World Cup Diary. 20 England Cruise to Quarter Finals

Throughout the first half against Ecuador it was clear that England were not hounding down possession and were not pressing the South Americans.

As the heat eased after half-time the players began to step up the tempo and Eriksson began to prepare to step up the attack with Crouch coming on. He wasn't needed as the Skipper showed his class with a ball placed within inches of the post.

When you have quality players passing the ball around the edge of the box you are going to win free kicks and corners. Then you need great dead ball delivery and the arial aggression of the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand to batter home the advantage.

Against Ecuador once the advantage had been gained England shut up shop and waited to see who was next.

Rooney seemed to have been instructed not to let himself go to far in terms of effort and finished fresh strong and threatening.

Despite absurd refereeing England have only picked up one significant card (Terry) and have removed themselves from the undignified nastiness that was to be seen when Portugal beat Holland.

Watching the rubbish on show there was equivalent to reading the nauseating knocking copy turned out by the ignorant hacks in the UK press bemoaning England's performances. The disrespect they show our national team illustrates their own deep self-loathing which is presumably the result of having a career based on having to ingratiate themselves to whoever it is they call editor.

The England shirts are worn by footballing athletes focused on bringing home a prize that is the most sought after in the world.

It is the most pressurised and competitive environment in sport and has no equal. The young men from England have fifty thousand people with them in Germany and more everyday. The streets in England are deserted during the game and awash with England flags the rest of the week.

There are no guarantees that we can succeed but there is the chance for everyone to support the team. Now England are in Germany and whatever happens its the greatest thing on earth to have the privilege to say it.