England have been drawn alongside Spain, Ivory Coast and South Korea in Group E of the rehearsal World Cup draw in Brazil.
England have been drawn in the same group as Spain and Ivory Coast in a rehearsal of Friday’s World Cup draw in Brazil.
Roy Hodgson’s side were drawn alongside the World Cup holders and the birthplace of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, with South Korea completing the line-up.
Three Lions fans may be hoping for a more favourable draw when the real thing takes places tomorrow but the results of the rehearsal show just how tough a potential World Cup group could be.
Nevertheless, England captain Steven Gerrard is hopeful of his side’s chances.
“We’re not one of the favourites, I think we know that,” the England captain told Fifa’s official website.
“At the same time, you have to go into this tournament with a bit of belief and confidence and give it your best shot.
“Of course, there are better teams out there than us. You just need to look at the rankings to see where we are but we need to go there and give it our best shot.”
Elsewhere in the practice draw, Brazil were drawn alongside France AND Italy, with Australia filling the final spot in the group.
Any more of the same and we could be seeing big names fall before the knockout stages in June.
The rehearsal draw in full:
GROUP A – Brazil, Italy, France, Australia
GROUP B – Uruguay, Nigeria, USA, Croatia
GROUP C – Argentina, Ghana, Costa Rica, Russia
GROUP D – Switzerland, Chile, Japan, Greece
GROUP E – Spain, Ivory Coast, South Korea, England
GROUP F – Colombia, Cameroon, Honduras, Holland
GROUP G – Germany, Ecuador, Iran, Portugal
GROUP H – Belgium, Algeria, Mexico, Bosnia
image: © geetarchurchy
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