England football boss Roy Hodgson has admitted that his side are not favourites to win the 2014 World Cup despite England securing a berth in the tournament by winning in the qualifiers against Poland at Wembley.
England join the Brazil, holders Spain plus Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Iran, Italy, Japan, Germany, Holland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland and the USA as nations to have qualified so far.
According to the Mirror, Hodgson said that England would go into the tournament as outsiders, playing down talk of the Three Lions being able to win the tournament, although he added that the team would do the best that they can.
Hodgson further said he believes that defining a World Cup as only worthwhile if it is won makes trying to qualify and securing a berth in the tournament as a waste of time given the number of strong teams, adding that in World Cups held in South America, only South American teams have won and no European side has ever secured a victory.
Stating that England is in a 'slight transition', Hodgson also said that it is yet soon to say England is getting to the level of some of the other teams who are bigger favourites than them to win the tournament, even though the side is improving.