I agree with leeds_manc. Rio has lost his form so having Carragher there might actually be an improvement.
And Gerrard seems like a better captain anyway...

+1

To put our preparations into perspective, this evening Mexico beat Italy 2-1....

Woo! A criminal as captain.

You know you've just libelled someone who can afford very good lawyers, yes?

Ok, recent friendly results:
France drew 1-1 with Tunisia and won 2-1 against Costa Rica,
Spain won 3-2 against Saudi Arabia
Italy drew 0-0 with Cameroon back in March...
Friendly results are important my arse

I reiterate, don't pay too much attention to friendlies:
World Cup holders Italy lost 2-1 to Mexico and Spain scraped a 1-0 win over South Korea...

I agree about Holland but, yes, they won 4-1 against Ghana but only managed 2-1 against Mexico a few weeks ago. Friendlies, really don't read too much into them.

Doing (England qualifying) so unbeaten with (I think) the joint highest 'goal scored' tally in European qualifying shouldn't be sniffed at.They (England) didn't just qualify from that group, they absolutely walked it. They're still behind Spain, Brazil and Argentina by every reasonable measure (or at least Argentina if they weren't managed by a basket case) but I rather think the management teams of the likes of Germany and Italy for example would have looked at England's results and made a mental note to keep an eye out. They aren't one of the favourites (if you're sane anyway) but they may have gone from the middle of the chasing pack to the front of it.

As to England's chances, they need a miracle. I haven't seen them playing well for years. If England played in EPL they would be mid-table team, just like Liverpool last season...

Yes, I think friendlies are important. Players were playing for their places and yet England has only scrapped those wins. Not good enough if you ask me. They should have been building their confidence before WC so when it comes to it there will be no doubt in their mind that they are good enough. I think those performances have done more damage that good to their confidence.

I don't consider France and Italy to be favourites to win it tbh. Especially France have been poor for years, they only scraped through to the WC. And Spain, well, I give you that one. But one result doesn't prove anything.

Spain has won Euro's and didn't drop the level since then. I haven't seen Holland play but I have seen highlights and they are major favourites for me.