Hodgson: Dreaming of World Cup glory

England boss Roy Hodgson says the team should fight the doom-mongers and believe they can lift the 2014 World Cup.

The 65-year-old replaced Fabio Capello in May following the Italian's resignation



and led England to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 in his first major championship at the helm.



England's only tournament triumph was the 1966 World Cup, but not having reached a semi-final of a major event since Euro '96, few will expect too many fireworks on the biggest stage in Brazil in 18 months.



But pointing to Chelsea's hugely unlikely Champions League glory last season, Hodgson told BBC's Radio 5 live: "You could say we are far from being favourites for the World Cup so therefore winning it is not a likelihood.



"But you've got to shy away from 'impossible' in football. There are plenty of events that we could point to in footballing terms that you could have said were impossible, but people have done it.



"It wasn't likely that Chelsea would become champions of Europe, especially having to change their manager in mid-stream but they did.



"That was by beating Barcelona and Bayern Munich, two of the best teams in Europe along the way, so I'd like to keep that dream alive."



The former Fulham manager strongly denied the claim that there was a severe shortage of quality players available to him.



"I hope that I will never been tripped into saying, 'well, we don't have enough players or there's not enough players good enough to play for England' because that would be a very sad indictment," Hodgson added.



"I know there are a lot of foreigners in the league, but there's plenty of English ones. There were seven Englishmen playing for Manchester United the other day and they're top of the Premier League.



"I hope I'm not going to be tricked into saying that some time to disguise my disappointment in a defeat or to try and shift the blame to somebody else."



Many of England's players were lambasted for a lacklustre showing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after being knocked out in the last 16 with a 4-1 crushing defeat by Germany.



But Hodgson was adamant the general public needed to appreciate the pressures of performing at the highest level, adding: "I would like to see a little bit more kindness sometimes offered to the players.



"There's no doubt in my mind there are as aware of anybody we need to win, we need to bring something back to the English public.



"But sometimes if you put so much pressure on these young people there's no doubt they can be hampered by that rather than encouraged.



"And it's that delicate balance of having the expectation which propels you forward because you want to succeed and you want to show people you can meet their expectations or freezing a little bit because you feel, 'whatever I do is never going to be good enough'."



England currently sit second in World Cup qualifying Group H, two points behind Montenegro after four games.



Hodgson said: "We are aiming to finish on top of the group and not have to go through a play-off situation where you can quite easily lose as well.



"If we can't win the group let's hope to God we can come second and give ourselves a chance at least in the play-offs because the goal is to reach Brazil in 2014.



"In an ideal world we would do it by winning the group and sailing through and be ready when it comes around, but there's no guarantee of course that winning the group and sailing through your group stages helps you when you get to the final competition. We've seen that with England."



England went out of Euro 2012 following yet another penalty shoot-out defeat and Hodgson said he liked the idea of taking spot-kicks after friendlies next year to prepare players for the real thing in front of a packed crowd.



When asked if the England job would be his last, he said: "It would be nice to think it could be.



"It would be nice to think I could be in the job for a sufficient period of time when the time comes to an end to say, 'that's been a great career, I've enjoyed it, I'm quite old, now it's time to pass over to younger people'.



"But it's a dangerous thing to say as well. Football's in your blood."



Hodgson also urged people not to trust everything they read about him.



He added: "I was told by my sister that on Wikipedia I have two sons and I



don't know where the other one's come from. And that I'm a great Rolling Stones fan and, with great respect to the Rolling Stones, I was brought up with soul music and rhythm and blues.

"There're a lot of things that can the written about you. Another thing I



heard strangely enough was that I'm a harmonica player. Someone less musical than me would be hard to find."

Rooney: Tipped to perform well at the World Cup

Roy Hodgson has tipped Wayne Rooney to be one of the stars of the tournament at the next World Cup in Brazil, but admits the pressure to perform can be too much for even the best players.

Rooney failed to impress at the 2010 World Cup and, after being suspended for the first two games of Euro 2012, barely made an impact in Poland and Ukraine this summer.



Hodgson hopes the atmosphere in Brazil will bring out the best in Rooney and has revealed just how determined the Manchester United striker is to leave an impression on the greatest stage.



