Rio Ferdinand called on England to finally fulfil their potential and insisted the 2006 World Cup is their best chance to win a trophy in at least a decade.

Ferdinand, who made his England debut under Glenn Hoddle in 1997, believes the current squad is the strongest international line-up that he has featured in.

But while he would ideally like England to play an expansive game, his only real concern is winning trophies - however those results are achieved.

Ferdinand, 26, declared: ''Since I've been with England, I don't think the manager has had a better squad of players to pick from.

''In all positions, we've got strong players. Up front, Michael Owen is proven and Wayne Rooney is doing fantastically well.

''Jermain Defoe is also a great player, while Shaun Wright-Phillips, Alan Smith and Emile Heskey are all quality players.

''There are so many talented players to pick from. I don't think there's been a time when we've had a better opportunity than now.

''If we play as a team, and get the right balance, we've got a good chance of doing something with this team.

''As a team, this is the time to fulfil our potential.

"We've got players who have been to two or three tournaments and young players coming into the team who have got good experience with their clubs.''

England must still reach the 2006 World Cup finals, with qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan in the coming days, and Ferdinand warned against complacency.

But the real challenge lies ahead. Since their 1966 World Cup triumph, England have only reached the semi-finals of a tournament twice - at Euro 96 and Italia '90.

And under Sven-Goran Eriksson, who believes this squad will peak next year, they have failed to make it past the quarter-finals at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.

''A lot of people are saying we've got great individuals but it is obvious you don't win anything with individuals and we've got to make sure we become a great, collective team,'' added Ferdinand.

''Greece hit that home at Euro 2004 - that if you're a team, prepared and set your team in the right way to suit your players - then you've as good a chance as anyone to win the tournament.

''If I win the World Cup and we play rubbish every game, you won't be talking in 30 years about the fact that we played rubbish. You will be talking about the fact we've won the World Cup.

''Ideally I'd love the team to play brilliantly in every single game but that's not the case and you'd rather have the trophy at the end of the day.''

In club football Porto also went down a similar route to Greece, albeit with rather more flair in the form of Deco, in last year's Champions League success under Jose Mourinho.

However, Ferdinand rejected the idea that Chelsea were similarly grinding out results in their bid to win the title under Mourinho.

''I don't think Chelsea are a boring team. They play some exciting football but can still grind out results. At the end of the day, the most consistent team wins the league,'' added the Manchester United defender.

''If you asked the players 'would you take the league playing average football', they would say yes every time.''

Chelsea defender John Terry will be partnering Ferdinand against Northern Ireland at Old Trafford and is now seriously threatening the injured Sol Campbell's place in the England side.

l David Beckham has raised fresh doubts over his future at Real Madrid by revealing his anguish at the hounding of his children by Spanish paparazzi photographers.

The 29-year-old England skipper admitted he was at a loss how to protect his two oldest sons, Brooklyn and Romeo, from the intrusive interest in them in Madrid.

And while vowing not to quit the game for a quiet life, his observation that ''I have not had this probably anywhere else before'' places fresh doubt on whether he will stay in Spain next season