European football giants England, Holland and Spain have all booked their places at World Cup 2010. All three countries have 100 per cent records in their groups and have brushed aside every team that they have played in qualification.
100 per cent records are not the only thing that these three great footballing countries have in common. All three teams are also World Cup underachievers. There is only one World Cup crown between them and that was back in 1966 when England triumphed on home soil.
Holland and Spain have both won European Championships since then. The great Dutch side of the 1980s prevailing in Euro 88 including beating England on the way to glory. Apart from that the Dutch national side has enjoyed limited success at recent major tournaments.
During the 1970s they reached two consecutive World Cup finals with the famous Total football brand of football. Ajax playmaker Johan Cruyff was prominent team member in the Dutch side of the 70s. First they lost the 1974 final to West Germany and then in 1978 lost the final to host Argentina. The team reaching the final without the influential Cruyff, who refused to take part in the tournament.
The Eighties proved a bad decade for the Oranje as they failed to qualify for World Cup 1982 in Spain and World Cup 1986 in Mexico. However promising squads and talented coaches amounted to a few quarter-finals appearances and second round appearances in recent years.
This Dutch side has a very talented squad of players with players based in the Premier League and Spanish La Liga. That experience has proved vital in the progression of the Dutch national side. They are well capable of challenging for next year s World Cup trophy. They should do better than in recent World Cups and hopes are high in their homeland that this could be their year.
The Spanish are of course European champions after claiming the crown last year. In recent World Cups the Spanish have only managed disappointing second round, quarter-final and even group stage exits.Their best performance in the World Cup came in 1950 when they finished as semi-finalists. However the tournament featured far less teams than it does today.
They have always had good players with technical ability but until now have never made an impact at a World Cup. This Spanish squad should be make a big impact at next year s tournament after winning last years European Championship. However with the Spaniards you never know know what your going to get. One thing that is for sure is that they will be an exciting team to watch.
Now we all know England s failing at major tournaments and those are penalty-kicks and quarter-finals. Every time we appear like we are going to finally win a major trophy we get a nosebleed at the quarter-final stage. As the Lightning Seeds and Baddiel and Skinner said in their Three Lions song its been years of hurt for us loyal England fans.
Hopes are also high in England that we can finally claim the trophy again. Then again every tournament we enter hopes are high and everybody thinks we are going to triumph. The media hype the team up but this time its different. We have a coach that actually understands tactics and knows how to use them.
That really is a novelty for an England team. We usually just rely on good old English fighting spirit and heart to get us through. Tactics are usually secondary and discarded. However in Fabio Capello we have a boss who simply knows the game inside out.
It s time for these European sleeping giants to wake and challenge Brazil for the title of world champion. There may be challenges from the resilient Germans but I don t believe they are strong enough to compete for the crown.
The World Champions Italy may also put up a fight but their squad is starting to resemble a old peoples home. However it would really surprise me if one of England, Spain or Holland didn t win the trophy. Only Brazil stand in the way of a European landslide.
