Roy Hodgson talked to BBC Radio 5 live about his hopes for England

Roy Hodgson believes winning the World Cup in Brazil will be a tough proposition, but insists he will not shy away from the impossible in pursuit of England’s dream.

Hodgson was speaking about his hopes and aims with the Three Lions in an exclusive chat on BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme on Sunday morning.

His side are currently ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings, below nations like current holders Spain, Euro 2012 Finalists Italy, Argentina, Germany and Colombia.

Add to that World Cup hosts Brazil, who will have the weight of expectation on their shoulders, and Hodgson admits that England will not be favourites, should they qualify from Group H.

"You could say we are far from being favourites. But you've got to shy away from 'impossible' in football.

"There are plenty of events that we could point to in footballing terms that you could have said were impossible, but people have done it.

"It wasn't likely that Chelsea would become champions of Europe, especially having to change their manager in mid-stream. But they did.

"That was by beating Barcelona and Bayern Munich, two of the best teams in Europe along the way, so I'd like to keep that dream alive."

However, before England can think of competing in South America in 2014, they must first qualify from the group.

Currently sitting in second place two points behind Montenegro, England have six important qualifiers next year as Hodgson targets top spot to avoid a potentially difficult play-off.

"We are aiming to finish on top of the group and not have to go through a play-off situation where you can quite easily lose as well.

"If we can't win the group let's hope we can come second and give ourselves a chance at least in the play-offs because the goal is to reach Brazil in 2014.

"In an ideal world we would do it by winning the group and sailing through so we are ready when the Finals come around.

"But there's no guarantee of course that winning the group and sailing through your group stages helps you when you get to the final competition. We've seen that with England."

When asked if the England job would be his last in football, Hodgson admitted he’d love to see out his career with a successful spell in charge of the national team.

"It would be nice to think it could be,” he said.

"It would be nice to think I could be in the job for a sufficient period of time that when the time comes to an end I can say, 'that's been a great career, I've enjoyed it, I m quite old, now it's time to pass over to younger people'.

"But it's a dangerous thing to say as well. Football's in your blood."

You can listren to the full Sportsweek interview with Roy on the BBC iPlayer.