England upbeat ahead of Peru World Cup warm-up
Roy Hodgson impressed with his squad as he faces Wembley selection headache
England play their last match on home soil this evening before embarking on their World Cup adventure, which begins in earnest on 14 June against Italy. Peru are the opponents at Wembley and manager Roy Hodgson was in upbeat mood when he faced the press on Thursday.
"The training sessions have been very impressive and if I could bottle what I'm seeing and release it on 14 June I'd be very happy," said Hodgson. "The performance of the players in the last ten days has been good."
As a result, explained Hodgson, he expects to have a pleasant headache when it comes to selecting his squad for the tournament opener against Italy in Manaus. "There are a number of senior players but there are a number of positions up for grabs and everyone's doing their best to grab them... There are so many of them that are so keen to stake their claim so it won't be an easy choice and that's how I expected it to be."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Between now and then England have an additional two warm-up games, both in Miami, against Ecuador (4 June) and Honduras (7 June) but the England manager is confident he's selected the best 23 players available. "I've had two years [in the job], this is the squad I've chosen, it is one I'm very pleased with," said Hodgson. "You certainly won't hear any excuses from Steven [Gerrard] or myself if anything untoward happens, because we believe we are in the right place and are the right people to do it."
England have spent the week at their training camp in St George's Park, and the only slight doubt for tonight's encounter against Peru is Southampton left-back Luke Shaw who has a "slight cold", Hodgson revealed. "He didn't train today and we're being very cautious. We can't say whether he will recover or not but it's a very minor issue and will quickly go over."
England should make short work of Peru, a team lying 42nd in Fifa's rankings, 31 places beneath England, but a tougher test will await the Three Lions when they face another South American side in the World Cup on 19 June. Uruguay, who reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup, are one of the outsiders this time around and much depends on the form of Luis Suarez. Liverpool's Uruguayan striker underwent a minor knee operation last week but has promised he'll be ready to face England in their Group D encounter.
Asked if he had any news on his Liverpool teammate, England captain Steven Gerrard replied: "I don't know whether he is going to be available. I think the only people that know whether he is going to be available are Luis himself and the physio and doctors in their team. For me, it is not very important, it is something we can't control and is not my main focus... going into that game we're very confident that we can get the right result whether Luis is available or not."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Mason Greenwood: footballer arrested on suspicion of rape and assault
Speed Read Man Utd confirm the striker will not train or play until further notice
By The Week Staff Published
-
Handball: swapping bikini bottoms for tight pants
Speed Read Women competitors will be required to ‘wear short tight pants with a close fit’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second coming
Speed Read Last week, Manchester United re-signed the forward on a two-year deal thought to be worth more than £400,000 a week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Bank holidays and boycotts: are MPs trying to jinx England?
Speed Read Declaring a bank holiday would be ‘tempting fate’, says Boris Johnson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Weightlifting: Olympic Games set for transgender first
Speed Read New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will make history at Tokyo 2020
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sport shorts: Champions League expansion plan to be agreed
Speed Read News and reactions from the world of sport, featuring Joachim Low and the Lions women’s team
By Mike Starling Published
-
Sport shorts: Sturgeon slams Rangers fans over title celebrations
Speed Read News and reactions from the world of sport, featuring Keely Hodgkinson and Bryson DeChambeau
By Mike Starling Published
-
Sport shorts: Klopp’s unwanted record as Liverpool lose again at Anfield
Speed Read News and reactions from the world of sport, featuring Tiger Woods and Tom Brady
By Mike Starling Published