"Wayne could thrive here on this stage. He's a great player, a player who decides games, and he could be one of the stars of the tournament," Hodgson told The Times on a visit to Rio de Janeiro this week.



"He's an unbelievably talented player who, in his own opinion, still has unfinished business there.



"He would love, I'm sure, to have a great World Cup. He's a player who desperately wants to do well for England and he was desperately proud when I gave him the captaincy against San Marino.



"Nobody wants to do better than him, but of course he bears that burden every time he steps on to the field."



There is a huge level of expectation on Rooney and Hodgson appreciates how difficult that can be to handle.



"The whole of England, including the press, expect him to play at the very, very top of his game and sometimes, of course, he can't do that being a human being," explained the Three Lions manager.



"Quite often in World Cups the responsibility falls upon one outstanding player to bring his team through, and it can be too much. I remember 1994; Roberto Baggio was a massive star - I worked with him later at Inter Milan - and the pressure upon him to really deliver for Italy proved a little bit too much.



"At the last World Cup, we all thought Lionel Messi was going to be the man and perhaps he wasn't.



"Quite often the players have had this burden to carry on their shoulders. We've seen it in glimpses, but at the end they maybe haven't quite done so but still rank among the world's greatest players."

Hodgson feeling pressure of England job

England manager Roy Hodgson has revealed he is still learning to deal with the pressure that comes with managing a national side.



Hodgson was criticised for the manner of England's exit from Euro 2012 after a penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the quarter-finals.



The former Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion boss has acknowledged he is still learning to deal with the extra scrutiny that comes with the position.



"I don't know how much I enjoy it," Hodgson told reporters.



"I enjoy the job of being the England national team manager and I accept the things that go with that.



"I certainly don't seek out the cameras but I know they're going to follow me and I have to learn to live with it.



"I'm sure I will get caught out on many occasions doing something I shouldn't."



Hodgson refused to be drawn on the issue of David Beckham's exclusion from the Great Britain Olympic team by coach Stuart Pearce, but said he is keen to see how the young side fares.



"Stuart was given the autonomy to select his team, it was his decision that David would not be a part of it and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to be involved in any comments towards that," he said.



"I'm sure the decision has been debated pretty thoroughly but I've not been a part of it.



"It should be a very good event, and their group is a very interesting one.



"It's a very good competition because it's open to the top professionals, that's very different to the old days."



Great Britain will open their Olympic campaign at Old Trafford on Thursday when they take on Senegal.

Hodgson defends Rooney over Capello criticism

England manager has defended Wayne Rooney's performance at Euro 2012 after Fabio Capello's criticism of the forward.



The former Three Lions manager hit out at Rooney's 'lost in translation' jibe on Tuesday by suggesting that he could 'only understand Scottish'.



Hodgson, however, leapt to the defence of the 26-year-old before continuing to praise the squad for their efforts in Poland and Ukraine, where they fell in the quarter-finals to Italy.



"Capello is entitled to his opinions, I suppose," Hodgson told talkSPORT. "I don't know what relationship he would have had with Wayne but I always think it's a bit cheap to kid on a player who was so anxious to do well.



"His attitude was magnificent. He was putting in extra work in training because he was concerned he was behind the others having missed the first two games through suspension.



"He was trying to do extra work and we were trying to put the brakes on. His desire to do well was enormous.



"In the final game (against Italy) he, along with one or two other players, didn't play to the level he can but that's what football is about. If every player was a robot and played at the same level in every game then football would be a very simple game and we wouldn't need coaches."



Aside from a promising opening 20 minutes in which Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck were unlucky not to score, England were vastly outplayed by Italy on Sunday and eventually succumbed to defeat in the dreaded penalty shootout.



"Maybe it (the quarter-final) was a bridge too far," Hodgson said. "We ran out of legs a bit in the final part and didn't keep the ball as well as we should have done but it was a valiant effort to take the game to penalties.



"There was a brief period in the first half when we showed what we could do but we couldn't keep that up. Getting to penalties was the best we could do.



"I don't think we could have done much more. The players' focus couldn’t have been better, and the effort couldn't have been better.



