Was it the fear of the unknown which troubled Greg Dyke? England, after all, will be crossing new frontiers as they venture into the Amazon rainforest.

In Group D, they can prepare for the jungle city of Manaus, opponents they have never faced in the shape of Costa Rica and for the unpredictable brilliance of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez and Italy’s Mario Balotelli.

Dyke and Roy Hodgson may secretly feel betrayed by the needlessly complicated change to the draw format which dropped Italy into this group but they must be on their mettle straight away. As against France in the Euro 2012 opener it will be pressure from the start. And it will not be boring.

Challenge: England manager Roy Hodgson (left) and FA Chairman (right) find out the Three Lions' World Cup opponents at the draw on Friday in Bahia, Brazil

All smiles: (From left to right) Frank Lampard, Danny Welbeck, Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Leighton Baines celebrate England's qualification for the World Cup

How can it be with Super Mario around? Will he take his fireworks? Or his darts? Will he lose his camouflaged Bentley in the jungle?

Then there is Suarez, with his taste for human flesh, arguably the in-form striker in the Barclays Premier League at the moment. He is on a level with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo says fellow Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani.

But, really, how terrible is this draw? Start with Uruguay. England have played them twice in competitive fixtures and are yet to win: they drew 0-0 at Wembley in 1966, 12 years after a 4-2 loss in the World Cup finals in Switzerland.

In fact, there is little to encourage Hodgson in the history books. England have never beaten any of these opponents in tournament football.

No way through: Luis Suarez (third from right) helps Uruguay into the 2010 World Cup semi-finals with a goal-line handball against Ghana

Uruguay will be in more familiar climes, accustomed to tournaments like the Copa America and were at the Confederations Cup earlier this year when they reached the semis before losing to the eventual winners, hosts Brazil.

Their form, however, has been sketchy since they reached the last four in South Africa. Many of the team are still there and remain under the guidance of the same, highly-respected boss Oscar Tabarez. But they made heavy weather of the qualification campaign.

Uruguay lost five of 16 and required a play-off against Jordan to reach the finals but they have experience and this will be precious, insists Sunderland’s Uruguayan manager Gus Poyet.

‘The group of players have been together for a while and they’re strong,’ said Poyet.

Main man: Suarez helps Uruguay to next summer's World Cup in a play-off against Jordan

Tough opposition: England have never beaten Uruguay (pictured) at a previous World Cup

‘They say in England you’re as good as your two strikers, and in Cavani and Suarez you’ve always got a chance. If you have special players up front you’re very difficult to beat.

‘They’re not a one-man team, they have a good system and they’re difficult to play against. With all respect to  England, I’d put my money on Uruguay.’

Suarez was sensational against Norwich at Anfield on Wednesday and yet Hull were able to keep him quiet a few days earlier. England are at least familiar with him and, while accepting Uruguay are not Liverpool, Hodgson and his coaching team can spend the next six months studying what Steve Bruce did to neutralise his threat.

As for Italy, England beat them last year in a friendly in Switzerland, although it was an experimental game for both teams.

Without this win in Berne, the record against Italy is worrying, England having won only two of the last 11 against them — but a draw might be enough.

Bad boy: England will likely come up against controversial former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli (left) when they face Italy in their first group game

Hodgson, a manager with close connections in Italy after managing Inter Milan and Udinese, is capable of plotting a draw against most opponents as he proved when the two teams met in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.

Inspired by Andrea Pirlo, Cesare Prandelli’s team dominated in Kiev but could not score for 120 minutes but then won on penalties.

In competitive games, England’s record against Italy is poor. They have not won one since a World Cup qualifier in 1977, when Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keegan scored in a 2-0 win. However, Italy  had one more game to play, against Luxembourg, which they won 3-0 and qualified for the tournament in Argentina at England’s expense.

On Friday, the Italians dubbed this the ‘Iron Group’ but they will be confident having made steady if unspectacular progress under Prandelli.

History: England striker Jermain Defoe (second from right) scores against Italy in the Three Lions' 2-1 friendly win in August, 2012

Danger man: Balotelli celebrates a goal against Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 2012

Like Uruguay, they also played in the Confederations Cup in Brazil and reached the last four before losing to Spain on penalties. They will have no more experience than England of operating in the rainforest of Manaus but the slower natural rhythms of Italian football would seem more suited to an equatorial climate.

It would have been worse to draw Costa Rica in the jungle. Instead, that particular banana skin lurks in Belo Horizonte, the scene of perhaps England’s greatest ever World Cup embarrassment.

Even 64 years on, the 1-0 defeat by the United States will resonate when Hodgson and his squad touch down for their final game, against a team who qualified second behind the United States from the CONCACAF region.

Familiar threat: Fulham forward Bryan Ruiz (left), pictured here playing against Jamaica in September, will face England for Costa Rica