England manager Roy Hodgson has revealed he is dreading the prospect of England playing in South America’s tropical climates when they fly to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
The Three Lions boss, together with the English public, will be crossing fingers on Friday when the draw is made to determine who the side will meet in the group stages next summer.
England’s drop in the FIFA rankings means they are not one of the seven top seeds in the draw, and will have to play one of the likes of hosts Brazil, Spain or Germany in the opening rounds.
But Hodgson admitted it is not the prospect of facing one of the big names that is worrying him, but the decision about where England’s group games will be held.
A pensive Hodgson said: "It's like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. We will open it up and see what we get, then we will try and digest it.”
Rio de Janeiro, where England met Brazil at the Maracana Stadium in June, enjoys reasonable temperatures of around 25 degrees centigrade in the summer, but in Manaus - a city located right in the heart of the Amazon rainforest - temperatures soar way beyond 30 degrees and humidity levels can reach up to an almost unbearable 86 per cent.
"The venues we play in do worry me more than the opponents," the England manager added.
"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.
"Manaus will be a difficult venue for everyone, but for northern European players it will be a little bit harder. The tropicality of Manaus is the problem.
"You have a bit better chance if you get one of the venues where the climate is kinder.
"Manaus is the place ideally to avoid and Porto Alegre is the place ideally to get."
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