ENGLAND SETBACK

England recently suffered their first back-to-back defeats at Wembley for the first time since 1977. This has induced some panic amongst the fans ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil. England qualified for this tournament in stunning fashion after managing to win their group. They were also looking extremely good in the last few matches, but the latest defeats against Chile and Germany have brought them back to earth. The first friendly against Chile ended in a 2-0 loss, while Germany were able to go home with a 1-0 win.

In both these matches, England looked fragile in defence and this is a major worry for Roy Hodgson ahead of the World Cup. The former Liverpool manager, though, has asked for patience from the fans. He has said that there is nothing to worry about despite these defeats. England are missing a number of first-team regulars like Theo Walcott, but they are unlikely to have made a difference in the back of the field. England have only one more friendly match remaining – against Denmark in March 2014 – before they go into the World Cup.

“There’s certainly no question of panic. If anything I’m much wiser, with regard to the players I’ve got at my disposition and what we need to work on going into a tournament. I’m not prepared to accept that two friendly defeats in which I have used a lot of players in two tough games is going to take the shine off what has been a very good year,” said Hodgson.

Due to the form in recent tournaments, they are rank outsiders to win the World Cup. Hodgson, though, has been upbeat about their chances of victory.

Some of the positives from these two matches include debuts for the likes of Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez.