XI and raise funds for Everyman’s research into prostate and testicular cancer.
He said: “As you can imagine, it’s unbelievably difficult.
“When a team has won it, there’s a feeling that you can’t really go for other players outside that, but it’s about picking the strongest possible team.”
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