GUS POYET has dismissed England’s prospects of winning the World Cup by claiming Uruguay have a greater chance of success in Brazil next summer.

England will head to the finals to face Poyet’s nation in a horrible Group D along with Italy and Costa Rica and he predicts that Uruguay are better equipped for progress.

The Sunderland manager thinks that in Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani that England will have two world-class strikers difficult to stop in South American surroundings familiar to Uruguayans.

Poyet said: "They're not a one man team, they've got a good system and they're difficult to play against, they're annoying to play against.

“They have the commitment and the way they play and two good strikers, it used to be there with Diego Forlan, who used to be on fire as well, but now he's not playing so much.

“If you have special players up front you're very difficult to beat. They are annoying to play against. The group of players have been together for a while, they're strong. They say in England you're as good as your two strikers, and in Cavani and Suarez you've always got a chance.

“Choose between England and Uruguay, with all respect to England I'd put my money on Uruguay and I'm not being biased. It's through experience, from the last World Cup and playing World Cups for a long time ago to the last one. England need to click.”

Poyet, 46, played 26 times for his country and will decide in the months ahead whether he will be heading over to Brazil to watch the World Cup.

But the Sunderland boss, whose side face Tottenham at the Stadium of Light today, could not believe how the two countries have been pulled out together in a difficult group.

"We wanted a bit of luck in the draw first of all. You didn’t want a group that's impossible,” said Poyet, “We've got to try to be the team that we have been in the World Cup, Copa America and Confederations Cup - a very difficult team to play against.

“When you create that feeling in the opposition you've got a great chance of winning.”

England will start their World Cup campaign off against Italy in Manaus in the Amazonian rain forest, with 99 per cent humidity on Sunday, June 15 at 2am (UK time).

They will then travel to Sao Paolo to face Uruguay before finishing their qualification stage in Belo Horizonte against Costa Rica. Poyet believes both Uruguay and England will have to gel from the start.

"The 11 players who play their first game, they need to be spot on, they need to say 'we need to win the World Cup' and then play for it,” he said.

“If they don't make sure it's because someone's better than you. Sometimes you try to ask for too much as there are some great teams there like Italy, Germany, Argentina, Brazil. They're' always there so to be World champs you need to beat them all.”