IRB should be bold

With the dust having settled followed Saturday's dramatic 3-2 win over Argentina, some of the more triumphalist responses have been toned down to a more realistic level.

One win, no matter how jaw-dropping at the time, is no guarantee England will win the World Cup next summer, especially when it was accompanied by some hesitant defending and failed to provide conclusive proof Ledley King is the answer to Eriksson's midfield dilemma.

Yet, at the very least, Saturday's success provided signs they are back on the right track. Wayne Rooney's effervescence made the hairs stand on end and Michael Owen showed his predatory instincts remain as sharp as ever. But, for once, it was the actions of the England manager that gave most cause for optimism as all thoughts turn to Germany.

With Argentina 2-1 up, Eriksson seized the initiative and made changes that changed the game. There have been precious few occasions when he has done that in the past.

Three years ago, the Swede stood motionless as a ten-man Brazil cruised into the last four of the World Cup. The belated introduction of Teddy Sheringham for Ashley Cole was a case of too little, too late.

Last summer, Eriksson contributed to England's downfall by replacing Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard with Phil Neville and Owen Hargreaves as Portugal searched for an equaliser. When they got it, their opponents were impotent in extra-time.

In the frenzy of a major finals, effective substitutions can be the difference between failure and success. With the threat of injury and suspension always looming large, reliable replacements for the starting XI can dictate whether a team is moving through the rounds or heading for home.

Last weekend, Eriksson finally used the resources at his disposal to suggest England need not always succumb to the latter fate.

The 58th-minute introduction of Joe Cole proved a masterstroke as Argentina failed to handle the free-running offensive threat that suddenly faced them.

With King taken out of the equation, Argentina's midfielders dropped deeper and deeper as Cole's pace and trickery created repeated openings for his attackers to exploit. Tellingly, it was Cole's teasing cross that Owen headed into the net for England's last-gasp winner. The Chelsea midfielder has flattered to deceive whenever he has started a game for his country and, by stressing King's value as a holding player, Eriksson has hinted he will be on the bench next summer.

There is no better place for him. Cole is the classic game-breaker - a player able to make a match-winning impact from the bench - but he will only be effective if Eriksson is willing to give him a realistic chance of making such an intervention. That means grasping the nettle while the game is still there to be won.

It is also significant that England's last two goals came while the much-maligned Peter Crouch was on the field of play.

True, his major intervention was almost preventing Owen from reaching the winner and, equally true, he still did not look like breaking his long-standing scoring duck. But, with his towering presence unsettling all and sundry at the heart of the Argentinian defence, he still had a hand in England's stirring win.

As part of the starting line-up, Crouch is far too predictable to pose a problem to world-class opponents. As a late introduction when defences are tiring, the Liverpool striker represents the type of threat that very few internationals like to face.

England's major weakness has always been their lack of depth and there are still certain areas of the field where Eriksson's hands are tied. One shudders to think what might happen, for instance, if Paul Robinson was to suffer an injury next May.

But with Cole, Crouch and Jermain Defoe waiting in the wings, there suddenly seems to be a Plan B. And, after years of inactivity, Eriksson even seems ready to use it.

Later today, the International Rugby Board will choose the country that will host the 2011 World Cup.

South Africa are favourites, despite it being just ten years since the competition last visited the 'Rainbow Nation'. Since then, South African rugby has been ripped apart by clashes over racial quotas in both the starting line-up and the boardroom.

South Africa offers a TV-friendly time zone and little else - it would be predictable, but wrong, if the IRB put pounds before principles. New Zealand is the safety-first option but, instead, the IRB should be bold and award the World Cup to Japan. While other sports have successfully expanded to all corners of the globe, rugby has failed to spread from its post-colonial roots. A Japanese World Cup might just make a difference.