• World Cup 2014

Hodgson: Not mission impossible to win World Cup

Roy Hodgson was not bristling with confidence about England's World Cup prospects © Getty Images

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England winning the 2014 World Cup is not an impossibility according to manager Roy Hodgson, but he stressed that it was unlikely.

England currently sit second behind Montenegro in their qualifying group and Hodgson insisted his first aim was to get the team to the finals in Brazil, as group winners if possible.

The 65-year-old masterminded Fulham's run to the Europa League final in 2010 but instead chose to highlight Chelsea's victory in the Champions League this year as evidence that success can be gained from unlikely scenarios.

"You could say we are far from being [World Cup] favourites so therefore it's not a likelihood [to win]," Hodgson told Radio 5Live. "But you've got to shy away from 'impossible' in football.

"It wasn't likely that Chelsea would become champions of Europe, especially having to change their manager in mid-stream but they did.

"That was by beating Barcelona and Bayern Munich, two of the best teams in Europe along the way, so I'd like to keep that dream alive.

"There are plenty of events that we could point to in footballing terms that you could have said were impossible, but people have done it."

Hodgson did express his wish that less pressure was placed on England players by the media and the fans going into major tournaments. However he stopped short of criticising other aspects of the English domestic scene.

Hodgson added: 'I know there are a lot of foreigners in the league, but there's plenty of English ones. There were seven Englishmen playing for Manchester United the other day and they're top of the Barclays Premier League.

"I would like to see a little bit more kindness sometimes offered to the players, because there's no doubt in my mind they are as aware as anybody we need to win, we need to bring something back to the English public."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.