There are a number of English fans who believe that England will be capable of winning the next major tournament despite the country not lifting any major trophies since the 1966 World Cup. In fact, England will be one of the talk about nations prior to a World Cup. They have often disappointed in recent years by exiting major tournaments in quarter-finals itself. The English Football Association recently appointed Greg Dyke as the new chairman, and he opted a more cautious approach when it came to the expectations for the World Cup 2014.

Given the recent history, he expects England not to be one of the top sides going into the tournament. He has also recalled the history European nations have when it comes to the World Cup competitions held in South America. No European nation has ever won the World Cup title when the competition is held here.

England will be playing two World Cup qualifying matches against Moldova and Ukraine. The former will be at home, while the team will be travelling to Kiev for the latter. These are two important matches that will go along way into determining the winner of the group, which is currently led by Montenegro. England do need to win these matches without fail.

“I don’t think anyone realistically thinks we are going to win the World Cup in Brazil. I asked a bunch of journalists what would be seen as doing well in Brazil. The consensus was if we reach the quarter-finals we’ll do very well. That’s not to say we can’t win. But let’s not kid ourselves, it’s pretty hard to win in Latin America anyway for a European side. We’re certainly not going to go there as odds-on favourites, that’s for sure,” said the new FA chairman to the BBC.