“Semi-finals would be great”.
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Hodgson’s deal expires at the end of the tournament, and the 68-year-old has indicated he would like to remain in charge for the World Cup in 2018.
There are enough burgeoning talents flourishing under his leadership in England colours to deserve one more major tournament, but only if the quarter-finals are reached and I am confident that will happen.
“On a regular basis the subject gets brought up – ‘Should I stay?”
And Brown, who was watching the game while away in Ireland, now wants the strikers to stay in the side. What should the FA do?
“I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary”, Hodgson said of making changes.
“My contract runs out at the end of the tournament and the one thing on my mind is to win the next game”. That will depend upon our performances.
“All we can concentrate on is what we can do on the pitch”.
“That’s what we’ll keep on doing”. For a start England were playing Wales, a better team than Russian Federation but nonetheless tournament ingenues who spent the last half hour playing for a draw without seeming to notice their opponents’ midfield had shrunk to little more than Eric Dier, and it still took until stoppage-time for them to get their noses in front. Slovakia forward Vladimir Weiss is backing his country to beat England in their crucial Euro 2016 Group B game.
England face Slovakia at 20:00 BST on Monday knowing victory will secure them a place in the last 16 in France.
The timing of Dyke’s comments was surprising, but Hodgson said it wasn’t wise to read too much into them. “But we don’t want to win the group necessarily because it’s Paris and closer to our base camp”.
“It’s about the team, us getting to the next round”.
“Our motivation to win is there for all to see”.
“We are anxious about it in terms of mangers, player and owners”.
Hodgson was more open and forthcoming than the press conference previewing the derby clash with Wales, with a pair of inspired half-time introductions turning that match around in spectacular fashion.
Vardy was introduced at the start of the second half in Englands comeback win over Wales and grabbed the Three Lions’ equaliser, before Daniel Sturridge struck late on to seal the win. “It’s a decision that has to be made”.
Former England striker Alan Shearer, now a TV pundit, has led calls for the pair to replace Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, neither of whom made much impression in the opening 1-1 draw with Russian Federation nor in the first half against Wales.
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“I’ve spoken to Harry and he’s been very good in training the last couple of days”. We have some players who have not played on a regular basis, maybe through injury or other reasons, but there’s no problem with him in that respect. Whoever the manager decides to play is his choice, but we have players who can come on and change games.
