ENGLAND will get knocked out tonight unless they wake up and start justifying their multi-million pound wage packets.

As each night passes and another four teams exhibit gaping weaknesses, it is becoming increasingly clear that this tournament is there for the taking.

The prize is immense. A first major tournament victory since 1966 for the country that gave the world its most popular sport would spark wild celebrations that would last for days and make heroes out of the players.

But those players are the only ones who can make it happen and they don't look capable of doing it, judging from the opening two games.

Only Sol Campbell and Wayne Rooney have the look of winners while Ashley Cole, Gary Neville and Ledley King have not let anybody down.

David James' mistakes in the first game and indecision in the second give major cause for concern while John Terry did not justify his selection ahead of King against Switzerland and Frank Lampard needs to step up his game.

But it is the big four of Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen who have to start winning games.

Gerrard has not made his mark, Beckham has been a bit part player and Scholes and Owen have been atrocious.

We cannot afford to be as weak up front and accident prone as we were against France or as sleepy and slack as we were against Switzerland when we take on Croatia tonight.

Hopefully, it has just been a case of starting slowly and building up a head of steam as the we enter the knockout stages.

Class usually wins over form which means Gerrard, Scholes, Owen and Beckham will come good. If they do there is little to stop England going all the way because if these 16 teams are the best Europe has to offer, we might as well give the 2006 World Cup to Brazil now.

Italy and Spain have been huge disappointments, Germany and Holland have been painful to watch and favourites France are the luckiest team in Portugal and just waiting to be beaten.

They had to rely on two horrendous injury time mistakes to avoid losing to an England side which was efficient at best while they should have lost to Croatia who scared the pants off them in the second half and missed a last minute sitter.

The best teams so far have been Sweden, the Czechs and Denmark in that order. But none of those three are going to go all the way.

If this is the best there is on the continent, then European football is going backwards and England will never have a better chance of glory.