ENGLAND could qualify for the World Cup if results go their way on Saturday.

But what are the chances of winning the ultimate prize in football next year with a meek manager and second-rate squad players?

I'm a fan of Eriksson's ability to get England through to the finals of major tournaments.

The trouble comes when he gets them there and finds the quarter-finals impossible to get through.

I've no doubt Eriksson will steer England through the potential banana skin tests of Austria on Saturday and Poland on Wednesday.

He has only lost one qualifying game out of 21 since he became England coach and his successful guidance of England through qualification for the 2002 World Cup after Kevin Keegan quit was little short of accomplishing mission impossible.

But you can't win the big trophies with a weak man in charge. And Sven is weak.

He showed that by giving in to David Beckham's request to play in the middle against Wales and Northern Ireland even though the world and his dog knows Beckham's best position is on the right.

Instead of letting his captain dictate tactics, Sven should have thanked him for his suggestion and told him he was playing on the right.

If England are going to have any chance of lifting the World Cup, they are going to need a coach with the courage of his convictions.

And the first thing he has to decide is what formation he is going to play, then stick with it.

He has gone to 4-5-1 in recent games and it just doesn't suit his players, as shown in the performances against Wales and Northern Ireland.

What success Sven has had has been built on 4-4-2 and the old adage "if is isn't broken, don't fix it" applies.

The only reason England have played 4-5-1 must be because it is the fashion at the moment. And you don't need an FA coaching qualification to see that England's players are simply not suited to that formation.

To play it effectively, you need a quality holding midfield player in the mould of Claude Makalele, which England don't have, and a hard, mobile, handful of a target man like Kevin Davies or Didier Drogba which Sven hasn't got in his squad.

Playing Michael Owen up on his own is having a laugh.

England can only play 4-4-2 if they are going to play to their potential - and then pray that they don't get an injury crisis.

The first 11 isn't bad, although not as good as it is hyped up to be. But what happens if a glut of first team players get injured or suspended in Germany next summer?

Saturday's England squad includes the likes of Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson, Ledley King, Luke Young, Phil Neville, Jamie Carragher and Stephen Warnock.

Are these players really good enough to win the World Cup? Hardly.

The hype will begin when England qualify for the World Cup Finals some time between Saturday and Wednesday.

But with these players and a weak coach who still doesn't know his best formation, does anyone really believe Brazil, France and Italy are shaking in their shoes.