England captain Steven Gerrard has insisted that the national team's chances of having a successful World Cup campaign should not be written off.

FA chairman Greg Dyke recently claimed that the Three Lions are not realistic contenders for the 2014 tournament, but the Liverpool midfielder believes that they are far from weak.

"I don't think we're as weak as has been suggested," The Mirror quotes him as saying. "Realistically, everyone in the room knows we're not going to be one of the bookies' favourites to win the World Cup.

"It doesn't mean we can't get there and have a successful tournament to make the country proud. But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. Our priority is to get there first.

"To qualify is the challenge. We want to qualify for the World Cup, go there and make the nation proud. We can do that without winning it. Playing at a World Cup is the pinnacle of any footballer's dream as a kid - especially in Brazil."

England face Moldova in their next World Cup qualifier on Wednesday evening.

Written by
Mark Langshaw