Moldova vs. England: Complete Preview, Projected Lineup for World Cup Qualifier

England's qualification campaign for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil gets underway this week with Roy Hodgson's men facing their first group match away to Moldova.

After the Moldova game, England also play at home to Euro 2012 opponents Ukraine as the second part of the double header, and Hodgson will be looking for six points to start his first full tournament campaign in the best possible way.

Before that, though, comes a potentially tricky tie in Chisinau.

Here is all the latest news surrounding the England camp including team news and the projected starting lineup.

Group H

England kick off their Group H campaign for World Cup qualification with the Moldova clash, and a fast start is imperative for Hodgson's men to stamp their authority on the group, with only the top-placed team automatically qualifying.

They will also face tricky matches against Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro, as well as the traditionally weaker side of San Marino, en route to qualifying.

Dropped points need to be kept to a minimum to avoid needless worrying later in the campaign, so England need a win, and a good one, against Moldova.

Hodgson's First Full Campaign in Charge

After the pre-Euro 2012 debacle of the managerial position for England, Roy Hodgson barely had any time to shape the squad the way he wanted it to get the team playing in his style.

Win-win, perhaps, given that he could hardly be blamed for technically-stunted, adventure-less and rigid styles of play after only having had limited training time with his players.

No such excuses now, Roy; the nation expects the game to be taken to Moldova with class, panache and belief—and then for the same kind of dominance (and victory) to be applied to the other group teams.

It's up to Hodgson to get the team playing the way he wants them to, and for that way to be effective enough to take England to the World Cup.

Injury Losses for First Game

It's not all been plain sailing for Hodgson with his first squad; Wayne Rooney got injured playing for Manchester United and missed out on being called up entirely, while John Terry has had to prove his fitness after having neck trouble.

From those who did make the squad initially, forward Andy Carroll and left-back Ashley Cole have both withdrawn due to injuries sustained since.

Cole is likely to be fit for the second game, but Carroll is out for several weeks at least.

Likely Lineup: Goalkeeper and Defenders

England will almost certainly shape up in Roy Hodgson's standard 4-4-2 formation.

Joe Hart is a definite to play in goal, being the only experienced stopper in the squad and far and away the nation's best goalkeeper.

In defence, Glen Johnson should keep his berth at right-back after a fine individual tournament at Euro 2012 in the summer.

With Ashley Cole injured, the left-back spot is between Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand and Everton's Leighton Baines—but the former should get the nod as Hodgson looks to bolster his future options, with Baines to be approaching 30 at the time the World Cup comes along and having never established himself as a genuine starter for his country.

In the centre, Terry and Joleon Lescott established a good pairing in the Euros and will likely continue that partnership against Moldova.

However, Gary Cahill is back in the squad and would have started in the Euros if not for injury. He is a possible contender to replace Lescott.

Likely Lineup: Midfield

Judging by Steven Gerrard's early season form with Liverpool, the club and country captain is perhaps still recovering from the amount of work and running he had to get through in England's Euro 2012 campaign.

Even so, the captain should definitely be in the starting XI for Roy Hodgson in the centre of midfield.

Alongside him could be either of the Manchester United duo, Tom Cleverley or Michael Carrick. Frank Lampard could thus be the first big casualty of the new England era.

Out on the flanks, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played a bit-part role for his country at the summer tournament, but his pace, skill and the width he provides could all be very useful for England against a team like Moldova who will likely sit back in numbers.

James Milner will likely start too, to balance out defensive awareness and work rate.

Likely Lineup: Forwards

Jermaine Defoe's match-winning goal against Italy in the recent friendly and his start of the season in the Spurs team, will be enough to get him a starting spot against Moldova in the absence of Rooney and Carroll.

Alongside Defoe will be Danny Welbeck, who is an early favourite of Roy Hodgson, though it remains to be seen if this continues to be the case if Welbeck receives significantly reduced playing time at Manchester United.

Daniel Sturridge and Theo Walcott will provide the pacey alternative, though none of this quartet are distinctly different in their approach to the match.

Prediction

Moldova certainly aren't the biggest test that Roy Hodgson's men will face in the qualifiers, but they are organised, difficult to break down and resolute in defence.

They should not present too much of a threat on the counter given England have an almost full-strength defence to choose from, but it may take patience and far better ball retention than Hodgson's team produced in the Euros to find a way through the Moldovans at the other end of the pitch.

90 minutes is a long time to sit back and hope to defend though—and England have two or three good goalscorers in their squad who will take a chance somewhere along the line.

Score prediction: 2-0 to England.

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