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After dithering their way past the qualification round all that is left for Roy Hodgson and his Three Lions is to show the world that they have the tenacity to mix it with the best sides in the world. The game against Chile, a skilful and shrewd bunch of players was exactly the kind of litmus test that was requited; the result of the game against Alexis Sanchez and co showed how much improvement is required.
The 2-0 defeat against the South Americans was the first time England have lost in ten games under the former Fulham manager. Although Hodgson did not have his strongest team available to him, but one has to say that the team that played at Wembley should have played with more heart and imagination.
The game ends with the eternal gnawing fear the team’s fans have. What happens when their team plays against one of the favourites of the tournament next summer?
Apart from that however, there is another thing that has to be looked at. Despite being the England manager for almost a year, Hodgson is yet to decide on a starting eleven.
A few relatively untested players (at international level) were used in the game against England. Celtic custodian Frasier Forster was named in the starting line-up instead of Joe Hart, Adam Lallana, James Milner and Jay Rodriguez were given opportunities to impress. However, it is still debatable whether it is a sane choice to test so many inexperienced players when a tournament as big as the world cup is just a few months away.
Whereas injuries have taken toll at the England camp which left the former Liverpool boss without a number of first choice players, Roy Hodgson has been making wide scale changes ever since the 2012 European Champions and this is the kind of thing he had been doing at club level too.
After they play Germany, the England squad will meet up four months later in March which means that Hodgson is running out of time and needs to ensure that he quickly decides upon a starting eleven. It is imperative for the players to develop chemistry before the mega event in Brazil and this should be on top of the manager’s priority list.
Resolve Joe Hart issue
The Manchester City goalkeeper is facing the kind of problem that Iker Casillas is facing at Real Madrid. However, the latter is still Spain’s number 1 and that might not be the case for Hart who had to settle for a place on the bench in favour of Forster. Arriving at the World Cup without a preferred number one could prove calamitous and this should be decided soon.
Frank Lampard and other midfielders
The Chelsea legend’s performance against Chile was not that good and the veteran midfielder’s place in the squad is not a guarantee by any means. The same can be said of the likes of Tom Cleverly, Jack Wilshere and even Steve Gerrard whose performances for the Three Lions are yet to inspire the kind of confidence that is required to rub shoulders with the best in a tournament as big as the World Cup.
Wayne Rooney the only certainty
Apart from Manchester Unite star Wayne Rooney, there is not a single player in the starting eleven who can be predicted before the team-sheets are announced which clearly means that Hodgson should quickly decide on a choice of eleven players who will be playing in what are surely going to be tough conditions in South America.
