England, who were vilified by their tabloid press after starting their World Cup campaign with a draw last month, could remain as the only major power to top their group after the latest round of qualifiers today.
England, who travel to Azerbaijan optimistic of winning for the third time in four matches, top Group Six following their impressive 2-0 win over Wales at Old Trafford on Saturday.
After an opening 2-2 draw with Austria - which incurred the wrath of the tabloid media after England let slip a 2-0 lead late in the game - Sven-Goran Eriksson's men have responded with a 2-1 away win in Poland and the home victory over Wales.
Though a win in Azerbaijan is not a foregone conclusion, even without suspended and injured skipper David Beckham, England look too strong for the home side.
With hosts Germany already qualified for the finals, England and three other major powers have made contrasting starts to their campaigns to join the German football festival in the summer of 2006.
For while England top their group, France are third - albeit on goal difference - in Group Four, Italy are second in Group Five and Spain are third, also on goal difference, in Group Seven.
Other usual World Cup regulars such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria are all trailing in their groups too - and although the competition in most groups is still in the early stages, some teams need to start winning soon or else risking being left too far behind.
That includes the French who have made a faltering start, drawing 0-0 with Israel and Ireland at home and winning 2-0 in the Faroe Islands.
They travel to Cyprus for a match they should win easily - but will be taking nothing for granted after eking out a narrow 2-1 win over Cyprus when they last played there during the qualifiers for Euro 2004.
Italy, meanwhile, have also got something to prove after slipping up 1-0 in Slovenia on Saturday.
That result represented Italy's first defeat in a World Cup qualifier since May 1993 but they should bounce back immediately with a victory over Belarus in Parma today.
However, they drew twice with Belarus in the Euro 2000 qualifiers five years ago and the current Italian team, being remodelled by new coach Marcello Lippi, will need to work hard to gain all three points.
They start in second place in their group behind Slovenia who travel to Norway buoyed by their win over the Italians.
Spain could be in for a tricky game in Lithuania, who are top after a 1-1 draw with Belgium and a 4-0 win over San Marino.
Lithuania did not play on Saturday when Spain beat nine-man Belgium 2-0 and Spain will face a character test on a bumpy pitch on what is likely to be a cold night in the Baltics.
Though Raul has rediscovered his scoring form for both Real Madrid and his country - notching his 40th international goal on Saturday - Serbia could well top the standings tonight, if as expected, they beat San Marino with a big score.
Other teams yet to click into gear include European champions Greece, whose campaign has got away to a poor start with just two points from three matches, leaving them just above bottom-placed Kazakhstan in Group Two.
They do not play today but already face an uphill task of qualifying directly - especially if their old rivals and current group leaders Turkey upset Denmark in Copenhagen today.
Today's matches in Europe, together with those in the South American, CONCACAF and Asian qualifying zones complete almost 100 qualifiers in the last six days. The finals are still 20 months away, but the pressure on Europe's top teams, is already on in earnest.