World Cup 2014: 5 Things England Must Consider In Group D

4. Uruguay A Team On The Up

Uruguay are somewhat of an unknown quantity, but the rankings provide us with some guide to the quality they have. It's interesting that they are currently ranked sixth in the world, which a place higher than Italy. Another clear demonstration on why this is such a difficult test for England. Uruguay has appeared in World Cup tournaments on 12 occasions and were winners on two occasions in 1930 and 1950. Uruguay has also enjoyed success in other world tournaments such as Copa America and the Confederations Cup. They are regular winners of Copa America with most recent success coming in 1995 and 2011. During the recent 2013 Confederations Cup, Uruguay performed well by finishing fourth in the event overall. It was a similar story in the 2010 World Cup with Uruguay surprisingly finishing fourth. All this success is an amazing feat for a country that only has a population of around 3.25m. In some ways, England may consider Uruguay to be a bigger threat in Group D than Italy; this is due to the hot climate that we are likely to see in Brazil. It has been noted by several people that this may well open up a high possibility of winning being a South American country. At the very least, England will be in for a stern test during their second group game.