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England's double-header against Kazakhstan and Andorra does not exactly set the pulse racing, because the expectations are that Fabio Capello's England will win, and do so comfortably.

However, they need to be on their guard to make sure there is no reduction in intensity after the end of the club season.

A large number of squad members have come directly from a Champions League or an FA Cup final and there is a possibility they may be slightly flat, especially considering the mediocre quality of England's opponents.

It is part of human nature that after a high you can sometimes have a bit of a lull. The manager needs to make sure it doesn't happen and we have a strong man in Fabio Capello who will not let anybody get away with giving less than 100 per cent.

England are still building, and they need some good performances to continue their progress.

We constantly overhype our national team, and when you see the outstanding quality of Xavi and Andres Iniesta for Barcelona and Spain, it makes a mockery of our claim to have the best midfield in the world.

We have some very good players who excel in the Premier League, but the Spanish play as a team whereas our stars tend to act individually.

The ability to combine supreme technical ability with teamwork is what makes players like Xavi and Iniesta truly world class.

Injuries to David James and Ben Foster mean Capello is without his two best goalkeepers, and I'm not sure who I would go for now if I were him.

Robert Green seems to be flavour of the month with a lot of people, but is not the most consistent goalkeeper and there is a reason he has only played two games for England.

Capello might also be tempted to try out younger players like James Milner, but in my opinion it is more important to ensure the core group of players are performing at their best and that means giving them as much time as possible to play together.

Even though there should be no excuses if we fail to beat Kazakhstan, it is slightly odd that England have to travel 3,500 miles to play a team that are supposedly part of Europe.

It is part of modern international football. There are so many teams from weird and wonderful countries following the fragmentation of Eastern Europe.

When I played, you only had four teams in your group and none of them would be a pushover.

Nowadays you might have one or two decent sides in your group but the rest are not of a great standard.

It makes qualification a long, laborious process, but at the same time there are not as many high-pressure matches against quality opponents.

For how long will fans pay over the odds to go and watch England at Wembley if they are playing the likes of Andorra, Kazakhstan and Belarus?

It is not very attractive, and not conducive to the atmosphere and intensity England need.

Nevertheless, a couple of convincing wins will allow us to move closer to South Africa and go into the summer break in high spirits.

Paul Parker / Eurosport