Sven Goran Eriksson only needs a draw from tomorrow's clash with Nigeria to progress from the group of death, but the shrewd Swede knows only too well that England's task will be a lot harder than it sounds.
Anyone who studies England's results over the last two or three years will realise that there is one consistent key factor - a dreadful lack of consistency.
It was bad enough under former boss Kevin Keegan but in reality Eriksson's record during the World Cup qualifying campaign also showed great inconsistencies.
The euphoria which greeted England's win over Argentina on Friday night was reminiscent of England's glorious 5-1 victory in Germany last September.
However, England followed up that famous night in Munich by struggling to overcome Albania at St James' Park just four days later.
But that was nothing compared to the tension and nerves surrounding England's final qualifier against Greece at Old Trafford when they had to rely on David Beckham's last-gasp free-kick to grab an equaliser and book their place in the finals.
The problem is that somewhere in between the performances against Argentina and Sweden lies the true England form.
They were magnificent against Argentina and yet in the second half of the Sweden match they were so poor and unconvincing that it left the whole nation wondering whether they would go out at the first hurdle.
The England team deserved as much bad press for the Sweden game as they got good press for the victory over Argentina.
But after one victory over Argentina, suddenly the whole nation's expectations have risen and now England are seen as potential World Cup winners.
It is far too early to be talking in those sort of terms, especially with Nigeria still to be overcome for England to progress into the second phase.
I can see two blots on the landscape - the temperature and humidity in Osaka will be a huge factor.
Conditions were almost unbearable for Belgium's game with Tunisia yesterday when the humidity was suffocating while temperatures topped 90 degrees, and it will be even worse for England whose 3.30pm kick-off time is three hours earlier than yesterday's match.
It is also a major factor for an England team which relies on a high-tempo game plan.
And there is also the big question as to which Nigeria and England team will actually turn up for the match.
Suddenly a whole nation is getting carried away on the back of one England victory.
Without wanting to be full of too much doom and gloom there is an awful long way to go yet.