England not ready to win World Cup yet: Houllier

Lack of experience is likely to prevent England winning the 2002 World Cup finals, according to Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier.

The former French national team coach said on Monday he believed it would take two tournaments before England would be ready to mount a successful World Cup campaign.

Houllier's Liverpool side is well represented in England coach Sven Goran Eriksson's squad, with strikers Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Robbie Fowler and midfielders Steven Gerrard, Nick Barmby and Jamie Carragher all regular picks.

But the Frenchman says England need to be patient if they want to see the best from their current crop of young international players.

England qualified for the 2002 World Cup after a stuttering performance in the 2-2 draw with Greece at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"There is a good generation of players and that result will give them a boost for the future," Houllier said.

"But the game against Greece proved you need more experience. You need maturity when you play international top-level games with a lot at stake.

"I think England has done marvellously well to go through when you compare what was done within a year, but this generation, or most of them, are very young.

"They need one tournament, maybe two, before they can produce the best of themselves."