Source: Team_Talk
Terry: We're good enough to rule world
John Terry is confident England can win the World Cup if the squad remain fit and prepare well for the upcoming tournament in South Africa.[LNB] The Chelsea centre-back reflected on a below-par England performance in their 2-1 friendly win over Japan which needed two own goals to clinch victory.[LNB]Defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka put Japan into a shock early lead when he escaped from Glen Johnson and lashed home a driven corner.[LNB]England had the chance to equalise in the second half when they were awarded a penalty for handball, but Frank Lampard saw his spot-kick saved.[LNB]Tulio Tanaka then doubled his goal tally, but this time in the wrong net when he turned the ball past his own goalkeeper in the 72nd minute after lunging to clear a teasing Joe Cole cross.[LNB]Cole's club team-mate and namesake Ashley Cole then saw his whipped in effort clipped into the net by Yuji Nakazawa 11 minutes later to gift England a 2-1 victory.[LNB]The result means England go into their World Cup campaign on the back of another win and with enough preparation time for Fabio Capello's men to tighten the ship and get players match-fit ahead of their tournament opener on June 12.[LNB]Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are just two of many carrying worrying injuries ahead of Capello's final 23-man squad selection - however both featured in the win against Japan.[LNB]And Terry, who suffered a knock on his calf during the game at the UPC-Arena in Graz, believes it is vitally important every England player stays fit if they are to progress in the tournament.[LNB]On winning the World Cup, he told Sky Sports News: "With a little bit of luck and everybody fit we've got as good a chance as anybody.[LNB]"As you've seen game after game through the campaign and the last few games, we need to improve but going there we've got everybody fit and we can't argue with that."[LNB]The 29-year-old paid tribute to England coach Capello's methodical approach to making sure his side are fully prepared and instant improvements are made.[LNB]"I feel as though, especially with the manager, the attention to detail that he shows even after the game stressing how we need to work on a few things, he won't leave any stone unturned and once we go to South Africa we'll be fully prepared," said the former England skipper.[LNB]"Today, first-half was probably a little bit slow - the tempo and the way we played.[LNB]"Second-half a lot better (with) the way we pressed which is something that the manager wanted after the previous game (the 3-1 friendly win over Mexico)."[LNB]The stalward defender also tipped club team-mate Joe Cole to make a big impact in the tournament after the playmaker's second-half introduction was instrumental into forcing a late England comeback against a hard-working Japan side.[LNB]"On a personal level with Joe (Cole) he's been great for Chelsea towards the end of the season as well so I'm delighted to see him given the chance," he said.[LNB]"He causes defenders all sorts of problems when he floats in between the midfield and the frontmen and can pick the passes - you've seen with the ball through to Ash (Cole) as well, so he's made a big impact today and we'll have to wait and see."
