London - England will be hoping to translate their new-found confidence into another three points when they host Kazakhstan at Wembley in their latest World Cup qualifying match on Saturday. Fresh from their 4-1 win in Croatia, England sit joint-top of Group 6 with six points, while Kazakhstan have three points from a home win over Andorra.
After the disappointment of missing out on a place at Euro 2008, England, under new manager Fabio Capello, are determined not to make the same mistake again and will expect to beat Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Their performance in Croatia was arguably their best in a couple of years, but defender Rio Ferdinand, who could captain the side if John Terry fails to recover from his back injury, said expectations should be realistic.
"It is too much if people think of us as a completely different team to the one we were six months ago," Ferdinand said. "Hopefully we can maintain the steady rise we are on at the moment.
"We have to qualify first and hopefully, by the time we are in the tournament, we will be ready to go.
"The lads were hurt not getting to the Euros. But Fabio has a winning mentality. He has proved that. And for us to do what he wants, we have to concentrate at every moment of the game.
"We are very focused and hopefully that can be the difference in this qualifying campaign."
Terry is the biggest worry for Capello as his back injury has flared up again and Joe Cole is also out, but otherwise the Italian has a full squad from which to choose.
The midfield could be the trickiest selection point. Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard did well in Croatia, but with Steven Gerrard, who missed that match through injury, back, Capello will have to accommodate the Liverpool captain.
That could mean a change in formation, or a move for Barry to the left side of midfield, but it remains to be seen if Gerrard and Lampard can play together effectively, after several disappointing outings in the past.
Theo Walcott, who scored a superb hat-trick in Croatia, is likely to start again on the right, though he is being pushed by Shaun Wright-Phillips, who has been in outstanding form for his club Manchester City.
In attack
