Torres talks up England World Cup chances

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres rates England's starting side as the second best in the world and believes they could be ready to go all the way in the World Cup.

The Spaniard thinks Fabio Capello's side would make ideal finalists in South Africa - provided they can overcome a perceived psychological issue with reaching the latter stages.

"If England can overcome their mental barrier then Spain versus England would be the perfect World Cup final," Torres told the Daily Express.

"People say that Spain have the best starting XI in the world but when you look at England on paper, they have the second strongest XI in the world.

"In John Terry and Rio Ferdinand they have two of the best defenders. Stevie Gerrard is the greatest central midfielder on the planet and Wayne Rooney is one of the in-form players in football along with Lionel Messi.

"It's hard to see a weakness in the England team. All they need to do now is break the mental barrier that going out at the quarter-final stage creates."