It’s been a long time coming but tonight we should finally find out if England have anything like a realistic chance of winning this summer’s World Cup.

The match against Uruguay may only be a friendly but, with just 99 days to go before the tournament kicks off, it should give us a fairly good indication of our current status.

For that reason I expect Sven, taking charge of his first match since he announced he was quitting in the summer, to start with his absolute strongest 11: Robinson, Bridge, Ferdinand, Terry, Neville, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Rooney, Defoe.

Of course, Michael Owen would normally be in for Defoe and Ashley Cole for Bridge, but neither of those are available through injury. Those two aside, I can’t see much changing in the line-up between now and England’s opening game.

Obviously there is no chance on earth that all those starting tonight’s game will finish it and I wouldn’t expect them to. Sven needs to try out the fringe players and find out who exactly is worth the price of the plane ticket to Germany.

On that basis expect run outs for lads like Wright Phillips, Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Luke Young and Michael Carrick. All who I expect to make it to the finals if only as back-up.

However, there is one omission from this squad which I feel is a mistake – Kevin Nolan. The Bolton midfielder has been in top form this season and would be an excellent utility midfielder to have around.

Still, there is more than enough depth in the squad to make this summer the time when the 40 years of hurt finally come to an end. Let’s just hope Sven finally works out how to use it best.

Carling Cup final

Well that was a bit of an anti-climax wasn’t it?

Any hopes we had that Sunday’s Carling Cup final was going to be one to remember were dashed quite emphatically as it quickly became obvious this was little more than a mismatch.

Brave but weak Wigan were simply outclassed and outplayed by a far superior Manchester United and the 4-0 scoreline was, if anything, flattering to Paul Jewell’s shell-shocked team.

From the first few minutes you just knew it wasn’t going to be Wigan’s day when goalkeeper Mike Pollit had to be replaced before the match had even got going.

But, to be perfectly honest, not even the most diehard Wigan fan can claim that had much bearing, if any, on the outcome. Short of playing two goalkeepers at the same time there was just no way Wigan were going to keep a rampant Manchester United at bay for 90 minutes, especially with Wayne Rooney rising to the occasion quite superbly.

Paul Jewell must be sick of playing United now. As manager of Bradford be played them twice and lost 4-0 on both occasions. As manager of Wigan he has so far played them twice and lost by the same scoreline on both occasions. And, to make matters worse, the two teams meet again this coming weekend. What odds on another 4-0?

For United, Sunday’s victory meant a great deal and you could see ample evidence of that on the faces of the players as they collected their medals.

It cannot be denied that the League Cup is one of the lesser trophies on offer each season and probably only ranks higher than the Community Shield.

But nevertheless it is a trophy and it means United will not be facing a second season in a row without silverware.

And that can only help morale back at Old Trafford as Ferguson’s rebuilding process continues at what can only be described as a rather slow pace.

The man himself claims he needs two more years in charge to build another all-conquering side.

Sunday’s win might just have helped buy him that much more time.

Meanwhile, I have to say I found the United players’ tribute to the horrifically injured Alan Smith very touching.

All the players donned T-shirts with the slogan “For You Smudge” as they went up to collect their medals.

Hard man as he is, I am sure Alan would have shed a little tear or two at the sight.

Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics have come and gone and I think I can safely say it has had absolutely no impact on my life whatsoever.

I love all types of sport and, as my wife will testify, I watch far too much of it. But, somehow, the winter games completely fail to get me going.

I am very sure there are plenty of you out there who loved every minute of the contest and still others who even bothered to watch the figure skating.

But for me it was all a bit of a non-starter. Roll on the proper Olympics.

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