SIR Alex Ferguson believes England has got a great chance of lifting the World Cup because everyone is "pulling for them".

The Manchester United boss, who had his own success yesterday as his horse Rock of Gibraltar won the big race at Royal Ascot, insisted: "For the first time the press are behind them.

"There has been no trouble from the fans, they have been absolutely fantastic and that takes a lot of the pressure off the players."

Ferguson knows how important his midfield trio of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will be in the big game with Brazil on Friday and hew as full of praise for the latter.

"Nicky Butt has been the star man for me," he said. "He has been fantastic and I am pleased for the lad. He needs that profile and he has done ever so well."

The player himself insisted that England are not scared by the prospect of facing Brazil as they believe they have the defence to keep the South American side at bay.

With England having conceded just one goal in their opening four games at the tournament, Butt feels that even the world-class talents of Ronaldo and Rivaldo can be frustrated.

He added that they are still an unpredictable side who can be exposed at the back themselves.

The overwhelming feeling in the England camp ahead of their last-eight showdown in Shizuoka is that the squad respect Brazil but do not fear them.

The shock exit of Italy at the hands of South Korea yesterday has also removed another pre-tournament favourite to leave the competition wide open for the winners of Friday's quarter-final.

Butt declared: "You never know what Brazil you're going to get. They seem to be going steady one minute and are then unbelievable the next and score a goal.

"The name Brazil might be enough to scare some people but we must not be afraid. We must have the belief that we can stop them from scoring. If we can do that then, with the players we've got, we can score goals ourselves."

Butt was further heartened by Belgium's confident display against Brazil in their second round encounter in Kobe earlier this week, which was watched by most of the England squad.

"Belgium had plenty of chances and could have had three or four goals," he said. "They showed how you can get at Brazil.

"They are the biggest team in the world by name but most of the lads have faced their players in the Champions League so we know we can compete against them."

While Michael Owen's fitness will be of paramount importance, the key will lie in Sven-Goran Eriksson's side imposing themselves on Brazil, especially in midfield.

"It's been drummed into us by the coaches that we need to perform as a team and get into shape as a unit. It's worked for us so far, to be fair, as we've conceded just one goal," added Butt.

"Our team isn't the flair team like the South Americans. We're built on our work ethic.

"We've got some world-class players in our team but first and foremost, we have to keep our shape and keep possession and not concede goals."

Butt's own committed displays at the centre of a midfield duo with Paul Scholes, who is currently adopting a far deeper role, have done much to safeguard the England defence.

While he accepts that he is producing his best performances in an England shirt due to a run in the team, this is still a player whose family are so averse to over-statement that they have described his recent displays as "okay".

Butt himself therefore insists it is "far-fetched" to think about England winning the World Cup just yet, although he also accepts the team must believe in their own ability.

"Sometimes we can under-estimate ourselves as we have this mentality that all other countries are miles better than us," he added.

"That's changing at this World Cup but we have to go out there and prove it."