"In the first half that showed. At half-time I didn't see any reason to believe we couldn't win the game. But in the second half and extra-time it was obvious they were in the ascendancy and we were thankful for some magnificent defending to make sure we stayed in the game.



"There was no surrender. It was a great effort and I feel very proud of what the players did for me on the pitch. But there will always be recriminations if you don't get as far as you'd like, and achieve what you want to."

Hodgson: Rooney will return

Roy Hodgson hailed his strikers for their goalscoring efforts in England's thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden, but confirmed Wayne Rooney will return for the qualification decider with co-hosts Ukraine on Tuesday.



Hodgson's bold decision to select Andy Carroll paid off when the Liverpool man put England ahead with a first-half header. Then Danny Welbeck secured a famous win when he flicked home Theo Walcott's cross 12 minutes from time.



The result means a draw will do in Donetsk. However, any thought that Rooney might have a job getting his place back after serving his two-match suspension was quickly dispelled.



"I welcome those kind of selection problems," said Hodgson. "I was really pleased with the performance of the front players. But Wayne Rooney is a special player and, frankly, it will be hard to leave him out. I'm afraid you expect him to get back into the team when the suspension is served."



The statement merely underlined what a massive role Rooney is being afforded in the Hodgson era. He must have gone through every emotion in the stands, though, as England established a winning position, threw away the initiative with some poor defending, and finally claimed a vital three points thanks to Hodgson's match-changing introduction of Walcott.



"Theo's contribution was enormous," said Hodgson. "To come on as a sub, score and set up the winner means he'll be very happy."



Two goals at the start of the second half from Olof Mellberg turned the game on its head, as well as earning the former Aston Villa defender a man-of-the-match award he did not want. "It doesn't mean a lot," he said. "It feels a little bit strange to win something when you lose a match and go out of a tournament."



Praise for Walcott impact

The reason was Walcott, who rifled home the equaliser three minutes after his introduction with a shot that startled Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, leaving the former Manchester City man completely wrong-footed.

Then it was Walcott who surged into the box, before clipping a cross to the near post, which Welbeck turned home with a magnificent airborne back-heel. "It was a good move," said Hodgson. "Theo was able to skip away from the full-back and showed a lot of composure to find Danny at the near post.



"He timed his run very well and it was a very clever finish with the pirouette past the goalkeeper, who thought he was going to toe it towards the near post. It was a great goal to win the game."



Now, it seems Welbeck and Carroll will battle it out to partner Rooney as England look for the point required in the most partisan of atmospheres on Tuesday. Walcott will also come into contention after his brilliant cameo, that included his first England goal since his famous hat-trick against Croatia almost four years ago.



"Of course I believe in him," said Hodgson. "He's a good player with good qualities. That's why I selected him in my 23. I have only worked with these guys for a month and am still learning what they're really good at, and what areas we can find improvement. But I was delighted with his performance tonight."



As England look forward to a thrilling end to the group phase, Sweden are licking their wounds. They will take on France still without a point and nursing a massive sense of injustice.



"I am really disappointed," said coach Erik Hamren. "We've played two really good halves, one OK and one bad and ended up with no points. I'm proud of my players. But we have a saying, the operation was really good, but the patient died. That's how I feel today."

Owen Hargreaves: Roy right for non-vintage England

Former England international Owen Hargreaves has launched a defence of Roy Hodgson's tactical approach since taking the national job.



Hodgson has been criticised in some quarters for how he has set the side out so far, with the defensive line dropping back and allowing the opposition the lion's share of possession.



However, Hargreaves, who came close to linking up with Roy Hodgson when he was West Brom manager last summer, feels the current England crop does not possess the quality to play a more expansive game.



"I was impressed, and one of the reasons I considered going there was his ability as a manager," Hargreaves told Sky Sports. "He's brought that experience to the England set-up, and most importantly the team's going to be difficult to beat. I think the fans would like to see England being a little bit more attacking, but I think the most important thing is that you're in each game.



"If you look at the past teams, then this is probably not the most talented individual team, but if they play together as they did against France, and they find the right balance between attacking and defending, then it can be a very talented group.



"I think in the past we've had one of the most talented teams at the tournament but still failed to reach the levels we probably should have."

Hogson may not rest midfield veterans

Roy Hodgson admits he will find it difficult to rest his midfield veterans despite concerns over their fitness.

Scott Parker failed to last 90 minutes against France on Monday, while skipper Steven Gerrard, 32, came into Euro 2012 on the back of an injury-hit season.

But injuries have left Hodgson with a lack of experienced alternatives, and both are likely to start Friday's Group D contest with Sweden.

The manager said: "Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard are both over 30 and had to work really hard. But I'm sure I'm not going to be the only coach wondering 'can they do it every four days?' about their players. That is what tournament football is about.



"I will have to assess the freshness of my team and see whether they are able to do that again.

"My gut feeling, if we have a good recovery day on Tuesday, a sensible training day on Wednesday and sensible recovery day on Thursday, is that it will be very hard for me to leave people out.

"If we said 'we're going to give you a rest because it's too much to play two games in four days', some of them would have us up against the wall."

Shearer: Euros made for Carroll

Alan Shearer has urged England boss Roy Hodgson to pin his faith on Andy Carroll, insisting Euro 2012 is "made for" the Liverpool striker.



A fine end to the season with Liverpool earned Carroll a place in England's 23-man party for the European Championship, but he was left a frustrated spectator for the tournament opener with France as Danny Welbeck was deployed in a lone striker role. Welbeck performed with credit as he had little to work with as France dominated the contest.



With Sweden up next, the onus is on the Three Lions to attack and Shearer feels Hodgson should go for the greater physical presence of Carroll in tandem with Welbeck.



Writing in his column in the Sun, Shearer said: "I fear I may be becoming like a broken record banging the drum for Andy Carroll but let us have a look at the facts. Poland, England, Ireland, Germany, Ukraine and Croatia twice all scored headed goals. All bar one, were from very good deliveries too. Big men getting on the end of good crosses.



"We play Sweden next and look what Andriy Shevchenko did to them. He is 35 now and when strikers get older it is that pace over 20 yards that goes. He didn't cause Sweden a problem by getting in behind their defence.



"But over a few yards, he beat Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to get on the end of quality crosses to head Ukraine to victory. We can defend those situations much better than Sweden did.



"What about us getting those balls in at the other end? Joleon Lescott's execution with his head for our goal was superb. But, right now, this tournament is made for Carroll. Every defence seems to be struggling with the aerial threat. I would not have him in there at the expense of Danny Welbeck either - but alongside him.



"I thought Welbeck was our man of the match against France. His movement was excellent, as was his hold-up play and how he brought others into the game. For a first game in a major tournament it was a fine display from him and he'll grow into the competition and get better.



"While he may not have tested the keeper in the way he would have wanted, his all-round play otherwise was good. He was doing a job for the team leading the line. In the second half, he simply did not have enough support to do anything in front of goal. But he didn't half work to help relieve the pressure at the back."

Neville joins England coaching staff

England manager Roy Hodgson has appointed former Manchester United defender Gary Neville to his coaching staff.



Neville, who has been working as a television commentator since his retirement towards the end of last season, has signed a four-year contract with the FA.



The 37-year-old will join up with fellow coaches Ray Lewington, Ray Clemence and Dave Watson in time for Euro 2012.



Hodgson told the FA's official website: "Gary has achieved so much in the game as a player with Manchester United and England.



"He has obtained UEFA coaching qualifications and will be tremendously respected by the players because of his vast experience as a player.



"At my first meeting with The FA, I explained that Gary was someone I wanted as part of my staff. I think it is very important we have a younger coach who knows the dressing room and is very experienced at international level.



"That he has represented England as a player at five major finals tournaments will make him an invaluable member of staff."



Neville said: "Roy asking me to be a part of his staff and to work with the national team is not only an honour but a very special moment for me.



"I had absolutely no hesitation in accepting this role and I am relishing the opportunity to work alongside Roy and the team at the Euros and through to the next two tournaments."



Neville is England's most capped right-back with 85 appearances and won a host of titles during his time with United.