Have England got ahead of themselves again?

SOCCER ANGLES:Not for the first time, there's talk of England winning another World Cup. Perhaps qualifying would be a good idea first

THE MAN is still around and going strong so he shall remain nameless. But the uncomfortable memory of his words in Charleroi in Belgium eight years ago returned this week and it was Bobby Charlton's fault: it was he who started talking up England once again.

So impressed is Charlton with Fabio Capello and the Italian's apparently increasingly sure grip on England's club-dominated squad that Charlton rounded off a tribute to Capello with the windy prediction: "I don't just think he will do well in South Africa, I think we'll win the World Cup."

This was prior to England's 2-1 victory in Berlin on Wednesday night, so dear knows the mood afterwards. But it prompted the thought: have England qualified already? England are top of European Group Six and the Walcott-inspired 4-1 win in Zagreb against Croatia in September felt like more than a shift in perception. That victory is one of the reasons why England are five points clear of the gifted Croats, with Theo Walcott's emergence as a player capable of defining an international one of the reasons for the spurt of optimism. There are others.

But back to Group Six. Lurking in third place are Ukraine. They may not be a devastating side but they reached the last World Cup finals in Germany and they do have a game in hand on England. If won, it would leave Ukraine two points behind England. The group would look less enticing for Capello and Charlton if that game were to be won by the Ukrainians.

Before they get their chance to nip teeth into England's lead, however, Ukraine must go to Wembley. The game is on April Fool's Day next year and England will be heavy favourites. It is a great opportunity for Capello's team to register a disorientating blow on major rivals. The expectation will be bloated. Three Lions.

Which takes us back to Charleroi, June 20th, 2000. There were three lions on the chest that night too. England had again just beaten Germany - 1-0 courtesy of Alan Shearer - while Romania had lost to Portugal. With one game left in the group, England had three points, Romania, one. A draw would take England into the quarter-finals. There was a future and it contained promise.

As he surveyed the scene that sun-dappled June evening, the former England international - not Charlton - looked at the Romanians warming up and declared: "We'll win this. That lot don't fancy it."

As blinkered views go, this was remarkable, not for the confidence in England - which is fair and natural - but for the insensitivity towards Romania. Not only did the team possess Petrescu, Popescu, Chivu, Mutu and Adrian Ilie, it was a decade since revolution swept away Ceausescu. At Euro '96 Romanian fans brought flags with a hole cut from the middle and those flags were still there four years later. National fervour ran high; and they were playing England.

Not "fancying it" was the least of Romania's problems, you imagined.

Maybe when Chivu put Romania one up, the Englishman's outlook altered. But by half time it was 2-1 to England - Shearer and Owen - and a quarter-final against Italy beckoned.

But no. Three minutes into the second half Munteanu equalised and with 60 seconds left Phil Neville brought down Moldovan and Ganea scored the winner from the spot. England were out, Shearer's international career was over and Kevin Keegan was having his first doubts.

Once again England had got ahead of themselves and you could feel that swell rise again on Wednesday night. The fact that Germany fielded a weakened version of a modest team, and that the young goalkeeper flapped at and missed a Stewart Downing corner for the opening goal, were deemed less significant than the allegedly momentous victory.

What did England beat? It is one of several valid questions to be asked. After all, remember when England battered Jamaica 6-0 prior to the last World Cup? Peter Crouch got a hat-trick - Jamaica's goalkeeper was called Ricketts - and it was World Cup here we come. Hysteria; Crouch performed a robotic dance and some people did not cringe.

Yet given an easy group and a second-round game against Ecuador, England still went home after the quarter-finals.

But then it was like that in Japan four years earlier. England had also beaten Germany on the way - 5-1 in Munich, a marvel of a result - but won one of their three group games, albeit against Argentina. Denmark were up next before a quarter-final exit to Brazil. Danny Mills was arguably England's best player against Brazil. Trevor Sinclair was in the team.

Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, among others, thought reaching the last eight okay. Nicky Butt, less easily impressed, begged to differ. "In England we all seem to get excited about things that generally never happen," Butt said later. "We always seem to think how well we've done - in any sport. 'You're doing well, you're doing well', people say - we got beat in the quarter-finals! We did well, I reckon, in two games. Argentina? Good for half a game - in the second half we were pummelled. We did well for the Denmark game. So for 1½ games we did well. The rest of it was average."

Refreshingly, Capello seems to share Butt's instincts. The Italian talked his way out of the inevitable: Can-

England-win-the-World-Cup question on Wednesday. He knows he has the core of a potentially fine team - eight of a possible first XI featured in Moscow in the European Cup final - and he knows more now about good reserves such as Downing, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young. But he knows also about the danger of premature expectation. It is 94 days since, in the wake of England's 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic, the Sun ran the headlines: "Duds 2 Czechs 2" and "Our £5m-a-year Boss Is Clueless".

Three months on Capello has shaped an English reformation, apparently. The Sun thinks Capello is the strict headmaster England has been searching for. But this is a beginning of an exercise, not its completion and, for the record, the World Cup final is in Johannesburg on Saturday July 11th 2010. That's 595 days away.

Not what you expect from your leader

"William arrived at Arsenal in the summer of 2006 as part of the deal which took Ashley Cole to Chelsea and, within a year, he was named as club captain in the wake of Thierry Henry's departure. William's appointment surprised some . . . "

So begins the official Arsenal profile of William Gallas.

What Gallas had to say this week about the state of Arsenal's team and squad surprised more, not for its content, but its revelation. It's not all in a day's work for a captain to discuss unease explicitly and one fears that, a fortnight after overcoming Manchester United, Arsenal go to Manchester City today disrupted.

Arsenal's reaction has become too hard to predict this season - which is part of their problem, you suppose. But it needs to be resolute. Arsenal are already nine points behind Chelsea and visit Stamford Bridge tomorrow week.

In between today and then it is Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. Arsene Wenger could do with a strong leader on the pitch just now. "William's appointment surprised some."

Things are looking up for Stoke

Stoke City beat Arsenal in their last home game. After two away trips Stoke are back home and face West Brom today.

Then it is Hull next Saturday, also at home. A fortnight after that, Fulham are the visitors to the Britannia Stadium. You can see where this is leading.

Stoke have given themselves a real chance of staying up. You may not warm to their style but you cannot ignore Stoke's fight.