By Ian Parkes, PA Sport, Yokohama

Mario Stanic is backing England to go on and win the World Cup - but only if they have the physical and mental strength to do so.

Chelsea midfielder Stanic and the rest of his Croatia team-mates have returned home following their ignominious exit from the tournament in South Korea and Japan.

A 1-0 defeat by debutants Ecuador at the International Stadium Yokohama brought Croatia's World Cup to an unexpectedly premature end, just four years after their stunning success in France where they finished third.

Croatia were surprisingly lacklustre in defeats to eventual Group G winners Mexico and the Ecuadorians, only showing their true potential in a stunning win over Italy.

But with Croatia joining reigning champions France and pre-tournament favourites Argentina on an early plane out of the Far East, Stanic believes England have what it takes to lift the trophy.

The 30-year-old, however, reckons the Premiership season could ultimately have the final say as Stanic feels far too many matches are played in England and across Europe, leading to star names breaking down in the tournament build-up.

"I'll be supporting England," said Stanic. "I hope they win, it's certainly a great chance for them.

"In the last few World Cups they've had good chances, but this year I think they will be very near.

"In the last year, you can see under (coach Sven-Goran) Eriksson they have been playing good, hard football, but without risk. I think they are one of the favourites now.

"Because of their quality, I think they can win it. They've had their problems with injuries, but you can see a lot of other countries have also had problems.

"I think a lot of players have gone, both physically and mentally. It is not easy playing 60 games in a year, especially in England where we play an entire year, even through Christmas.

"When you are tired it is very difficult to find the motivation. Of course the World Cup is the best motivation a player needs. But sometimes even when you want to give your best when you play the best, you cannot find the energy."

Croatia's stars certainly appeared to be lacking drive and motivation against the South Americans, a game they needed to win with Italy drawing 1-1 with Mexico.

For coach Mirko Jozic and his ageing team the future remains uncertain, with the likes of former Arsenal and West Ham striker Davor Suker, ex-Portsmouth midfielder Robert Prosinecki, skipper Robert Jarni and Zvonimir Soldo all potentially having played their last game for Croatia.

Stanic is confident Croatia's third-place finish at France '98 will prove to be no fluke as he added: "This team can do so much better.

"But from the beginning in the first game against Mexico, we didn't prove ourselves and show our quality, although I don't know why we were so different against Italy.

"We've shown two faces, no three faces. One against Mexico, then five days later against Italy we were great, while against Ecuador I don't know. We played very strangely.

"After the game it is easy to be clever and blame one person or another, instead everyone is to blame. Unfortunately, now we will go home and watch the World Cup on television.

"After that, who knows. Speaking about the future is difficult. Croatia has always had good players, and I hope we can prove that third place in France was not a one-off in our history.

"We now have to prepare for the 2004 European Championships, and we have enough time to do that - unfortunately."