According to ESPN, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is upbeat about England’s chances of success in next year’s FIFA World Cup, and has hailed the squad depth available to manager Roy Hodgson.

England have secured qualification to the finals of the World Cup, which is to be played in June 2014 in Brazil. The fortnight international break saw the Three Lions take on Montenegro and Poland, and won both contests comfortably to secure a spot for the main event. Captain Steven Gerrard was instrumental in the process, he also just achieved a milestone on club level by scoring his 100th goal for Liverpool, laudable for a midfielder.

Mourinho, who has been linked with the England and Manchester United job in the past, believes the squad is filled with talented players that provide Hodgson with a wealth of options to work with. Mourinho also supported the manager in another controversy that saw Hodgson’s half time team talk about Andros Townsend being publicized.

England indeed have a squad which is a mix of experience and young talent. The traditional problem with the England squad has never been individual quality, but collective strength. All the squad players ply their trade in several clubs all over the country, and come together once every month or two as an international unit. This seems to be the reason why the group of players lack coordination at times, and struggle to compete against teams like Spain. The world champions have most of their players spread only between Real Madrid and Barcelona, making it better for their players to combine as a unit. There has been a recent emergence of talent in the England squad, and that has not gone unnoticed around the world.

Striker Daniel Sturridge has proven to be the find of the season, and the former Chelsea front man scored again on the weekend for Liverpool to continue his streak as the top scorer in the Barclays Premier League. With Gerrard captaining the side with other experienced candidates like Ashley Cole among the ranks, England could very well be one of the teams to beat next year in Brazil.

Mourinho said, “When people sometimes say England is struggling with good players, I disagree completely.”

“You see the England side, and where are they playing? They’re not playing second division teams, or teams from the football third world. They’re from Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, a couple from Everton.”