**Former England midfielder Sir Trevor Brooking expects the national team to improve further after cruising to World Cup qualification.**Manager Fabio Capello’s side booked their place in South Africa by beating Croatia 5-1 to make it eight wins from eight qualifying matches.
And Brooking pointed to the players who missed the Croatia game through injury.
“The squad’s got better. Players like Rio Ferdinand, Theo Walcott and Stewart Downing will all come back,” he said.
England could also welcome back Chelsea’s Joe Cole and Manchester United’s Owen Hargreaves before next summer, with both midfielders currently recovering from long-term knee injuries.
And Brooking, now the Football Association’s director of football development, believes England are also well equipped in attack, with Wayne Rooney the top scorer in European qualification and Jermain Defoe staking a claim to take Emile Heskey’s place.
606: DEBATE
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“There was lot of debate about whether Jermain Defoe would start against Croatia,” Brooking told BBC 5 live.
"And in Peter Crouch and Carlton Cole we have got some quite good attacking options now.
"If you look at our goal scoring record, which is as good as anyone, that is something we haven’t done in the big tournaments or even qualifying before.
“So the great thing at the moment is we are capable of scoring goals against most countries.”
With the pressure to qualify removed Capello has the competitive games against Ukraine and Belarus in October to tinker with his squad before moving on to friendly games prior to South Africa next summer.
However, despite the Italian’s envious position, Brooking does not expect wholesale changes.
“Ukraine and Belarus are still qualification games,” he stated.
"If you know Fabio, he might want to try a few things but he also wants to win.
"He won’t go gung-ho and try too many things because, having got eight victories, I think he is the sort of person to want to go the whole hog and get all 10.
“Whatever changes he would make he would expect those players to get a win.”
“We are sure the English team and their fans will enjoy their time in our country and contribute tremendously to what is sure to be a carnival atmosphere”
**Danny Jordaan - CEO 2010 World Cup organising committee **
Meanwhile, England are expected to be rewarded for their 100% qualification with a top seeding in the World Cup group draw in Cape Town on 4 December.
As hosts, South Africa are guaranteed top seeding with the other seven set to be allocated through a system that has tended to include both results from previous tournaments, as well as taking into account current Fifa rankings.
England have reached the last two World Cup quarter-finals and are ranked seventh in the latest Fifa list.
Brazil and Spain will also get a top seeding among the sides that have already qualified, while Italy, Germany, Argentina and France - should they qualify - would also be likely to be seeded.
England have been promised a warm welcome in South Africa by Danny Jordaan, the chief executive officer of the 2010 World Cup organising committee.
“All the England players are extremely popular in South Africa and a number of them have visited the country with their club teams and with the national team in recent years,” he said.
Jordaan is also excited by the atmosphere that English supporters will bring to the first ever World Cup on the African continent.
As of 1 September, more than 45,000 tickets had been sold to residents from the United Kingdom, with only the host nation and the United States having sold more.
“The English fans, who are among the most passionate and knowledgeable in the world, are no strangers to our shores, regularly travelling to England cricket, rugby and football matches in South Africa,” added Jordaan.
“We are sure the English team and their fans will enjoy their time in our country and contribute tremendously to what is sure to be a carnival atmosphere at Africa’s first Fifa World Cup.”
Meanwhile, England fans have been warned to be on their guard against ticket scams when booking trips to next year’s finals.
Assocation of British Travel Agents (Abta) spokesman Sean Tipton said: "We’re saying that when you book, you should do so with a company authorised by Fifa.
“In the past, we have had instances of people booking trips for major sporting events and then finding that their tickets did not materialise.”*