AS Argentina and Brazil and other football teams of talent progress in the World Cup in South Africa, I recall the comments of England manager Fabio Capello before their game with Germany, a team to whom they had lost previously on penalties.

“It will not come to penalties,” I believe he said, and oh, how he was right. “But we have been practising them every day since Austria.”

The squad went to Austria for high altitude training on May 17 and, by the time they were comprehensively knocked out of the competition last weekend, they must have been very proficient. Which is a shame.

Maybe this could be something for the Football Association to pursue. Instead of staging the World Cup in England in 2018, they should offer to hold the Penalty World Cup. No games, at which our national side can be embarrassed, just penalties. We might just stand a chance of reaching the quarter finals. Maybe.