2010 FIFA World Cup Represents Last Chance for Current Crop of England Stars

The current crop of England players is widely recognized as the most talented that the nation has possessed since the World Cup was won in 1966. The image of Bobby Moore raising the World Cup at Wembley Stadium is irrevocably implanted upon the minds of England supporters old and new.

The general consensus, particularly amongst the media, was that players like David Beckham, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Wayne Rooney were collectively good enough to replicate the famous 1966 triumph.

Such high expectations have resulted in the vilification of consecutive England managers. Sven Goran Eriksson transformed England from a side which struggled to qualify for major tournaments to a side which struggled to reach the semifinals of such tournaments.

Eriksson was ridiculed by the England media after his England side reached the knockout phases of every international tournament under his tenure, losing to Portugal on penalties twice and Brazil once. This is indicative of the high regard which the current group of England players are held in.

Eriksson's record looks even more impressive in light of his successor Steve McClaren's failure to qualify for the 2008 European Championships with almost exactly the same group of players.

McClaren, who has gone on to become a highly successful manager in Holland, was widely regarded as an abject failure and unsurprisingly the F.A. elected to replace him with another high profile foreign manager, Fabio Capello.

Old age and injury may have deprived Capello of the services of Owen and Beckham but the backbone of the England team remains otherwise intact. Ferdinand, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, and Rooney give England a spine which is verging on the spectacular.

Elsewhere, with the exception of outstanding left back Ashley Cole, the England side could best be described as solid. In fact, outside of these six players, there is not another member of the squad who is guaranteed a spot in the starting XI.

Once this World Cup has ended the future for England as a footballing nation looks decidedly bleak. The majority of players in the preliminary squad of 30 are over the age of 28 and, apart from Wayne Rooney, there are very few world class youngsters emerging.

Players like James Milner, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson, and Adam Johnson are all good but they are unlikely to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Ferdinand, and Terry.

By the time the next major international tournament arrives all of the aforementioned players are likely to be past their prime. Lampard will be 32 and Gerrard will be 30 when the World Cup ends. Given the extent to which both players games revolves around their energy and work rate they are unlikely to improve with age.

Ferdinand and Terry, at 31 and 29 respectively, probably have one more World Cup in them but they will be dismayed by the lack of up and coming English talent to replace the likes of Gerrard and Lampard.

It really is now or never if England are to add to their one solitary success in an international tournament. The odds are decidedly against them, both Spain and Brazil have far superior teams and both Holland and Argentina will probably feel they are at least as good as England.

In England's favour is the fact that the passing of time has been even more unkind to a number of rival teams. Italy, Germany, France, and Portugal have all been in steady decline in recent years and will travel to South Africa more in hope than expectation.

Rooney may have had his most prolific season to date but he is England's only genuinely world class striker and much will depend upon him being able to retain both form and fitness. The goalscoring burden will rest almost entirely upon his broad shoulders with potential replacements Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent simply not of the same calibre.

With such a paucity of striking talent at their disposal if England are to win the World Cup for the second time there will need to be a large element of luck involved.

Anything less than a top four finish would be deemed a major disappointment. The bookmakers all seem to believe that England are the third best team in the tournament and the players will be expected to live up to this lofty expectation.

Whatever the eventual outcome of the World Cup it will represent the end of an era for an outstanding group of English players. This will probably be the very last chance for players like Gerrard and Lampard to replicate their substantial club success on an international stage.

England might have to wait decades for a better opportunity to win an international tournament to arise. They are not by any estimation the favourites at the 2010 World Cup but it really is now or never for the current crop of England players.