Manchester United's Gary Neville: 'Lack of depth will scupper England's World Cup chances'
Published 23:00 22/11/09 By David McDonnell
Gary Neville has questioned whether England have what it takes to win the World Cup next summer.
Neville claimed England's 1-0 friendly defeat to Brazil showed Fabio Capello's side are still some way short of the standard required to be crowned world champions.
Manchester United skipper Neville, who is resigned to not going to South Africa as part of Capello's 23-man squad, said England did not possess enough strength in depth.
"England's 1-0 defeat to Brazil showed that they are still a little behind the world's best," said Neville.
"England are probably not in the top three or four teams who are favourites for the World Cup.
"But I would say they are one of the next three or four teams that could potentially win it if they keep all their players fit, have a bit of luck and play at their maximum level.
"What we saw against Brazil was that when quite a few big players are missing, England don't have enough strength in depth in terms of quality.
"I think England can beat anyone when all their best players are fit and firing, but to repeat it every few days in a World Cup atmosphere is difficult.
"Although we now know all the qualifiers, it's absolutely impossible to say at this stage who will win the World Cup.
"I think the Spanish team look really good, Brazil generally always perform in World Cups and Argentina will do well. Then there is always a surprise team, so let's hope it is England.
"Some of the African teams have a chance of doing well with the tournament being played on that continent, and some games will be at an altitude which may benefit them.
"The African teams have flair, strength and technique, but I'm not entirely sure that any of them are organised enough to win it. Yet one of them may surprise."
Neville backed United boss Sir Alex Ferguson in claiming modern players are too mollycoddled by agents and advisors.
"It's one of my pet hates when I see players who have agents that do everything for them," said Neville.
"They don't know how to set up their own bank account, they don't know what they're spending their money on and can't make their own decisions.
"Some are totally dependent on agents and advisers. There are some agents who do a good job looking after players, but there are others who stifle and mollycoddle players.
"Some agents will come into a player's life when he is 20, leave his life at 34 and never want to know that player again. Every footballer needs an advisor at some point.
"But a player doesn't need to pay between five and 15 per cent of his wages to a guy to set up a bank account, buy him a new fridge, or ask his club's chief executive for a pay rise."
