Christmas Flowers France - Draw is far from Fab for Capello

LET'S not start doing cartwheels quite yet.

Yes, we avoided the Group of Death of Holland, Germany, Portugal and Denmark.

And, unlike the Republic of Ireland, we weren't pitched in against world and European champions Spain, Italy and Croatia.

But hosts Ukraine (55), Sweden (18) and France (15) will pose their own huge problems for Fabio Capello's England, who are nowhere near as good as their own world ranking of fifth.

Remember the premature celebrations when we drew Algeria, Slovenia and the Yanks at the last World Cup?

Many said it was going to be easy and we struggled to even get out of the group with a squad that, on paper, looked much stronger than the current one.

When it comes to major tournaments, England too often fold under the pressure.

Yes, we beat Sweden at Wembley recently but it was still our only victory in 14 against our bogey team.

And that night the Swedes looked more interested in doing some early christmas flowers france shopping in the West End.

They were a far cry from the team that handed Holland their only defeat in qualifying. At the same time, they are an ageing side.

The last time we travelled to Ukraine, Fabio Capello lost his only qualifying game in 18 matches over two campaigns as we went down 1-0.

Only last month a strong German side had to come from 2-0 and 3-1 down to earn a draw with Ukraine in Kiev.

And don't talk about the soft French.

Yes, they were even worse than us in South Africa but, in the middle of a run that has seen them undefeated in 17 matches under Laurent Blanc, they came to Wembley in November and beat us 2-1.

In fact, a young France team gave us a lesson in both ball retention and attacking flair.

It was their fourth win against us in five games, with the other a draw.

And we definitely play France and Sweden without Wayne Rooney.

On top of that, the FA's decision to base the squad in the Polish city of Krakow means three long flights to the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Kiev — the two games in Donetsk a 2,000-mile round trip.

But at the centre of it all is our dire record at major tournaments.

And the Euros, lest we forget, is the one we REALLY struggle at.

Not only have we never won it but we have never even got to the final.

The Danes have won it, the Czechs have won it, even the Greeks have won it — while the Germans have triumphed three times and made three other finals.

Since 1980, we have not made it out of the group stage four times. We haven't even qualified twice.

Low points are more easily recognisable.

Which leaves the high spots of a quarter-final (2004) and a semi-final (1996 on home soil).

Mind you, we came third in 1968 — when four countries entered.

ike 1988, when we lost all three group games to the Republic of Ireland, Holland and the old Soviet Union.

Like 1992, when we again finished bottom of the group in a tournament that gave us 'Swedes 2 Turnips 1'.

Like 2000, when we led Portugal 2-0 only to lose 3-2 and then went home after Phil Neville conceded an 89th-minute penalty as Romania won 3-2 in Charleroi.

In the overall league tables of games played at the Euros, we sit NINTH. P23, W7, D7, L9.

So, no, we haven't exactly covered ourselves in glory. At the same time, the draw could have been a lot worse.

We will expect to qualify. But don't bank on it.

England on paper and England in reality are two different teams
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