Roy Hodgson's Three Lions have aspirations of clawing their way into the knockout stages, but will have to beat the odds - and the rankings - to do so
Head in hands: Hodgson knows England will be up against it to qualify from Group D
England are only the THIRD best team in Group D, according to the latest FIFA rankings.
Uruguay rank seventh while opening opponents Italy sit eighth in the official standings.
Despite a strong qualifying campaign Roy Hodgson's men jumped up only one place to tenth.
Group D is the only one at the tournament with three teams in the top 10 of the world rankings.
While the Three Lions seemingly have the toughest route to the knockout rounds, Argentina have the easiest.
Alejandro Sabella's side, who themselves rank fifth in the world, are in Group F with Bosnia (21), Iran (43) and Nigeria (44).
Holders Spain, ranked 1, remain the best team at the tournament while Australia are, in rankings terms at least, the worst coming in at a lowly 62.