Roy Hodgson believes England were destined to be handed a tough task in the World Cup next summer.
England were drawn out alongside Uruguay, Costa Rica and Italy in Group D at Friday’s draw in Costa Do Sauipe with games to be played in Manaus, Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo.
And Hodgson admits the draw was just as tough as he expected given the high calibre of teams in the various pots.
He said: “To be frank there weren’t many scenarios where you’d have been jumping for joy – there were a lot more scenarios where you were thinking ‘this is going to be very tough for us’.
“It’s a tough group, there’s no doubt about that.
“There’s no doubt with Uruguay and Italy we almost have two number one seeds in our group because Italy were very unlucky not to be seeded amongst the first eight.
Group D
Uruguay
Italy
England
Costa Rica
“But it’s going to be quite difficult to put a positive spin on the quality of our opponent because even Costa Rica, who are maybe the least well-known, have a very, very strong team.
“Jurgen Klinsmann was just warning me how good they were because USA were in their group in the qualifiers.”
England meet European rivals Italy in the first game in Manaus on 15 June and Cesare Prandelli’s side are well known to Hodgson.
After meeting in the European Championship quarter final, when England lost on penalties in 2012, Hodgson is under no illusions as to how tough their task will be.
But he admits he would rather face a fellow European side in the hot, humid and Amazonian conditions of Manaus.
“We know how good they are because we lost to them on penalties in the quarter finals of the Euros - but the good thing I suppose is that we know each other which isn’t such a bad thing.
“The other thing, which to some extent has worked in our favour, is the game we’ve got in the north where the conditions are going to be tough climatically, is against another European team so we’re both going to be in the same boat.”
With England set to be based in Rio de Janeiro for the duration of the World Cup, Hodgson is pleased to see their games with Uruguay and Costa Rica will be staged a little nearer in Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte respectively.
“There’s a lot of travelling to be done in most of the groups and our great advantage will be being based in Rio,” he said.
“We’ve only got one long trip, the other two trips to Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte are relatively short trips and in the same neck of the woods.
“If we’d have had three games up in the north, I think it would’ve been difficult as there’s no doubt the climate in the north for European teams is going to be tougher so I suppose in some ways we’ve got to regard that as an advantage.
"The most important thing is we’re here, we’ve got an interesting group – three top quality opponents – so the three games we play in the group will be very exciting games.
“I’m certain that they will attract big audiences all around the world.
“It’ll be a chance to see the north of Brazil – I’ve never been to the Amazon and it’ll be a very interesting experience not only for me but the rest of the team.”
England’s second group game with Uruguay takes place on 19 June, before the final match against Costa Rica takes place on 24 June.
