Phil Neville believes staging the 2022 World Cup in November and December could be "the best thing that's ever happened" to England.
With temperatures soaring dangerously high during the Qatari summer, a FIFA working group recommended on Tuesday that the tournament be moved from its traditional June and July slot to being played in November and December of 2022.
The news provoked a furious reaction from some clubs and leagues, particularly in Europe, with Premier League chief Richard Scudamore, a member of the FIFA task force that made the decision, especially unhappy.
However, former Manchester United and Everton player Neville, who won 59 caps for England, feels the move could benefit the Three Lions given they will be much fresher than they usually are heading into a World Cup.
"We normally go into a World Cup at the end of a long, hard, nine-month season when our players are absolutely dead on their feet. For an England team, this might be the best thing that's ever happened," Neville told BBC Sport.
"In this country, we are very traditionalist. We like to have our 10 weeks off over the summer, the games over Christmas, but the game is changing now. People don't like change, but they have to get used to it."
Neville added: "We've cried out for a long time for a mid-winter break. Maybe this will give us a great chance of winning a World Cup."
Neville is, however, concerned at how a winter World Cup will impact on the FA Cup in England.
The 38-year-old, who was part of United's coaching team under David Moyes last season, has challenged those in charge of English football to come up with a schedule that will suit everyone.
"Maybe FA Cup replays will have to be sacrificed, which would be a shame because it's a fantastic competition," Neville said.
"It's up to the Premier League and the FA to work out the best possible plan so that nobody suffers, so that everybody -- clubs, managers and owners -- are getting everything they want in terms of the correct amount of fixtures, the correct amount of time with their players and amount of time afterwards so players can recover."
England have not reached the semifinals of a major tournament since 1996 when they made the last four at Euro '96 on home soil.