World Cup 2018: 4 reasons why England could win the World Cup

#2 Traditional favourites already eliminated, hence less competition

Brazil, Argentina and Spain have all been kicked out of the World Cup

Hands up if you ever predicted England would reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. How many hands – one, two, three…? It’s obvious that many people, fans and pundits alike, ruled out the chances of The Three Lions even before a ball was kicked in Russia.

However, Harry Kane and co have shocked everyone including themselves to get to this point. Their success may have been aided by the qualification route they had, but more importantly they managed to avoid almost all the traditional favourites till this point.

Defending champions Germany were kicked out of the group stages even before they could settle, whiles perennial favourites like Brazil, Argentina and Spain have all been kicked out too by so-called minnow nations.

With so many of the powerhouses now eliminated, it increases England’s chances of winning the World Cup. Of course there are still some tough teams to overcome, like Belgium and France who could stand in the way of The Three Lions.

However, these are teams on a par with England in terms of quality, and Southgate’s charges should be able to find their way when they clash.