Prove you're worth it! Hodgson challenges rising stars to grab World Cup spot
So the World Cup starts here. Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli said it first and then England captain Frank Lampard warmed to the idea.‘We can’t waste a training session,’ rapped Lampard as Roy Hodgson talked of the importance of these two friendlies at Wembley for those competing for the 23 places available in his World Cup squad.
Centurions Lampard and Ashley Cole cannot take their form or fitness for granted, he warned, as he prepared to give first caps to Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez.
All smiles: Frank Lampard (left) and Roy Hodgson (right) look relaxed ahead of England's friendly against Chile on Friday
Rising star: Southampton's Adam Lallana (second from right) is expected to play some part against Chile
‘To some extent you get a feeling for what they have to offer from the moment they step into the camp,’ said Hodgson, as he considered his newcomers from Southampton.
‘The rehearsals can be as
good as you like, it’s when they step out on stage on the first night that it really counts. It’s a big night for them and unfortunately if they do fail spectacularly and do really badly, it will be held against them. I’ll hope that I won’t make draconian judgments if they don’t have a particularly good game.’
Other opportunities will be on offer against Chile. Joe Hart will not play, which leaves Fraser Forster and John Ruddy to contest the honour of being his deputy.
Up front, with Rickie Lambert injured and Daniel Sturridge unlikely to be risked, there are fewer options as England seek to score against Chile for the first time since Nat Lofthouse’s winner in Santiago, 60 years ago. The experienced pair of Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe will probably share the 90 minutes.
Elsewhere, this team are evolving at an accelerated rate. Six months ago, few would have put Andros Townsend in a strongest available England team, but Theo Walcott was injured and he is suddenly the first-choice right winger.
By May it could have changed again. Townsend may have been ousted from the Tottenham team and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott will be fit again. The modern rotation policy and the vast squads carried by Barclays Premier League teams add extra dimensions of unpredictability.
Ready to go: England's players train at London Colney on Wednesday
Challenging times: England host Germany at Wembley just four days after facing Chile
Hodgson insists there is no provisional 23-man squad in the back of his mind. ‘You know the reason I don’t do it,’ he said. ‘It’s a very simple reason: that so many things can happen between now and May.
‘It’s basically an exercise with no meaning. Before we went to the Euros, I lost Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Gary Cahill, John Ruddy, Kyle Walker and Wayne Rooney couldn’t play the first two games.
‘All these people for weeks on end had been part of my very clear group and then all of a sudden, at the last minute, I hadn’t got them.
‘Players are still pretty fresh, pretty fit at the relative start of the season. Another 40-odd games down the line, it does take its toll. Tournaments come at the end of very long seasons.’
Instant impact: Tottenham winger Andros Townsend
burst onto the international scene with a Man of the Match performance
against Montenegro
The England manager was even reluctant to commit to the style of football he wants his team to produce as they fine-tune for Brazil.
‘One needs to be very wary of saying, “This is going to be our style”,’ said Hodgson. ‘Football is and always will be about winning matches. You can’t ever sacrifice the chance to win a game because of a certain style that you’ve decided to adopt.’
For Hodgson, it is about the calibre of the players and he confessed to being surprised by the quality of England’s next generation ever since taking charge of the Under 21s for a game in August. ‘I would definitely not be concerned, if there were no Ashley Cole or Leighton Baines, about Kieran Gibbs or Luke Shaw playing,’ he said.
Wise words: Hodgson chats with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger before their respective training sessions on Wednesday
Stiff competition: Regular goalkeeper Joe Hart (left) looks set to be replaced by Fraser Forster (right) on Friday
Then he pulled a name from nowhere. ‘Take a guy like Callum McManaman,’ said Hodgson. ‘He was flying for Wigan at the end of last season and then he got that unfortunate injury.’
A few seconds later, as is his manner, the England manager seemed to rule the Wigan man out of contention: ‘He would have to do something exceptional for this particular tournament.’
And then ruled him back in again when he added: ‘But it is certainly not impossible.’
For now, Hodgson’s message is that no-one’s out and no-one’s in. In private he will have a very good idea of who he would like to take and it will include plenty of experience.
In with a shout: Hodgson was impressed with
Callum McManaman's performances for Wigan last season but the winger
will need to produce even more if he's to make it to Brazil
In control: Hodgson says he is not yet thinking about who will make his 23-man squad for Brazil next summer
This friendly against Chile may turn out to be one of those occasions when players might not rule themselves definitely in but some of those around the fringes can certainly rule themselves out.
And by the time the Germans have left Wembley on Tuesday night, Hodgson will be much closer to knowing his final 23. Let the World Cup begin
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