I WASN’T very optimistic of England’s World Cup chances last week.

Their warm-up games were against mediocre opposition in Mexico and Japan and the perfor-mances were poor to say the least.

The defence looked shaky ... mostly Rio Ferdinand. He didn’t look anywhere near the player he has been.

Now he is injured and out of the tournament, but I don’t see it as a major loss because I didn’t think he was 100 per cent fit.

Having Michael Dawson as his replacement is a big bonus to Fabio Capello’s squad. The Tottenham defender is still learning, but he is a great centre half. Pair him with John Terry and the back four will be rock solid, and the chance to return with the Jules Rimet Trophy is greater than it was.

Having just watched England’s final warm-up game I’m glad there haven’t been any more injuries in what was a bit of a knockabout for them.

I really breathed a sigh of relief as I think another casualty could have dented the squad’s high hopes ... and I don’t mean Peter Crouch!

The countdown to kick-off is on, and I wish the England team all the best for the tournament, and hope they come back as World Cup winners.