SVEN Goran Eriksson proved he really is turning English this week when he began to get his excuses in first for England's impending failure to win the World Cup.

I would love England to bring home sport's greatest prize but we have as much chance as a swear box has of remaining empty when Alex Ferguson's around.

The winners will be one of France, Argentina, Brazil, Italy and Spain because they either have superior class or experience of the type of humidity and grass that teams will encounter in Japan and South Korea.

What was that last one - type of grass? The man's gone mad I hear you shout. Not so. The big moan coming out of the England camp is that they can't play on the green stuff which grows over there.

Teddy Sherringham was first to groan about it being too sticky and judging from the display against South Korea on Tuesday he could be right.

After the game Eriksson said the grass over there is too long and dry making the game "more complicated." I'm not quite sure what that means but I do know Italy, Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil haven't complained.

This 'wrong kind of grass' is the same type that Argentinian and Brazilian teams play on week in week out but I doubt even that will be enough to deny France a second successive World Cup.