England qualified in fine style but Sir knows that when it comes to facing the bigger, more skilful nations, then England are likely to taste defeat.
And the Scot says its Brazil who will be savouring the glory when the competition ends.
He told the Mail on Sunday: “I can’t see past Brazil, actually. They are going to be the ones in South Africa. They are going to be hard to beat. You just have to think of the players they can bring in - they are a supplier of great players,” he explained.
“Last season, there were 103 Brazilians in the Champions League and only 15 Englishmen. More Scots played in the Champions League last season than English players. I thought the 11/10 on Brazil to beat England was the bet of the century.”
He added, “The small number of English players in the Champions League is down to the way the Premier League has developed.”
“The eternal question is at what point the Premier League is going to have to feature more English players.
“We are not too bad at this club in terms of young players coming through but Liverpool would struggle.”