England must set a precedent and deny a president on June 12

ENGLAND will have to set a precedent and deny a president on June 12 when they open their World Cup campaign against the United States.

Famously beaten 1-0 by the baseball-crazy Americans at the 1950 World Cup in Belo Horizonte in their only previous competitive encounter, today a certain Mr Barack Obama came out fighting for the Yanks.

Ranked at eight in the latest FIFA list, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Co should have the edge this time over the team in 14^th place, but I guess Bill Wright, Stan Mortenson and Co were saying that 60 years ago.

Today President Obama told his men on their departure for Irene Lodge, two miles from where I’m based in Centurion: “I just want to say how incredibly proud we are of the team. Everybody’s going to be rooting for you.

“Althought sometimes we don’t remember here in the US, this is going to be the biggest world stage there is. You’re going to be representing all of us. We’re incredibly proud of what you’ve done already, we are going to be proud of what you do when you get to South Africa.

“And somebody in the Oval Office will be watching ESPN to make sure things are going okay. You’ve got a wonderful supporter in Bill Clinton, he‘s helped make sure this team gets all the support it needs.

“The vice-president is going to see you live, I tried to volunteer but they wouldn’t let me!”

I’m sure newly nearly-elected Prime Minister David Cameron will be saying something similar next Tuesday when England depart... but somehow it doesn’t quite have the same gravitas.

And then you’ve got Alexi Lalas, the hairiest man ever to play for the US, saying this after helping his side upset England in a friendly back in 1993: "The US is in a great position. They play the underdog role very well and, while some might see it as a shock if they win, I don't think it should be.

"England are not as good as they think they are and the US are better than some people give them credit for.

"This is the easiest group the US have ever been in and it would be a complete failure if they didn't qualify."

Gulp.

Beckham heads to South Africa... as a coach. And he's only ever coached kids before!

DAVID BECKHAM confirmed the worst kept World Cup secret of all today – when he admitted England coach Fabio Capello has asked for his help in South Africa next month.

Beckham, ruled out of a record fourth appearance at the finals when he ruptured an Achilles tendon while on loan at AC Milan two months ago, said: "I've spoken to the manager and his assistant Franco Baldini and they have made me well aware that I have a role to play with the players and the team.

"We have not discussed specifics but I'm honoured that a manager of Fabio's status feels I can be important.

"I am hoping to travel with the team but obviously we'll have to see how my therapy goes."

According to today’s Sun in London, former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham will actually play a part on the training ground at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus near Rustenburg.

Beckham’s role was expected to be more of an ambassadorial one, given his position as the face of England’s 2018 World Cup bid. Beckham run academies across the globe, but the 35-year-old has never actually coached adult footballers, particularly England internationals.

England fly out to Austria after tomorrow’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Portsmouth for their initial high-altitude training camp but Beckham won’t join the party until they fly out to South Africa on 2 June.

According to the Sun, Beckham’s 2018 bid duties will take second place to his coaching role. Perhaps the best-known face in football, Becks was in Zurich yesterday to hand over the 2018 “bid book”, where he gave an impassioned speech about England’s love of the game.

It was never about Beckham. For the next six months, it will be all about Rooney

IN THE end, it wasn't about 34-year-old David Beckham, it was about 24-year-old Wayne Rooney. And it will be all about Rooney for the next six months.

Manchester United's 3-2 win over AC Milan at the San Siro last night left Sir Alex Ferguson drooling and the rest of the world trembling.

Three hours before Beckham's Champions League clash against his old side, I said on Twitter: 'All set for the Becks and Fergie show. My money's on Man United. And Rooney to win the day.'

Rooney's two second-half headers - unlike some England players, he's starting to use his head to some effect - were his 24th and 25th goals in a best-ever season.

He is, by five goals, the best striker in Europe right now - his 21 Premier League goals have him five ahead of next-best Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

He has stepped up following the record-breaking transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo and he is ready to spearhead England's World Cup campaign in South Africa this summer. No question.

It's not as if Beckham was that bad. He should be on the flight to Rustenburg on June 1 too. And his Milan side, as he mentioned afterwards, are not out of it after a five-goal extravaganza at the San Siro. The second-leg at Old Trafford on 10 March promises to be quite a night.

Fergie drooled: "Wayne's in devastating form, they could not handle him in the second half. He was marvellous. He has to be regarded at the highest level, along with all the other players we know about."

That's the Scotsman's way of saying: "YES, BLOODY HELL, HE'S THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW."

And he's not far off - though Ronaldinho looked a bit special last night too.

