With the World Cup just over a fortnight away now, excitement is building for Brazil. England head into the tournament as outsiders with many people not expecting Roy Hodgson's side to go beyond the quarter-final stage.

But there are reasons to be optimistic. Here are just five.

1. Expectations are low

Rickie Lambert has insisted he would be more than happy to step up and take a penalty in a shoot-out for England at this summer's World Cup.

The Southampton striker has compiled a near-perfect record from the penalty spot throughout his career, whilst the Three Lions have suffered penalty shoot-out heartache in six of the last 10 major tournaments, with their sole shoot-out victory coming against Spain in Euro 96.

His skills could well come in useful to a team with one of the worst penalty shoot-out records in world football.

After 5 consecutive victories, Clarence Seedorf’s streak has ended as they lost 2-0 against As.Roma but there are a series of rumors which have started spreading around concerning the future of Mario Balotelli.

During Ac.Milan’s defeat against As.Roma, Balotelli was substituted for the last few minutes of the match but just as he was leaving playing ground, the former Inter Milan appeared to be angry as he did not want to leave the field.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has criticised the tactics of this Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho after the recent 2-0 defeat that his team suffered in the Premier league. Chelsea came to Anfield with little hope of winning the Premier league title this season, has never five points behind table leaders Liverpool.

However, they gave themselves a great chance to think about title success with a 2-0 win, but it was largely dominated by Liverpool. The home team had most of the chances and also the possession, while Chelsea kept 10 men behind the ball at all times.

Thiago Silva started showcasing his world class defensive abilities when he played with Ac.Milan. The Brazilian defender along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic pushed Ac.Milan to the glory they still have not been able to find since both of those players left the Italian club.

Silva was signed by PSG for a transfer fee of €42 million and ever since then, he has only been improving not only inside but also outside of the pitch as he has developed leadership skills up to the point where the 29 years old defender is the captain of PSG.

Thiago Silva is considered to be one of the best defenders in the world and his recent awards are proof of it as he has been featured in the UEFA Team of the Year since 2011 as well as being named into the FIFA World XI of 2013, there is no doubt why PSG was willing to offload €42 million in order to get him from Ac.Milan.

Since making his arrival to Ac.Milan back in 2009, the Brazilian defender Thiago Silva has consistently been one of the highly rated defenders in the world and his recent UEFA Team of the Year award is proof of how well the last couple of years have been for the player of PSG.

PSG signed Thiago Silva from Ac.Milan with a price tag of €42 million he has shown his worth and displayed why the French side was willing to offload so much cash for the player that has turned into the captain of the club and is the heart of a defence that has conceded fewer goals in the French league.

Paris St Germain defender Thiago Silva was linked with moves to Barcelona in the summer, but he signed a new contract with the club to the transfer rumours. He is now one of the best-paid defenders in the world.

The Brazilian has stated that he will not leave PSG this January or in the upcoming summer, as transfer rumours refuse to die down even after his new contract. Silva is regarded as one of the top defenders in the world, while he also holds the record for the most expensive transfer of central defender. He moved to PSG in a £ 35 million deal from AC Milan.

Thiago Silva was pleased on making his return to the main squad of PSG after suffering from a blow that left him injured and unable to play since September. He returned to PSG’s match against Nice when they overcame the Ligue 1 champions with a convincing 3-1 victory as the Swedish Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick.

"We played very well, we were very solid," Silva told the club's official website.It wasn't easy against Nice and the most important thing was to claim all three points. I am very happy to be back on the pitch. Now I'm off to join the Selecao’’.

There was a lot of interest surrounding Brazil defender Thiago Silva, who is currently at Paris St Germain. Barcelona were very much interested in taking him to the camp Nou, but they ultimately failed in their attempts due to several reasons.

They were unable to convince PSG to sell Thiago Silva, while the player has now revealed that Barcelona were not prepared to pay enough money for his services. Silva is currently the world's most expensive defender after he cost the French club £ 35 million in transfer money for his transfer from AC Milan.