AD: Quarter finals. I accept I’m being ridiculously optimistic. England will scrape through a tough group on goal difference, with Uruguay eliminated narrowly being eliminated. They might well be capable of beating one of the Group C teams in the second round – Cote d’Ivoire, Colombia, Greece or Japan – but with either Brazil or the Netherlands likely waiting in the quarter finals, England will stumble.
JC: Group stage. We’ll fail to get out of the group, having bored everyone to death with implausibly bland football played in jungle like conditions. We’ll draw with Italy and Uruguay, but miss out on goal difference – and Hodgson will leave. Or we might go and win it. You never know.
SG: Group stage. It may be an exciting squad but it lacks tournament experience. Italy will be able to take advantage of that, Uruguay have strikers that will be too much for our defence and Costa Rica are just the kind of banana skin that could spring a nasty surprise. I hope I’m wrong, though.
RM: Group stage. England will not get out of the group phase at this World Cup, ending the campaign in third place behind powerhouses Italy and Uruguay, and without a win to enjoy in the entire tournament.