But the team wasn’t able to function, despite taking the lead in the opening minutes of the game through a neat Steven Gerrard finish. Rooney was isolated: playing off Heskey, he found the ball going over his head to the Aston Villa target man or dropping shorter or wider. Whilst Heskey assisted Gerrard for England’s opening goal, he didn’t impose himself against the physical American centre back Oguchi Onyewu, who trounces Heskey in the lack-of-game-time-for-your-club category, not completing a single match for A.C. Milan last season. Lampard remained quiet throughout and played several bad passes – which you’d expect in a season rather than a game from Chelsea’s Mr. Consistent. Aaron Lennon and James Milner’s inclusion in the first team promised width before the game, and with the attacking full-backs England boast in Johnson and Cole, it seemed certain that England would stretch the play wide to make use of these assets. This promise was not kept though. James Milner left the field after half an hour with his illness getting the better of him which brought Shaun Wright-Phillips into the fold, but he found himself in a similar struggle for possession in the key areas. England failed to take the game to the U.S.A., failed to double their lead and, after an awful blunder from Robert Green, failed to enter half time with a 1-0 lead.

The scandalous error from the ‘keeper has already been written and spoken about too much – the mistake of a goal keeper is much the same as that of an outfield player, but almost inevitably has a much stricter punishment. What is more harmful to England than individual errors is the team’s inability to create chances and their lack of coherence in midfield. Whilst mistakes may dent England’s World Cup hopes, too many performances like that against the U.S.A. will end them. Fabio Capello has some thinking to do, more so given Ledley King’s premature exit from last night’s game, that of James Milner also and the return of Gareth Barry from injury. Barry’s comeback should allow The Three lions to return to a midfield shape that are comfortable and successful with. We’ll see just how successful in five days time when England face Algeria in Cape Town, where only a win will do.

The lively and entertaining opening match of the 2010 World Cup, a 1-1 draw between South Africa and Mexico which produced a stunning goal from the Bafana Bafana’s Tshabalala, was followed by an uneventful stalemate between Uruguay and France. The first European representatives were decidedly poor, even when Uruguay received the first red card of the tournament: they were a fraction of the team which reached the final four years ago, and were somewhat unconvincing then.

The passion of the South African crowd and of the players, added to the ability that they clearly possess, are suggestive of the home team being able to cause a surprise and reach the tournament’s knockout stage. For France, however, though they will still be expected to qualify from their group, they will struggle against the better teams which lie ahead with the utterly bemusing tactics of Raymond Domenech unable to get the best out of some very talented players.

Regardless of the fate of the hosts or 2006′s beaten finalists, this World Cup has the ingredients to be a fantastic tournament – the noisy and passionate fans, the best players on the planet and an impeccable setting.

My top five pre-World Cup bets with Paddy Power:

1. Diego Milito of Argentina to be top scorer – 28/1

2. John Terry to miss the crucial penalty if England are eliminated on penalties – 18/1

3. England to win the World Cup – 15/2

4. Robin van Persie to get most assists during the tournament – 20/1

5. England to play Holland in the final – 45/1

My World Cup predictions:

Winners – Spain

Top scorer – Diego Milito

Player of the Tournament – Iker Casillas

Whilst both clubs have debt problems, the magnitude of them is almost incomparable. The fact that Hull City should even be concerned with having to cut their wage bill by £9 million pounds is absurd when you consider that the current Premier League champions have in excess of £700m waiting to be paid off. In a similar way, their aims for the season couldn’t be further apart. Manchester United are still competing in three competitions, all of which they have a good chance of winning, whereas Hull City lay in the lower levels of the Premier League in a desperate battle to avoid relegation.

So, you would think, an easy win for Manchester United. And it would seem that that will be the case, but Hull City have a habit of raising their game for the bigger teams and though that hasn’t been as successful this season as it was last, the Tigers should be confident that they can cause another shock having held Tottenham Hotspur to a draw in their last Premier League outing. They will come up against a team seething at their midweek loss to bitter rivals Manchester City, which never bodes well, and one welcoming one of the World’s top centre-backs, Rio Ferdinand, back to the heart of their defence. That in itself is enough to quash the optimism of the most hopeful of City fans, considering their sides lack of goals against some of the Premier League’s leakier defences.

