Sunderland striker Darren Bent is determined to play his part in an England squad he believes can achieve World Cup glory.
The 26-year-old is keeping his fingers crossed he can win a seat on the plane to South Africa after missing out on the squad four years ago, and he is confident Fabio Capello's men can make a real impact.
Bent said: "We have got to have a major chance. We have got some fantastic players and as long as they can stay fit and we can go to the competition with healthy bodies, there's no reason why we can't go all the way.
"You can never, ever back against the Germans - they are always going to be there - the Italians, the Brazilians. Spain are looking really good.
"I would expect the likes of England, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain to get to the quarter-finals, and there's always one surprise, which could be maybe Ivory Coast or Ghana."
Ever since Cameroon gave England such a scare 20 years ago, there has been talk of an African nation making a major impact at a World Cup finals.
But Bent is predicting the host continent's time could finally have arrived, with a Didier Drogba-inspired Ivory Coast his tip as the surprise package.
He said: "I think this could definitely be the time. There are so many African players now playing in the Premier League, especially Ivory Coast, who have got some world-class players in the squad.
"I think they are going to be the ones to go far, just like South Korea did in 2002."
In the meantime, Bent will simply concentrate on the task of doing everything he can to persuade Capello he is worth a place in the final 23.
He could hardly have done any more during the Barclays Premier League season which has just finished with his 25 goals - 24 of them in the league - having helped Sunderland to a comfortable 13th-place finish.
That represents a major return on manager Steve Bruce's £10million summer investment, which brought an end to his torrid spell at Tottenham.
Bent said: "It's just nice to know that a manager believes in you and that you are going to play for him and you are his striker that he has brought to the club to play.
"You don't need any more confidence after that because if you are playing games week in, week out and scoring goals, confidence is high, you feel happy and you are glad to be playing football.
"I am happy to be back at my best now - I feel I am playing the best football of my career."
Bent's comments came as he launched Disney XD's Aim High initiative, which is designed to inspire young boys to set and meet their life goals through a series of mentorships with high-profile personalities, including the England football international and his cricket counterpart Stuart Broad.
