1. Uruguay are overrated
PEOPLE ASSUME URUGUAY are formidable opponents for England purely because they happen to have arguably the best striker in the world on current form — Luis Suarez.
Yet aside from Suarez, Diego Godin and Edinson Cavani, there aren’t many other players in the side that England will fear — for instance, their captain Diego Lugano has just been released by West Brom. So on paper at least, England have the far superior team and suggestions that they won’t even make it past the group stages seem a tad naive.
Assuming England do advance from their group, they’ll face either the winner or runner-up of Group C — so one of Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast or Japan, all of whom are eminently beatable.
Therefore, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t at least get to the quarter-finals with relative ease.
2. Certain players are very familiar with one another
If Hodgson goes with the expected starting XI, four of their front six — Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge — will have all been an integral part of Liverpool’s title-contending side.
In addition, Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere aren’t exactly bad alternatives to Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, so they should be more than a match for most teams in an attacking-sense.
In addition, the camaraderie and understanding that the Liverpool players will have built up will work to their advantage, as will their renewed determination to win trophies after the Premier League narrowly eluded them earlier this season.
3. All of their stars are fit
If you look at most of the genuine contenders for the World Cup, they have at least one star player who is a) ruled out through injury (France, Franck Ribery) or b) doubtful (Spain, Diego Costa).
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jay Rodriguez probably wouldn’t have started for England anyway, so their absences won’t be felt hugely.
And if they do eventually suffer an injury to one of their key men, players of the calibre of Adam Lallana, Ross Barkley and Phil Jones can come in and do an adequate job instead.
Luck and squad depth are as important as any factors in deciding who ultimately emerges triumphant, and both seem to be in England’s favour currently.
4. Lack of great teams
England are not perfect, but in general, this World Cup doesn’t appear to feature any truly great sides.
Home advantage will be important for Brazil, but they have some average enough players in their side, while age could well catch up with the Spanish team and German football reached its zenith last year and has been on the slide to a degree since.
Consequently, there is an opening for a new team to make an impact on the international stage, and with their array of promising youngsters combined with the experience of players such as Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, there is no reason why England can’t capitalise on this down period in international football.
5. Their defence is not as bad as some are suggesting
Granted, John Terry would have been an invaluable addition to the team, but even without the Chelsea star, the English backline is not conspicuously weak.
Joe Hart recovered from a shaky start to have a good season with City, while Gary Cahill, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka have all been magnificent for much of the campaign with their respective clubs.
Right-back is obviously an issue — Glen Johnson hasn’t always looked solid for Liverpool this year, however, they have plenty of decent back-up in the area, with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones both capable of doing a good job in the position.
So while England are stronger in other areas, defence is certainly not an area that they should be overly worried about.
