Roy Hodgson's England Are Better Than We Think They Are

England face Scotland on Wednesday in their final friendly before attention swiftly turns once again to the business of qualifying for next summer’s World Cup finals. However, Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions are a better side than they are currently being portrayed as in many quarters of the national press.

The mood around the national team at present has quickly returned to one of doom and gloom, often the preferred state of any England side ahead of a major international tournament, and especially one in which the Three Lions are far from certain of taking part in.

Twelve months have now passed since the conclusion to the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland, with Hodgson’s men having taken part in 11 fixtures in that time, six of those competitive matches on the road to Rio 2014.

And, apart from a 4-2 friendly loss in Sweden last November, England have not lost a single match, while overall since the former Inter Milan, Fulham, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion manager replaced Fabio Capello in the national dugout last May, the Three Lions have been beaten just once in 17 contests (excluding defeats on penalties).

True, they have not won many of those matches either, but when one looks at the countries that England have come up against in the past 15 months, including the likes of five-time world champions Brazil, both home and away, France, Belgium and Ukraine and Italy both on two occasions, then some credit must at least be given to the new man at the helm for making the team hard to beat when faced with top-level opponents.

Do not forget either that this was a nation that badly underperformed at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, with the nadir in that particular tournament coming with the abject goalless draw against Algeria in the group phase.

And the team was hardly sending shockwaves through the Continent either under Capello’s management in qualifying for last summer’s Euros either, necessitating Hodgson’s initial, and much-criticised, “back-to-basics” approach at Euro 2012.

However, from those small early baby steps in Eastern Europe have slowly begun to emerge a pattern of play and a gradual confidence in the manager’s approach. That has been evident in a number of England’s more recent displays, but particularly in the friendly contests with Italy, and then again this year against Brazil at Wembley and the Maracana.

What most impressed in those three particular fixtures was both England’s defensive organisation and resilience, which have been a noticeable feature ever since Hodgson took the role last May, but which were sorely tested against a plethora of fleet-footed attackers. The fluidity in their passing and the at times attacking brilliance their forward players demonstrated was also a joy to behold.

The problem for Hodgson and England though is that those trio of hugely encouraging performances came in non-competitive outings, while in the three key World Cup qualifiers played so far against group rivals Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro, the Three Lions have yet to win. That needs to change, and fast, if the 2014 World Cup is to remain a viable option.

One crucial figure missing, however, from those three damaging 1-1 draws in World Cup qualifying Group H has been that of Arsenal’s twinkle-toed playmaker Jack Wilshere, who not surprisingly was injured on each occasion.

The midfield creator was present at Wembley though in February to help orchestrate the home side’s first win over the Samba Boys for 23 years with an eye-catching man-of-the-match performance that made everyone sit up and take notice of the potential of this team. That feeling was also backed up in the return matchup in Rio in June, one incidentally that the Arsenal man missed through injury.

Now it would be both wrong and completely misguided to suggest that, by simply having the 21-year-old fit and available over the coming months, England will be immediately transformed into world-beaters all of a sudden.

However, as any of Hodgson’s predecessors will attest to, having your strongest available XI from which to choose from as England boss is half the job. Were the Croydon-born manager able to get Wilshere on the field of play for the Three Lions’ four remaining crucial qualifiers, three of which are at home, then there is every chance that we will see a far better team on display.

A spine of Joe Hart, Wilshere, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, supplemented by word-class attacking full backs in the form of Glen Johnson and Ashely Cole, with support roles from promising players of the calibre of Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck, all adds up to a potent mix of experience, technique and youth.

That is a team on paper, of course, and England’s age-old problem over the years has been not judging the side’s worth on the basis of its actual on-pitch displays, but rather by the names of the so-called “Golden Generation” instead.

However, Hodgson and Co now have the chance over the course of the next two months to finally prove that they really are more than the sum of their constituent parts.

Follow @Richiereds1976