HODGSON FOCUSED ON TASK AHEAD AGAINST FLEXIBLE CHILE SIDE AT WEMBLEY England v Chile International Match 8pm, Friday 15 November 2013 Wembley Stadium Buy tickets here Hotline: 0844 826 2010 Roy Hodgson insists England will be fully prepared for what he believes will a testing encounter against a flexible Chile team. With Germany at Wembley on Tuesday, many people might be looking ahead to that meeting with Englands historic rivals, though Hodgson says he and his players are focused only on the South Americans. Like the Three Lions, Chile booked their place at the World Cup last month. Jorge Sampaolis La Roja are a versatile and adaptable side and Hodgson is unsure of how theyll set-up at Wembley on Friday night. They are a very flexible team and have players who are capable of changing systems, said Hodgson. We’ve seen them play with a back-four and we’ve seen them play with a back-five. Weve seen the diamond formations in midfield change shape, so we’re fully aware of the quality of players they have. The one thing the Chilean national team can be sure of is that we’re taking the game against them every bit as seriously as we are against Germany. Fridays international against Chile is the first of just three games England have before Hodgson has to name his 23-man squad for the World Cup. Germany arrive on Tuesday, before the Three Lions meet Denmark at home in March. With limited time on the pitch and in training, Hodgson admits that every chance will be valuable for the players to impress. He also says their club form between now and May will be important for them to secure a place on the plane to Brazil. You get a feeling for what they have to offer and show you the moment they step into the camp, Hodgson said. When you see them on the training field you see them performing at a higher level than they do at club level because of the pace of the training session. But you can never take away from the fact that the rehearsals can be as good as you like, it’s when you step on stage on the first night, that’s the one that really counts. He added: It’s going to be a big night for them, if they get their chance. I’d like to think I’ll make my judgement on these players not purely on their success during the 90 minutes. I’ll still base it on what feeling I’ve got during these get-togethers and also what I see of them week in, week out in the Premier League.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015