Developing England Should Use World Cup to Prepare for Euro 2016

As the last Englishman to lead out his country in a World Cup, I can tell you no one in the country was more proud when we were playing our opening World Cup game against Tunisia in 1998 in France.

I won’t be envious when the next Englishman does it, when Roy leads out his England team against Italy, but it will bring back memories for me, having got England to the finals with a draw in Rome against the odds, and then recalling my first World Cup tie as manager of England.

When I took England to the World Cup Finals I thought we had a fabulous set of players, some brilliant young players coming through, some vastly experienced internationals. But what really excited me was how those young players would gain experience in France 98 and go on to become a real force two years later in the Euros.

Then we had a young Rio Ferdinand, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville emerging alongside established players like Paul Ince and Alan Shearer, a perfect blend to develop into a formidable team in two years' time.

But that didn’t detract from my focus on going to the World cup in France with an attitude of trying to go all the way and win it, and I am sure that will be Roy Hodgson’s approach.

Still, I always thought our better chance would be in the European Championships. Regrettably, I was not given that opportunity to prove my theory right.

There must be a temptation for Roy Hodgson to look ahead to the European Championships and make sure there are as many youngsters as possible who can experience competitive tournament football at the highest level to prepare for a winning formula for two years' time.

The Belgium squad might be in much the same position, with so many outstanding young talents coming through who will be experiencing such a big tournament on the world stage for the very first time. They might consider themselves in with a chance in Brazil, but their best hope is in two years' time.

That’s exactly how I see the England team developing, that they might well be genuine challengers in two years' time.

Of course I want England to do well in Brazil. The whole nation will want that, and so too will the players and the management, and you can understand that.

But I am sticking with what I have said all along, and I see no reason why I am not going to change my mind on that. My point is that as we are in the tournament, and we have a chance, but that chance is slim for actually winning the tournament.

For England to win it, we are going to need a lot of luck, a lot referees' decisions going our way and maybe players sent off in the opposition—then we might have half a chance. But those are the sort of things you cannot legislate for.

Anything can happen in a tournament, and one of the the many surprises is how some unfancied teams gain momentum and that momentum carries them through.

But I have always said that it is virtually impossible for a European team to win it in South America. They haven’t done it before, and I think Spain have a 35 percent chance, while Germany might also have a 30 percent chance. But they are good teams, so if they are the pick of the Europeans, then what chance do England have?

You have to be realistic and lower expectations, and that can only be good for Hodgson and the players, as it takes some of the intense pressure away.

That's why I have been consistently saying we should use this tournament to brood even more youngsters, to give some of the established youngsters more tournament experience and use it to develop the youngsters to be ready and prepared for the Euros. That's where I think England do have a realistic chance of winning a major trophy for the first time since 1966.

We need a game plan. So why not use the World Cup to develop that young, dynamic team for the Euros? You hear that is the strategy for the England rugby team in the 6 Nations, to blood the youngsters so they will be playing together for a few years and can then build toward their World Cup. And it makes an awful lot of sense building up to when the country has a realistic chance of winning.

If we get to the quarter-finals in the World Cup, it would be great. If we get to the semi-finals, it would be magnificent, and maybe then we could think of going all the way. Maybe then our chances would be bigger and bigger the further we can get, as the funny thing in sport is momentum.

The reality is that England scrapped through their group against moderate opposition and made it tough for themselves. But they are there, they are in it, and, yes, the players will want to win it. But for me it is about building a team for the Euros.

Hodgson will have learned a lot from losing games since qualifying. He will learn plenty about his players more so in adversity than when winning, as it's always a test of players' character when things are not going well. I experienced that in the build up to France 98 and brought in a couple of players such as David Batty quite late one into the squad, and Hodgson might well do the same.

Roy will need character, and he will need that mental strength in the opening game against Italy when England cannot afford to lose. But Italy will not want to lose, either. It will be fascinating to see if both managers' team selections will reflect the view that it's best not to lose your opening game.

 

Glenn Hoddle makes his England debut as a TV pundit at Wembley on Wednesday for ITV Sport and will be in ITV Sports World Cup and European Championship TV team. Glenn also remains a Sky TV pundit for Premier League and Champions League

See more on Glenn Hoddle’s Zapsportz.com and Zapstarz.co.uk.