What’s up there in front could be pretty impressive – it’s what lies beyond that casts a shadow over England’s World Cup hopes.

Fabio Capello’s first-choice team is pretty obvious to everyone within a couple of optional choices up front and in goal and has certainly been known to the England head coach for some time.

In goal? Robert Green or David James. A back four of Glen Johnson, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole. A midfield base of Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard with Aaron Lennon out wide on the right. Wayne Rooney up front, possibly partnered by Emile Heskey.

Some will prefer Peter Crouch, others Jermain Defoe and now – happily – we have the option of Joe Cole dropping in should England adopt a denser midfield.

But that’s pretty much where we are.

Hoping, beyond all hopes before, that Rooney doesn’t get injured or aggravated by the dark tricks the world’s top defenders will have prepared for him, that Gerrard and Lampard can bring their best games to the tournament, that Ferdinand can forget his disconcerting club form and that England can play at a tempo which rids the memory of their plodding, ponderous challenge in 2006.

Given all those factors and an injury free tournament, then we may yet at least see a generation of footballers who have long been heralded as pretty special finally do themselves justice on the big stage.

Japan and Germany were let downs, the European Championships of 2000, 2004 and 2008 even more so. There aren’t many more chances ahead and the golden boys have yet to live up to their domestic billing.

But if England’s first starting line-up are flawed by poor form, injuries or a suspension, the lack of depth is a chilling addendum to yesterday’s selection by Capello of his 23 players for South Africa.

Not for a long time would England’s next best central defender have been a player as ordinary – in international terms – as Matthew Upson or a barely-fit, train-when-you-like alternative. Any other club than Tottenham and Ledley King would not have had a look-in.

Not for a long time would England’s reserve left back be such a novice as Stephen Warnock, who has no recent experience for his country and – for all our delight – at Villa’s contribution must be regarded a selection by default because of the sensitivities of Wayne Bridge and Leighton Baines.

There are gambles in this squad, although not the sort Capello would have liked to have taken. Barry will not be fit for the first game and surely be off the pace when he does eventually step on to the pitch.

His importance to England is highlighted by the way his injury struggle has been indulged but had he been 100 per cent, perhaps Capello could have afforded to leave behind the waning Michael Carrick and plump for one of those wild card selections instead – like Adam Johnson or the much-debated Theo Walcott.

Poor Walcott, who was in when he should have been out four years ago and now is out when he thought he should have been in.

But despite being an obvious talent, his story is a cautionary tale for all those Daniel Sturridges and Carlton Coles who wasted key years picking up fat cheques for sitting on the benches of the luxury clubs.

Walcott has not developed as he might have hoped because he simply hasn’t played enough senior football. As a result, the man who produced the most outstanding individual performance of the qualifying programme couldn’t do it when it mattered most.

Indeed, not for a long time can so many of England’s choices be there in spite of their form and not because of it.

Warnock, for example, would have more relished this unexpected opportunity when playing some of the best football of his career back at the turn of the year before injury robbed him of form and rhythm.

He is not alone. His club-mate James Milner finished the season looking a spent force, Emile Heskey has never got going, Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Michael Carrick, Barry, Wright-Phillips and Glen Johnson have all been in better nick.

Even Gerrard has not played his best football for Liverpool this past season while Defoe, too, was another to lose a little of his fizz.

As a sobering contrast, just as an example, the Argentina squad have as a fifth choice striker Diego Milito, the Inter forward who so brilliantly dismantled Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. What England would do for that depth of attacking flair.

But it is now enshrined within this nation’s football psyche to envy the talents of other nations while down-playing the merits of our own. That is a falsehood.

Because when England do get it right, they are a bloody good team as those epic performances down the years in Turin in 1990 and St Etienne in 1998 remind us.

Capello is right up there in Mourinho territory when it comes to the game’s master coaches and for all the pontificating that will accompany the team’s journey over these next few weeks, the England team could not be in more capable hands.

For now, this squad is the best we can hope for. It may be spread a little thin but let us hope, for once, it delivers a substance to justify its star billing.

By Martin Swain