World Cup betting: England favourites in odds to win World Cup
“History now says that Fabio gets all the big decisions right,” said the midfielder Frank Lampard. “He’s had great success and it’s not by chance. He is fantastic manager and his biggest Midas touch has been getting us working together as a team and as a unit. You can see the results of that pretty much in every game of the qualifying round.
That gives us the confidence that he will get it right at a tournament, when a decision needs to be made on team selection or on a substitution. We will play under a different pressure now because of the expectations, but we’re a little bit immune to that – you have to be. You shouldn’t get too down in the bad times or too carried away in the good. The manager is very strong on that. When we get together, no matter what the results have been in the previous games, the manager will still keep working and still keep the discipline with us.
“There is a level-headed atmosphere because we went through quite a low two years ago but, in a way, it helps we experienced that. Basically the same players are in the squad from those times, it’s just that we’re working together and we’re working very hard. It shows the difference that can be made with little detail and changes.”
John Terry, the captain, added: “We know we have another level and maybe two to get to before South Africa, and the manager knows that too. It’s important we don’t get carried away.”
World Cup 2010 South Africa winner odds
Brazil 5.5
Spain 5.5
England 6.5
Germany 12
Argentina 10
Netherlands 13
Italy 13
France 23
Russia 29
Portugal 34
Côte d’Ivoire 41
Serbia 51