My Hull City team to play Manchester United:

Myhill

McShane - Zayatte – Gardner – Dawson

Geovanni – Boateng - Marney – Hunt

Fagan – Vennegoor of Hesselink

City new-boy Amr Zaki is not yet match fit and so he will not make his debut against England’s Champions, nor will Jimmy Bullard return from injury. Both are expected to feature against Wolves in Hull’s next home match. Brown is likely to go with experience in midfield and may sacrifice Richard Garcia who has little experience of big Premier League matches such as this in favour of Geovanni or Barmby. United will have Ferdinand back, albeit without his favoured defensive partner Nemanja Vidic who remains injured, but their key man is undoubtedly Wayne Rooney. The Englishman is doing everything in his power to prove that United can succeed post-Ronaldo and showed his willingness to be a match winner in the loss to Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi-final; desperate for possession at all times and confident with the ball at his feet. He could be about to hit top gear for Man. United and England fans will hope it can last ’til this Summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Prediction: Manchester United 3-1 Hull City

1. Giovani dos Santos – Tottenham Hotspur - Loan – Centre Forward/Winger

Once dubbed the next Ronaldinho when at Barcelona, he is a player of unbelievable potential but has not been given the opportunity to impress in the Premier League. His diminutive figure might hinder his performance in such a physical league, but players have got round such problems in the past, such as Luka Modric at Spurs and Geovanni at Hull. definitely worth taking a chance on.

2. Amr Zaki - Zamalek - Loan – Stiker

Obviously the Tigers can’t afford to sign anybody permanently in this window but they probably wouldn’t want to sign a player with notorious attitude problems, branded as ‘unprofessional’ by Steve Bruce from their time together at Wigan. What will appeal to City is his goalscoring record – 29 in 56 for Egypt and 11 goals in his season Wigan prove that he can do the business at the highest level, and goals are something that City are desperately short of. If he gets chances in front of goal he rarely misses and with Hull creating very few chances, a player like Zaki is just what they need.

3. Danny Welbeck/Federico Macheda/Mame Diouf - Manchester United – Loan – Strikers

These three young Manchester United starlets have all had tastes of the big time by appearing for the Red Devils and scoring in competitive fixtures, much like Frazier Campbell had before his loan move to the Tigers. All three are strikers which means United have six decent forwards and would probably consider allowing one of these young lads to leave on loan in order to get some experience in the Premier League: something that is invaluable but can’t be offered to them on a regular basis at Old Trafford.

4. Jack Wilshere – Arsenal – Loan – Central Midfielder

Still a very young man but Arsene Wenger clearly has faith in his ability because he continues to use him in Arsenal’s first team squads in both Cup competitions and in the League. However, Mr. Wenger will know that the only way for young players to improve is by playing football and having Wilshere on the bench will not be allowing the youngster to begin realising his potential. If City could land the youngster, he would provide a blend of energy and solidity in midfield which would be perfect when combined with the playing style of Jimmy Bullard.

5. David Bentley – Tottenham – Loan – Winger

This one might be a little ambitious, but if you think that at the beginning of last season Bentley would have been one of the first names in the England squad for the World Cup it becomes clear how much he is wasted at Tottenham. Overtaken in the pecking order at White Hart Lane and for England by Aaron Lennon, Bentley won’t be going to South Africa this summer unless he can hold down a regular place for his club. If the winger actually wants to be in the England squad he would consider a move to City where he would be guaranteed a starting place and almost certain to have an impact when he plays. This could free up Richard Garcia to play as a forward instead of a winger, where his aerial threat can be targeted.

6. Dominic Adiyiah – A.C. Milan – Loan – Striker

A very highly rated young player who has not yet had a chance to impress in the Rossoneri first team but has a phenomenal strike rate at under-20 level for Ghana and for his former club Heart of Lions. If City could acquire his signature it would be a bit of a gamble but he could definitely provide something up front for the Tigers as a golden boot winner at the under-20 World Cup in 2009. He has great pace and technique and could be allowed to leave Milan on loan with the guarantee of first team football that would mean the Milan bosses seeing if he can cut it against top teams.

Starting the game on the back of five clean sheets with 26 goals scored on their own patch this season, the same amount of goals that their opposition had conceded in away matches this term, Tottenham had the perfect opportunity to close the gap on third placed Arsenal to just one point before The Gunners play on Sunday. And most would have expected them to take the opportunity too but Hull City excelled defensively and when the back four couldn’t stop Spurs’ mercurial attacking stars, Boaz Myhill was consistently brilliant in denying them. The mixed form of Tottenham when they play at home can’t really be accounted for the dropping of points on this occasion, because the North London outfit completely dominated the game and would have won had it not been for a freakishly good goalkeeping display: the score could otherwise have matched the 1-5 loss Hull sustained at the KC Stadium in August.

The Tigers had an early chance to take the lead as a bending cross from the left was met by the head of Richard Garcia but the winger’s header skipped wide of Huerelho Gomes’ goal. Then began the beginning of Myhill’s saving spree, and it started with a miraculous double save culminating with a flying block from a close range Robbie Keane shot. Then in the second half another stunning double save denied Keane for a second time, this time from just three yards after the Irishman followed up a Luka Modric drive that Myhill had done well to parry in the first place. Keane was clearly struggling to understand how the net wasn’t bulging as he stood with his arms held aloft with a look of bemusement directed at his adversary, Myhill.

The form of Hull’s number one makes it almost impossible to believe that Matt Duke has been favoured over him at all in the last season but unfortunately the ‘keeper hasn’t always been as consistent as in this encounter, where he continued to thwart the opposition. He again stopped a Luka Modric strike as the ball was only cleared as far as the edge of the box by City but Myhill dived to his left with a solid parry to see the ball out for a throw-in. And he still wasn’t finished. Peter Crouch was brought on to see if he could find a way past the ‘impenetrable barrier’ as Harry Redknapp tried to force a win in his 500th game as a boss in the Premier League. But Crouch was found wanting too, as Myhill produced arguably the save of the game to keep ot of powerful header from the England striker which was goalbound until City’s keeper made himself big, throwing himself at the ball to maintain the most deserved clean sheet of the season.

Suddenly, the ‘keeper may have become one of City’s most saleable assets. The club needs to slash £9m from the wage bill to ensure their financial security in the future but selling fringe players isn’t going to do it. Having already turned down large bids (reportedly £5 million) from Wolverhamton Wanderers for Stephen Hunt, City could use Myhill’s impressive form to get a good price for the Welsh international, safe in the knowledge that they have two other goalkeepers with Premier League experience. With Daniel Cousin, Caleb Folan and Peter Halmosi all set to leave the club and Nathan Doyle already gone, half of City’s money problem could be solved. But they have another problem. They are in a relegation battle and instead of selling players they should really be trying to bring players in to solve the lack of attacking firepower, and probably another defender as backup to Gardner and Zayatte with Ibrahima Sonko being told he’ll never play for Hull City again and Steven Mouyokolo looking decidedly dodgy in his appearances for City. If the Tigers can secure a good left sided player on loan for the rest of the season it might be worth cashing in on Hunt now, because should they be relegated at the end of the season they won’t receive half the fee they would now, and by then the money problems will have been amplified.

Still, Hull have secured a great result in a match they would not have expected to take anything from. Whilst Tottenham fans will be disappointed to drop points against relegation candidates, they will have to take their hats off to Myhill for an outstanding display and can’t fault their attackers for being unable to beat him. Now that City have a solid defensive formula, being more clinical up front will undoubtedly see them climb the table.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Hull City

Hull City may have taken three points from the venue of Saturday afternoon’s clash last season, but the circumstances ahead of the game were very different. Spurs were without Robbie Keane who was at Liverpool, Jermain Defoe who had moved to Portsmouth and Peter Crouch who was alongside Defoe on the South coast at Pompey. They headed into the game in danger of being sucked into a relegation battle against teams with half the talent of their star-studded squad, far inferior spending power and smaller fanbases - Juande Ramos’ side were in uncharted territory and didn’t look comfortable. Hull took advantage. A second North London wonder-goal by Geovanni gave City a lead which they defended resolutely and their one-time transfer target Frazier Campbell was kept quiet by the centre-back partnership of Kamil Zayatte and the impressive Michael Turner. As such, Hull City went home with three points and continued a good run of form, something that hasn’t been said since.

A lot has changed since that day, not least Tottenham’s introduction of Harry Redknapp as manager. The former West Ham and Portsmouth chief turned Spurs’ fortunes around and had them climbing the table in no time whilst Juande Ramos was, for some reason, offered a job by Real Madrid. Now, having re-signed Keane and Defoe and added Crouch to an already potent strike force, Redknapp’s team are flying high in the Premier League and are more concerned with finishing inside the top three than outside the bottom three. For Hull City, too, times have changed. No longer are they an unknown quantity in the Premier League and they are struggling to find a successful formula with which they can beat teams without their talismanic midfielder Jimmy Bullard. They have looked shaky at the back since the departure of fans’ favourite Michael Turner and no longer have Marlon King as a recognised attacking threat. Neither do they have an on-form Geovanni, who became a cult hero on Humberside for his habit of scoring great goals last season – the Brazilian might have hit the net on five occasions this season but he hasn’t been playing as well as his previous high standards suggest he can, and at a time when Hull need somebody to provide an extra spark he has not stepped up to the challenge.

Now Hull City are in a relegation scrap which, although it may involve up to eight teams, doesn’t look good for the Tigers. One place off the foot of the table, they need to become difficult to play against just as they were at the beginning of last season. A long-term injury blow is that of Ian Ashbee which continues to hamper the team because they have no tenacious ball-winner in midfield – no leader – and none of Hull’s other squad members have been able to provide that. Phil Brown has the tough task of picking a team, a formation and tactics that can put up a fight against a side which, on paper, look a million miles better than what’s at his disposal.

My Hull City team to play Tottenham Hotspur:

Myhill

McShane - Zayatte - Gardner – Dawson

Garcia - Boateng - Marney – Hunt

Fagan – Vennegoor of Hesselink

Hull’s missing first team players Olofinjana, Bullard, Ashbee and Altidore mean that the team almost picks itself, given that Cousin is at the African Cup of Nations and out of favour anyway, Ghilas too has not been allowed much playing time of late nor have Kilbane, Barmby, Mendy or Caleb Folan (who looks certain to leave the club this month). Tom Cairney is in the squad having made a step up from the youth team recently and has looked impressive whenever he has played in the first team – he could well feature against Spurs but is unlikely to make his first Premier League start away at White Hart Lane (although Phil Brown did do just that with Liam Cooper at Anfield earlier in the season).

There is no doubt that Hull City will be up against it. The only pre-match consolation for them is that Aaron Lennon will be injured which takes away one of Tottenham’s deadliest attacking threats, but apart from that Hull will be considered very lucky to escape with anything other than a good hiding unless they can perform better than they did in the second half against Wigan in the 4-1 drubbing they received in the F.A. Cup during the last first team game.

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Hull City

However, Manchester United’s line-up hasn’t been at its strongest of late and the injury hit champions have paid the price for their inability to field a strong first XI by dropping key points and allowing Chelsea to build a table-topping lead of five points heading into this encounter. Should United win their game in hand against Hull though, the gap will close to just two points; punishing Chelsea for their away draw against Birmingham which would have been predicted by most as a victory for the London side. The Red Devils come up against a Hull City side at the opposite end of the table and one who despite threatening a climb up the table are in danger of slipping back into the abysmal run of form that they began at this time last season.

A win against United for City would see them propelled out of the relegation zone to fourteenth, such is the small margin between 19th and 10th place – just five points – the same gap that separates first and second place. The Tigers will be hoping that their opponents’ injury crisis does not begin to appease in time for this fixture as many expect, with Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown almost ready for a comeback to bolster United’s defence, because without so many key men the Premier League’s reigning Champions haven’t been firing on all cylinders and Hull City might just be able to get something from the game.

My Hull City team to play Manchester United:

Myhill

McShane - Zayatte - Gardner – Dawson

Geovanni – Olofinjana - Marney – Hunt

Fagan – Altidore

Hull City need to get in the faces of their opposition if they’re going to trouble the Champions, so going for energy in midfield with Hunt, Marney and Geovanni would make sense, whilst having the insurance of Olofinjana in the ‘Makelele role’. Similarly, Altidore and Fagan as a front two means that City have pace in abundance to pressure the United defence who could be made up of make-shift centre-backs again, even if both players have been unable to fins the net of late. The back four for Hull City pick themselves: the Tigers are desperately short of competition for places defensively because the squad’s other defenders really aren’t of Premier League quality. Myhill and Duke have duelled for the number one ‘keeper spot over the last two seasons but Myhill seems to be winning and is likely to retain his place in the first team again.

Should Hull City and Phil Brown be brave enough to attack Manchester United – which, at home, they should be – there is every chance they can further hamper their title challenge. Sitting back, however, is sure to result in United’s quality overcoming City because plagued by injury or not, they still have one of the best passing teams in the world and a potent strike force to boot.

Prediction: Hull City 0-2 Manchester United

Many will have expected Arsenal to be victorious in this match but a lot of people will also have expected a strong performance from Hull too, who seem to play better against the ‘big four’ (this season’s Liverpool match aside). And the Tigers raised their game again, causing Arsenal problems despite the absence of an out-and-out striker on the field. Whilst the Gunners passed the ball as well as ever, they once again seemed intent on passing it right into the goal which wasn’t working against a City defence that was having a solid first half. There was a moment when tempers flared after Samir Nasri unnecessarily stood on Richard Garcia’s foot and chaos ensued, with several players – including Manuel Almunia who had run 70 yards to join in – pushing and shoving each other. Nasri and Stephen Hunt were booked but Nicky Barmby was lucky to stay on the pitch after pushing Nasri in the face, but this was the most energy seen from either side in the first period.

When the opening goal came in first half stoppage time, it was a stroke of luck for Arsenal as they were the beneficiaries of a poor refereeing decision that led to a free-kick. George Boateng was deemed to have committed the foul almost 30 yards from goal in a very, very gentle coming together with Song, and Denilson stepped up to lift an inch-perfect shot over the Hull City wall and away from Boaz Myhill who stood no chance. The Brazilians’ finish as spectacular but City were cursing their dreadful luck yet again as they went in one-nil down at half-time.

Ten minutes into the second half, though, City only had themselves to blame as they missed the best possible opportunity to get back on level terms. Craig Fagan was pulled down with what appeared to be another ‘soft’ foul, but Steve Bennet pointed to the spot and Hull had only to score from 12 yards to tie the game up again. Geovanni jogged slowly up to take the penalty but didn’t look confident and his poorly directed and less than powerful shot was beaten away by Manuel Almunia, who didn’t need to save the rebound as three City players crowded each other out in an attempt to bundle the ball home; sending it safely wide.

And soon afterwards, Hull’s wastefulness was punished as Arsenal scored again to secure a home win just one minute after Geovanni’s missed spot-kick. Hull allowed the home side too much room in which they did what they are infamous for doing – scoring goals as a result of incisive passing and sharp movement. Diaby and Song played a neat one-two which allowed Diaby time in the box to pick out Eduardo who made up for an awful miss earlier in the night to convert the easiest of scoring opportunities. Then, with just over ten minutes remaining, Arsenal killed the game off with a third goal that made the scoreline hugely flattering for the uninspiring victors.

Diaby and Song combined again in midfield but this time Arshavin was the provider for Diaby to score with a powerful shot after he ran with intent into the City area, controlled well, held off a weak challenge from McShane and left Myhill helpless in the Hull City goal. A couple of late chances fell to both teams with Walcott, Ramsey and Hunt all coming close, but the final score was 3-0 and even Arsene Wenger admitted his side had been ‘a bit lucky’, winning not with a performance of brilliance but rather one of a blend of hard-work and good fortune.

Hull may have been unlucky, but they didn’t take their chances – and missing from 12 yards out should not be acceptable at Premier League level, though it is happening with increasing regularity in the League of late. It doesn’t get any easier for the Tigers, with a home match against Manchester United on the 27th, but they will take heart from the fact that United themselves lost 3-0 to Fulham and are struggling with injuries which could make the match a little more even. Still, it was a disappointing day at the office for City; now one place above the relegation zone and in need of a win to distance themselves from Bolton who are just one point behind with two games in hand.