Fergie asks Ferdinand to raise his game or forget World Cup

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has asked Rio Ferdinand to raise his game or else his World Cup dream could die. The Manchester United defender is having a miserable season and was badly at fault in England's 1-0 defeat in Ukraine a week ago.

"He has to get good form. That's an important issue for the coach to pick the right team. In defence you've maybe got more options than other positions. He will need to get his form right," The Sun quoted Ferguson, as saying. Ferdinand has dropped clangers in two matches for Fabio Capello's England.

"I'm sure he's taken the criticism on board. Do I think he'll go to the World Cup? Yes, of course," Ferguson said. Ferdinand, who has suffered a string of injuries during recent months, had admitted that he is sweating over whether he will make it to the World Cup Finals.

Ferdinand knows boss Fabio Capello will show no mercy when he selects the 23 players to play in the World Cup next summer. He has played in only 18 of the last 40 games for United and England since March and featured in only two internationals in the last year.

"I'd be foolish to think no one would ask me the question about injuries. For the last 12 months, every now and again I've had to miss games through injuries. There hadn't been a period before that, so it's going to stand out," Ferdinand said.