Shortly after Fabio Capello was appointed England manager in 2008, I placed a £100 bet on England to win the World Cup at 14 to one. Since then the odds have shrunk to approximately eight to one and may well shrink further if England wins group C, something the bookies estimate it has a 71% change of doing. Indeed, two analysts at JP Morgan are predicting that England will win the tournament.
As England's first game approaches, however, I'm beginning to get the jitters. Will the USA cause an historic upset? The last time England played America in a World Cup was in Brazil in 1950. Led by Stanley Matthews, England were three-to-one favourites to win the tournament and the opening game against the USA was considered a mere formality. The American team was comprised of no-hopers, most of whom had never met each other before the tournament. Even their manager was resigned to defeat. He described the team as "sheep ready to be slaughtered". (To read more, click here.)
