England manager Roy Hodgson has insisted location rather than the opposition is his greatest worry as waits for the outcome of Friday's 2014 World Cup draw in Brazil.
Hodgson's men are unseeded, so are in line to face one of the teams in the top pot of seeds which includes hosts Brazil, champions Spain, Argentina and Germany.
“I think (the draw) is a time when speculation is rife and people have a lot of fun looking at the potential possibilities,” said Hodgson on Monday.
“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 as England manager, having guided the team to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 despite being parachuted into the job just six weeks before that competition started.
But he insisted the Football Association were well-prepared then and would be so again.
“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 took unfancied Switzerland to the second round of the 1994 World Cup in the United States but said a World Cup in Brazil would be something else.
“My last World Cup experience was in the USA which was very interesting,” he added. “It was at a time, in 1994, where there 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, then try and digest it.” – AFP