I agree completely that there has to be a standard pronunciation since English has become the defacto international language.

To facilitate this, don't you agree that it would be a big advantage if the spelling and the pronunciation matched?

The way it is now, English spelling gives no reliable clue about how to pronounce even simple, common words.

If the spelling was completely phonetic and standardized, everybody who knows the sound each letter represents would be able to see how to pronounce every word just by reading a newspaper.