Roy Hodgson says his
biggest concern ahead of Friday's World Cup 2014 draw is where England
will be playing and not who their potential opponents will be.
Photograph: Handout/Getty Images for Mars
England's manager Roy Hodgson insists location rather than opposition is the biggest concern for him as he awaits Friday's 2014 World Cup draw.
Hodgson will learn when and where the group stage matches will be played when the draw takes place in Salvador, Brazil.
His team are unseeded, so they are guaranteed to face one of the teams in the top pot of seeds which includes Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Switzerland and Uruguay.
But Hodgson believes in a country as vast as Brazil that where games take place will be just as vital as who they will be against. "I think [the draw] is a time when speculation is rife and people have a lot of fun looking at the potential possibilities," he said. "It is a nice game to play but I have got to say that I have not involved myself too much in that – we will get what we get really, the most important thing is to be there.
"Then you always hope that the draw is going to be kind to you in terms of where you are going to be asked to play. There are venues in Brazil that will be harder to play in than others.
"Maybe in terms of the teams you are drawn against some on paper look harder than others, but I'm more concerned if anything by the venues than by the teams we draw.
"All discussion about teams and their strengths is based not on speculation, but we don't know. We don't know how good Argentina are, we would all think 'Blimey, Argentina are strong', but we don't know that.
"They might be no stronger than Chile. The good thing is that if we get Argentina, for example, we will be there and have a chance to play them and believe we can go out and beat them."
The World Cup will be Hodgson's second tournament with England following on from Euro 2012, where the former Liverpool, Fulham and West Brom manager guided them to the quarter-finals despite only being appointed six weeks prior to the start of the competition.
The 66-year-old revealed plans are already afoot to make Brazil as comfortable a tournament as possible, with only minor details to be adjusted following Friday's draw.
When asked if England will be prepared, Hodgson said: "We will be, without a doubt.
"The great thing about working with he FA is that they are incredibly well prepared. I came in at late notice with the Euros and a lot of preparation had already been done and it was first-class and it will be first-class again.
"We have got a lot of experience of tournaments, of World Cups and European Championships. We canvassed the players and there is a lot of experience among the players, things they thought worked well and things they thought didn't work as well.
"We have been occupying our time thinking about a lot of things we can do. But, of course, until we get the draw and we know where we are and when our first game is we have got to leave the actual detail – but in general we have got it all organised."
Hodgson had previously experienced international tournament football as Switzerland's head coach as he took the unfancied nation to the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
"My last World Cup experience was in the USA which was very interesting," he added. "It was at a time, in 1994, where their interest in our football was a lot less developed than it is today.
"I can't deny that taking part in Brazil has an extra clang to it and I understand to supporters all over the world that Brazil is the country we associate with football, as well with England. We will hope for our best but it is like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. We will open it up and see what we get."
Hodgson will learn when and where the group stage matches will be played when the draw takes place in Salvador, Brazil.
His team are unseeded, so they are guaranteed to face one of the teams in the top pot of seeds which includes Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Switzerland and Uruguay.
But Hodgson believes in a country as vast as Brazil that where games take place will be just as vital as who they will be against. "I think [the draw] is a time when speculation is rife and people have a lot of fun looking at the potential possibilities," he said. "It is a nice game to play but I have got to say that I have not involved myself too much in that – we will get what we get really, the most important thing is to be there.
"Then you always hope that the draw is going to be kind to you in terms of where you are going to be asked to play. There are venues in Brazil that will be harder to play in than others.
"Maybe in terms of the teams you are drawn against some on paper look harder than others, but I'm more concerned if anything by the venues than by the teams we draw.
"All discussion about teams and their strengths is based not on speculation, but we don't know. We don't know how good Argentina are, we would all think 'Blimey, Argentina are strong', but we don't know that.
"They might be no stronger than Chile. The good thing is that if we get Argentina, for example, we will be there and have a chance to play them and believe we can go out and beat them."
The World Cup will be Hodgson's second tournament with England following on from Euro 2012, where the former Liverpool, Fulham and West Brom manager guided them to the quarter-finals despite only being appointed six weeks prior to the start of the competition.
The 66-year-old revealed plans are already afoot to make Brazil as comfortable a tournament as possible, with only minor details to be adjusted following Friday's draw.
When asked if England will be prepared, Hodgson said: "We will be, without a doubt.
"The great thing about working with he FA is that they are incredibly well prepared. I came in at late notice with the Euros and a lot of preparation had already been done and it was first-class and it will be first-class again.
"We have got a lot of experience of tournaments, of World Cups and European Championships. We canvassed the players and there is a lot of experience among the players, things they thought worked well and things they thought didn't work as well.
"We have been occupying our time thinking about a lot of things we can do. But, of course, until we get the draw and we know where we are and when our first game is we have got to leave the actual detail – but in general we have got it all organised."
Hodgson had previously experienced international tournament football as Switzerland's head coach as he took the unfancied nation to the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
"My last World Cup experience was in the USA which was very interesting," he added. "It was at a time, in 1994, where their interest in our football was a lot less developed than it is today.
"I can't deny that taking part in Brazil has an extra clang to it and I understand to supporters all over the world that Brazil is the country we associate with football, as well with England. We will hope for our best but it is like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. We will open it up and see what we get."
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