CAN ENGLAND SPRING A SURPRISE?

Roy Hodgson takes a young talented side to Brazil having the media and critics already ruling them out of the equation for the cup even before the tournament has even started. Noone expects them to win the tournament and this would certainly help them to perform better. There is an unusual sense of peace among the Media and the fans. For the previous world cups, the fans had a misplaced optimism about their team but this time around it has been replaced by a feet on the ground pragmatism.

Former England midfielder Paul Scholes has urged Hodgson to adapt
Liverpool attacking style of play and score more goals unlike the previous world cup which saw the team just score 3 goals in their four matches. The man with the arm band Gerrard, Henderson, Sturridge, Sterling and Jhonson are all likely to be in the starting line-up and would be willing to play the same level of exciting football they played for Liverpool. Paul scholes said in an interview “England’s success in the group stages hinges on Gerrard staying fit,” he added. “Gerrard has adjusted his game superbly, very much like I did. He is likely to be asked to do a similar job in this England team to his ‘quarter-back’ role at Liverpool. However, not bringing Michael Carrick is a mistake. If there’s an injury to Gerrard nobody jumps out to replace him.” He added “Jordan Henderson is a diamond of a lad who’s best described as ‘workmanlike’. He’s a player others appreciate having around them on the pitch. He’ll sacrifice himself for the attacking talent in a team like Liverpool. He’s not what you call world-class, but Henderson could bekey to England controlling the ball and using it effectively.”

England finds themselves in the group of death along with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. England kick off their Group D campaign against Italy on 14 June, before tackling Uruguay five days later and Costa Rica on 24 June. The team just would have to take one game at a time and a victory over Italy could boost the confidence of the team.

They travel to Brazil with a young, talented squad. Gone, it seems, is the over-reliance on the "Golden Generation", with only a few experienced heads surviving the cull. There’s a fresh focus and England will see the benefit of this approach in the future, if not this summer. For England or, indeed, any European side to win the World Cup onSouth American soil will be difficult, and their group will be tough to negotiate. But manager Roy Hodgson has in his midst a group of talented young players who may spring a surprise or two.