Of course, and its the same as any tournament, elimination games bring with them an element of the random, as such, luck is important. Sometimes its better to be lucky than good, but when it comes to one-offs, having game breakers in the lineup is clutch, as is not carrying critical weaknesses. I see too much of the latter, and not enough of the former in England.
I love watching England matches, particularly with all my British friends.
I'd say at the moment, having won Euro 2008, that reputation is somewhat diminished, but lets not forget the choke-o-rama they held at the Confederations Cup.
As for the Dutch and English, well, the Brits havent played a really meaningful game for the better part of 4 years, and the Dutch have to live with that epic collapse against Russia in extra time.
So, the labels are all still there, up for anyone to grab. Honestly, I feel that this world cup is WIDE open. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the French, Italians, Argentinians, Americans or the Portuguese dont win it, I am a happy, happy footy fan. So long as the games are great!