A pondering of England's 2014 World Cup Campaign

After a solid 2-0 win against Poland last night the England National Football team are once again headed to the biggest football tournament on the planet. Manager Roy Hodgson has a team filled with several new players on his hands and is faced with the lofty task of guiding England to the trophy thousands of fans nationwide have been clamouring for since 1966.

English National Football has become a difficult medium to trust in recent memory however; the previous world cup in 2010 proved to be one of the most disappointing in years for England. Numerous blunders, lacklustre play and the worst result in the team’s world cup history (4-1 against Germany) led some to believe that this was the final nail in the coffin for England’s international reputation in football. Can these new players bring home glory from Brazil next year?

The team certainly has some solid talent available; the well-known Steven Gerrad, Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Frank Lampard remain on the list, whereas most of the new players have proven their potential in the qualifying games. Joe Hart also made a notable save in February earlier this against the mighty Ronaldihno which no doubt contributed significantly to England’s first win against Brazil in twenty three years.

Of course the qualifying matches leading up to this stage are simple compared with going up against the world’s best; nations such as defending champions Spain, long-term rivals Germany and the often legendary Brazil all walk the same road towards World Cup victory, having also qualified for the championship. Just how far can England go? It’s very difficult to argue one way or the other until the tournament begins but at the very least the fans expect a good improvement over 2010. At the very least there shouldn’t be too many mishaps with goal line technology and slippery footballs come summer 2014.