Can England win the World Cup?

Many an English fan has bet on England to win the world cup in the past. It hasn’t exactly been a profitable bet so far. The world cup in Brazil is soon upon us. Is it different this time?

England odds to win World Cup 2014 in Brazil

The England to win outright odds are priced from 27 (26/1) all the way up to 34 (33/1) with Stoke on Trent based BET 365. Usually the England odds to win the world cup come in quite a bit lower.

On historic merit alone those odds represent value as the world cup has been played only 19 times and England did win it in 1966. History is only one out of many factors though.

The England Squad

Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic), Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United)

What is most likely to stop England from winning the world cup?

The manager! Is Roy Hodgson able to pull modern dynamic football out of this group? He is famous for playing football in attack and not at the back. He likes to play in the channels and let the players run. He is very defense minded. Is that good enough in 2014? The jury is out on that one still. He has a highly talented group of players here. The mix of young and old is good as well.

Another con must be that the England players often have treated the World Cup as a vacation. How often haven’t we seen pics of wags going berserk at the bar, or read the stories of the players having wet nights out. That simply won’t cut it. If morale is at the highest level, this group could do it though.

A final con is that the English side, no matter how talented must get past rivals with even better squads.

The positives with this England squad

The squad definitely has potential, and this time no one is talking them up. Comparing the available England outright odds to the other sides, the word “maybe” sneaks into my head.

Hart is a decent keeper, and world class at his best! He has a top notch defense in front of him. Cahill is a certain pick in the Centre of defense. Jagielka, Jones or Smalling are likely to partner him. On left back Shaw has proven to be in form lately. He is likely to play second fiddle to Leighton Baines though who had another great season at Everton. On right back Johnson is the the likely selection. He had an ok season offensively for Liverpool. Was he good enough defensively? I say no.

The midfield looks good to me in every department with players such as Gerrard, Lampard, Henderson, Wilshire and Oxelade-Chamberlain able to play in a multitude of positions. Players such as Sterling, Lallana, Barkley, Sturridge, Walcott and Wayne Rooney are high caliber attacking options. For me; the right manager should be able to set up this team to play high octane, modern football. And, make no joke about it! That team could win this world cup.

Conclusion

The way I see it; much will be down to how Hodgson can manage the group. He will be in charge of the morale. He will be in charge of the system. If he gets it right 34 (33/1) must be considered decent value in my opinion. I am definitely getting on. 

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