Ferguson points out why Rooney is more important though: "He should score 30 goals this season, over the last two months, there has been a marked improvement in his game. Confidence has a lot to do with it of course. I just felt he had to improve his goalscoring, which is what he is doing now."

Beckham, hauled off after 72 industrious minutes which provided a few scares for his old boss, said: "I've always said Wayne is one of the best goalscorers in the world and he is obviously on fire again. If you give him chances he'll score goals, that's the way he is and the way his mind works."

Ronaldinho put Milan ahead, Paul Scholes scuffed an equaliser, then Rooney struck twice to give United a 3-1 edge which was drmatically cut back five minutes from the end by a lovely back-heeled Clarence Seedorf effort fromm close range.

Beckham concluded: "Clarence's second goal has made a comeback possible. It's not easy to go to Old Trafford and win 2-0 but we have made it a bit better for ourselves."

Back in the Premier League, former Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira got himself into trouble during Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Stoke City - Sky Sports News keep showing pictures of him shoving a boot into some poor Stoke lad's privates - and tonight his old side Arsenal take on Porto with five players injured. Apparently the Portuguese have injury problems too.

I suspect it won't be quite as good as last night's European extravaganza.

Why Chelsea continue to dominate the headlines... for all the wrong reasons

MUST be a hell of a dressing room at Chelsea. If you believe everything the tabloids are currently throwing at us every morning, it's packed with international footballers taking pictures of themselves naked to blonde models.

First we had the John Terry story - his affair and subsequent abortion with Wayne Bridge's ex-partner Vanessa Perroncel resulted in him losing the England captaincy.

Then, when French underwear model Ms Perrroncel had been paid an alleged £750,000 to stop, The Sun switched targets to Ashley Cole, married to the nation's darling, Cheryl Tweedie.

Today were are told he sent naked pictures of himself to a SECOND blonde, and apparently Cheryl didn't spend much time together on Valentine's Day.

Page five of The Sun has a magnificent picture of ultraslim Cole, pictured from the chest down with just a pair of underpants on. Mouthwatering stuff it ain't.

Elsewhere, on page nine, Terry and wife Toni are pictured in a pool in Dubai, where they are patching up their marriage. Allegedly. In front of the cameras.

Other papers add further spin to the Chelsea goings-on. The Mail claims Ashley and Cheryl are now living apart and has accused Terry of play-acting throughout the trip to Dubai.

Of course the former England captain had to miss Chelsea's FA Cup fifth round tie over Cardiff to sort things out with Toni, his childhood sweetheart.

While he was away, having blundered in their last Premier League game against Everton (Terry was at fault for both Louis Saha's goals in a shock 2-1 defeat), the Blues crushed Cardiff to reach the quarter-finals on the road to Wembley.

And that of course, resulted in a last eight clash with Manchester City, who drew with Stoke over the weekend and will need a replay to reach Stamford Bridge next month.

Why is this relevant? Because Bridge moved to City last January, leaving Vanessa in London with his son. Somewhere around this point in our tawdry tale, his former pal Terry began stopping off at their Oxshott neighours for post-training hanky-panky.

Over the weekend, the News of the World assured us Bridge refuses to respond to Terry's calls or texts about his betrayal. But now we have the prospect of Bridge v Terry in the Premier League on February 27, the pair of them in the England dressing room together for the friendly against Egypt at Wembley on March 3, followed by the FA Cup quarter final the weekend after.

Yes, having been at loggerheads for a few months, they'll now be forced to see eachother three times in a week.

The tabloids are lapping it up. I assume the fans are too. A Man City source tells The Sun today: "Wayne acted with dignity and he doesn't need anyone to tell him what this FA Cup game would mean.

"If City needed any extra motivation to beat Stoke and get back to Stamford Bridge, this will be it."

Meanwhile Ashley Cole, whose broken ankle sustained against Everton last week has left a place for Bridge at left-back in the England team - possibly for the World Cup too - has to hope Cheryl will invite him for a let's-make-up holiday in an expensive overseas resort sometime soon. Though he will be in a plaster cast after undergoing surgery on Friday, so it may be uncomfortable for both of them.

The real football stories - like Crystal Palace being robbed of victory over Aston Villa by a dodgy decision , England struggling to overcome Italy in the Six Nations and David Beckham preparing to take on Manchester United for Milan in the Champions League tomorrow, must remain on the back burner.

That's what happens when you have the Premier League leaders’ high profile stars making silly mistakes away from home.

Video: That World Cup shortage in Rustenburg