England will play Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in a tough Group D at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Roy Hodgson's men open their campaign against Italy in the Amazonian city of Manaus on 15 June in the only World Cup game which kicks off at 02:00 BST. England take on Uruguay on 19 June and play Costa Rica five days later. Hosts Brazil are in Group A with Cameroon, Mexico and Croatia while the World Cup holders Spain open with a repeat of the 2010 final against Netherlands. England will have to travel 1,777 miles from their chosen base in Rio for their first match in the tropical heat of Manaus. Earlier this week Hodgson described Manaus as "the place to avoid" because of the climate--temperatures reach 30C and humidity is about 80%--although after the draw the England boss took comfort from the fact his team face a fellow European side. "The conditions in the north will be tough, so we will both be in same boat," he said. "If we'd had three games up in the north, it would have been difficult." Following Hodgson's initial comments, the mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgilio, said England would not be welcome in the city. England takes on two-time champions Uruguay in Sao Paulo and they play Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte--both cities are within 225 miles of their base. England have never previously beaten Italy or Uruguay at a major tournament , while they have never faced Costa Rica. Uruguay, who reached the semi-finals in 2010, and Italy, who knocked Hodgson's men out of Euro 2012, are ranked sixth and seventh respectively in the Fifa rankings while Costa Rica are 31st in the world - 18 places below England. Which of the following can England take comfort from?
The place where its first match in the group stage is held. The distance from its base to where its first match is held. The fact that two of its group stage games are not in the north. The fact that it is 7 places below Uruguay in the Fifa rankings.