England: What did we learn ?

Brown: Liability Lescott - over-priced Bridge - no confidence Wright - headless chicken Jenus - what does he do? Huddlestone - average Bent - club striker

What exactly did we learn from the money making friendly between World Cup favourites Brazil and the England reserves in Doha on Saturday ?

Well, it certainly confirmed a few things that we already knew like:-

Wes Brown, Joleon Lescott, Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jermaine Jenas, Tom Hudlestone and Darren Bent should never be allowed anywhere near an England shirt let alone be in the 23 man World Cup squad for next summer.

Without, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson, England do not look any more impressive then the likes of Norway or Switzerland.

Add to those facts that there are also serious doubts about Ben Foster, Robert Green and David James as top class international goalkeepers, Capello is also likely to pick David Beckham as some sort of World Cup tourist, capable of making only 20 minute cameo appearances during the competition and that England have recently played, Brazil, France, Germany, Holland and Italy in friendlies under Capello and won just once, against an experimental German side, and suddenly the euphoria surrounding the qualifying campaign looks a little flat.

Initially, on paper, England's World Cup qualifying campaign looked a little tricky, with the main threat surly coming from old foes Croatia and the always threatining Ukraine, with trips to Belarus and Khazakstan posing as potential banana-skins.

In the Croatia - England match in Zagreb the suggestion that the Croatians were on a rapid downward slope were fully founded as the visitors racked up an emphatic 4-1 victory and although England only narrowly beat Ukraine at Wembley it was clear that the group wasn't anywhere near as daunting as was first thought.

As the usual suspects make their way to South Africa next summer it is hard to make an arguament for England going beyond their usual Quarter Final exit. Spain, Brazil, Italy, France (Ireland permitting), Portugal (Bosnia permitting) and even Argentina (Maradona permitting) look much healthier bets to lift the trophy then the 1966 winners.

If England could play their strongest one to eleven in each finals match then they could maybe make the semis with a kind draw but once you go beyond the first eleven it is clear that there is a severe void of quality and absolutely no evidence whatsoever that someone outside the current squad will step up to the mark and make a 'Platt '90' or an 'Owen '98' type impact.

Let me make one thing quite clear. I am not making these observations purely based on the game against Brazil, that would be unfair. You didn't need to see Darren Bent play against Brazil to work out that he is nothing more than an average Premiership striker. You didn't need to watch Jermain Jenus play against Brazil to know that he serves absolutely no purpose on the pitch whatsover, you didn't need to see Joelon Lescott play against Brazil to discover that Man City paid £20 million more than he is worth and you certainly didn't need to watch Wes Brown play against Brazil to work out that he has become the 'Phil Neville' of his day, capable at domestic club level with 10 other good players around him but woefully out of his depth for his country.

The bench mark for me, which backs up this whole argument is James Milner. I like James Milner, he is the epitome of a good honest hard working professional. He's not particularly skillful, he's not particularly quick, he's not a good crosser of the ball, he not a good passer of the ball and he doesn't score many goals but he is prepared to try and beat a man and can usually hold on to possession when under pressure from an opponent.

James Milner is one of England's best players outside the first eleven, he is probably THE best yet he is just a good club player and an average international player. I don't expect to see Milner making a £30M move to La Liga at the end of next summer nor do I expect to see him move to Manchester United or Chelsea but he could well play on the left of England's midfield in South Africa. On the opposite flank next summer could well be the one man marketing machine David Beckham.

At the start of this year pundits were all ready to predict the demise of the American based Beckham with Theo Walcott, Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and even David Bentley ready take over the mantle on England's right flank. But as we get ever closer to next summer's finals who will Capello trust with that position? Walcott would be his first choice but it is anyones guess if the fragile Theo will be fit. Lennon's early season form has dipped considerably and he is danger of falling into the catagory of 'headless chicken'. The closest Wright-Phillips will get to the 2010 World Cup will be courtesy of X-Box360 and as for Bentley........

If you think that that is worrying, there is the little matter of the strikers. Heskey, Defoe, Bent, Crouch & Rooney. Did someone mention Carlton Cole ? On the fringes is Agbonlahor and erm, ermm, did someone mention Carlton Cole ?

I rest my case. Amen.