With a week to go before the FIFA World Cup begins, many have asked if England or Spain can win the World Cup.  Some have wondered if England can turn around their bad luck of recent years.  Others have asked if Spain’s injury woes are behind them.  How will England do under their new manager?  There are so many questions.  The anticipation is overwhelming. 

Let’s take a look at the England and Spanish squad.  Both are very talented, but in most opinions going in opposite directions.  England has not won the World Cup since they hosted the tournament in 1966.  Some have felt that England made a deal with the devil to win the tournament on home soil.  In recent years they have suffered heartbreaking defeats.  Early exits; outscored in penalty kicks.  For a country steeped in football tradition – some feeling that England invented football – the majestic kingdom has been waiting too long for the cup to return to England.

Today England’s squad is star studded featuring the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Frank Lampard.  They have had star power before with the likes of David Beckham, but still haven’t been able to win the tournament.  If you break the team down, England is solid in defence and at mid-field.  Unfortunately, once you get past Wayne Rooney, England is thin at the striker position.  Backing up Rooney will be Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Emile Heskey.  Crouch and Defoe play for Tottenham, while Heskey plays for Aston Villa.  Tottenham just made it into the top 4 of the English Premier League, but according to many critics they were extremely fortunate.  They would normally be a 6^th or 7^th place team along with Aston Villa.  It is hard for a national team to be successful when they do not have a lot star power or explosive players up front.  England will need to rely heavily on Rooney to lead the squad.  Should anything happen to Rooney England’s hopes of winning the World Cup will go from fair to dismal.  So it is not looking good for England to win the 2010 World Cup.

Now if you take a look at the Spanish squad.  As the reigning 2008 Euro Champions there are high expectations for the Spain.  They have an extremely talented squad, however, two of their top players are coming off injuries.  Fernando Torres is coming off knee surgery in April.  It not only hampered Liverpool’s hopes of clawing back into fourth in the English Premiere League, but it made many Spanish supporters nervous about the World Cup.  Without Torres many were in doubt on whether Spain could win the World Cup.  Then on top of Torres’ injury, Cesc Fabregas suffered a leg fracture in a Champions League clash with  Barcelona.  Fabregas has returned from the leg fracture.  He will have one tune up game prior to the start of the World Cup.  Many Spanish supporters are hoping that both players will start in the opening fixture of the World Cup against Switzerland on June 16^th.  But the question everyone is asking is whether they will be game ready.  It’s one thing to train, but it is another thing to be game fit.  However, even without Torres and Fabregas, Spain still has a much more talented squad than England.  With other talented players like striker David Villa and mid-fielder Xabi Alonso, Spain still has other top notch players to keep the hopes of a country facing financial disappointment high. 

Every game of the FIFA World Cup is expected to be exciting.  It has been 4 years since Italy raised the golden trophy.  It seems like a lifetime ago.  But this years tournament will be well worth the wait.  We won’t have long to wait for the answer to English and Spanish supporters questions.  Will England or Spain win the World Cup?  We all will have a great time watching.  Let the games begin!