'European Qualifier win in Basel would boost belief of talented group'
Monday 8 September 2014 14:27, UK
England travel to Switzerland on Monday night and Jamie Redknapp, who will be in the Sky Sports 5 studio, doesn't think Roy Hodgson's team are as bad as people say...
I’m fed up of hearing people say England’s players aren’t good enough.
Ok, we may not have great strength in depth but the XI Roy Hodgson will put out in Switzerland on Monday night – even with the injuries he’s had to contend with – will all be good players.
It’s easy to say ‘there are too many foreign players in the Premier League’. That’s something that needs to be addressed but we also have to make the most of what we’ve got right now. Let’s concentrate on doing better with this group that we’ve got rather than making excuses.
Expectations are so low after the World Cup and there’s a feeling that our performance against Norway is ‘where we’re at’. But we can do much better.
Yes, the World Cup was disappointing but we had at least enough in us to get a draw against Italy and Uruguay – although it didn’t work out that way – and we should be going into these European Qualifiers feeling confident of going unbeaten through this group.
I’m not saying we’re going to win all our matches but we shouldn’t lose any. It’ll be more difficult to NOT qualify than qualify from this group.
The problem, though, is confidence – and that is what makes this trip to Switzerland difficult.
Expectations are so low after the World Cup and there’s a feeling that our performance against Norway at Wembley is ‘where we’re at’. But we can do much better.
This match in Basel is the first game of a new qualifying period and it’s also the first step towards re-building confidence in the camp - and a win would go some way to getting some belief back.
We’ve got a really exciting group of players – and I really believe that – who will progress over the next couple of years. Hodgson is known for his defensive approach but if he can get these talented attacking players to flourish then who knows how far they can go?
But the key is to pick the players’ belief up off the floor.
Hodgson was dealt another blow over the weekend when Daniel Sturridge was ruled out - adding to the 15 players already unavailable for the game.
Our best two players at the moment are Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, so the Liverpool striker’s absence is going to change his plans.
However, it means Danny Welbeck will likely get a start and he showed against Norway that, after getting his Deadline Day move to Arsenal, he is full of confidence at the moment.
His pace will be a real asset if England play on the counter attack – as Hodgson has indicated they will – and he provides a good option alongside Wayne Rooney, who will no doubt want to silence some critics himself.
Personally, I can see this match ending in a draw – I’m going for 1-1. A draw will be an ok result out there. It won’t have much of a bearing on qualification for the tournament but it could be the first step towards rebuilding pride and confidence in the England camp…
Watch highlights of Switzerland v England on Sky Sports 5 at 10pm on Monday.
