Archbishop Desmond Tutu has waded into the chorus of criticism ringing over the England squad following their lacklustre performances against the USA and Algeria.

The Archbishop said yesterday that the team’s performance had so far been “perfectly abysmal”.

He compared the showing of the weak South African side to the major European teams that were expected to perform considerably better.

While England could only muster a one-all draw against the USA and a nil-nil draw against Algeria, France was stunned last week after a two-nil defeat by Mexico and Spain was left red faced after being beaten one-nil by Switzerland.

The Nobel Peace Laureate made known his views after a meeting with David Beckham at his offices in Milnerton.

He was quoted by the Press Association as saying: "I had David Beckham here the other day and I told him of our fears.

"And David Beckham said: 'You know what, a football match is 90 minutes long. Anything can happen. South Africa has already won as it is hosting this World Cup.'

"And he's right, you know. Remember what has happened to England, Spain, France and Italy. All former winners, all have had perfectly abysmal games. We shouldn't be feeling too bad."

The Archbishop is hoping the South African side, known locally as Bafana Bafana, will win when they take on France today.

He said: “Win or lose, in many respects we have already won the World Cup. As South Africans, we need to pat ourselves on the back for having achieved something very special in terms of developing fantastic infrastructure, ensuring that it works, and uniting our people.”