If one Englishman deserves all the credit which is coming his way in this World Cup it is Rio Ferdinand.

It has been obvious for years that Ferdinand is a quality player but there was a time when he took too many risks and jeopardised the team for his own personal enjoyment as a defender who loves to play football.

Against Denmark, however, Ferdinand proved conclusively that he has arrived as a world-class defender, a player of intelligence who has accepted that his primary objective is to defend.

He was calm, cleared his lines expertly and was a dominating force in the air.

He also appears to have worked out the positioning problems he used to have alongside Sol Campbell and looked a very mature international centre-half.

His coming of age could not be more timely, for while England have done wonderfully well to reach the quarter-finals and there is every reason to celebrate their success we should not get carried away.

It would be wrong to rave about the performance against Denmark. Sometimes seemingly good wins paper over potentially debilitating cracks and even Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted they were lucky to record such a resounding triumph, ''flattered'' as he put it by the 3-0 scoreline.

When the elation has passed and cold analysis returned the truth is England didn't pass well and allowed Denmark 64 per cent of the possession. They didn't control the game and that's what still worries me when they come up against the really clever players in this tournament.

They still surrender possession too easily, which is why it is so important that the defence continues to give nothing away.

The back four have been our greatest asset. Strong and composed and with two wide men in Danny Mills and Ashley Cole whose industry is phenomenal.

There was a moment on Saturday when Mills, not everyone's cup of tea, clashed with Jesper Gronkjaer and looked as if he might lose his head, an enduring problem for him in the Premiership.

Despite receiving a yellow card, however, he stayed calm, recognised his responsibility to his teammates and let the incident pass. In defence he has been efficient and steady as ever coming forward even if his distribution leaves a little to be desired.

Cole, so athletic and mobile, has probably got forward most of the back four while retaining his defensive duties, no mean feat considering the pace of Dennis Rommedahl was supposed to be Denmark's match-winner. Cole kept him quiet and that, as much as anything, had a huge bearing on the result.

If, as seems likely, England face Brazil in the quarter-finals the defence will be key because Brazil will create chances.

Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Denilson are all clever players, all capable of opening doors, all likely to win a match with their own spectacular skills. But Brazil are vulnerable at the back, their coach has admitted as much and even though they seemed to have fun beating China and Costa Rica there were still glimpses of fragility to give the rest hope in one of the most open tournaments in World Cup history.

Sweden, South Korea and Japan could still get to the semis but, apart from Brazil, no team will be under as much pressure as England.

Believe me, if they do play Brazil the fans and the media will expect a victory.

The expectation on England is that great and I can still remember that fear factor every time I played for England. The history of the nation that gave the world the game is always there. That's hard for players. They are always just one defeat away from going from heroes to being rubbish, from being indispensable to calls for them to be sacked.

Thankfully, after the past two weeks, confidence must be sky high. Let's just hope the luck holds