England hopes of winning the World Cup in South Africa next summer were given a huge boost today when they were given a relatively straightforward draw for the group stage of the competition.
Fabio Capello's side were pitched against United States, Algeria and Slovenia in a draw that saw them avoid potential heavyweights such as Portugal, France and Ivory Coast.
Bookmakers reacted to the draw in Cape Town, which placed Brazil in a formidable group including France and Ivory Coast, by installing England as third favourites to win the event for the first time on foreign soil.
Capello's men begin their tournament against USA on June 12 before facing Algeria 12 days later and Slovenia on June 18 in a potentially tiring itinerary that requires them to cross the length of South Africa. Their first match is in the north west of the country in Rustenburg, the second is on the south coast in Port Elizabeth and the third is in Cape Town to the west.
Should England qualify for the last 16 - they need to finish at least second in Group C - they will play one of the top two sides in Group D, which includes Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana.
The USA, who were among the second seeds, will provide England with probably their toughest opposition. They impressed in qualification and recently beat Spain, the European champions and World Cup favourites, in the Confederations Cup.
Algeria, who scraped through to the tournamen after a play-off against Egypt, are regarded as the weakest of the five African qualifiers. Slovenia, are ranked 33rd in the world and also qualified for the event via a play-off. England them Slovenia in a friendly at Wembley in March.
