Hodgson defends Rooney over Capello criticism

England manager Roy Hodgson has defended Wayne Rooney's performance at Euro 2012 after Fabio Capello's criticism of the forward. 

 The former Three Lions manager hit out at Rooney's 'lost in translation' jibe on Tuesday by suggesting that he could 'only understand Scottish'. 

 Hodgson, however, leapt to the defence of the 26-year-old before continuing to praise the squad for their efforts in Poland and Ukraine, where they fell in the quarter-finals to Italy. Capello is entitled to his opinions, I suppose," Hodgson said. 

I don't know what relationship he would have had with Wayne but I always think it's a bit cheap to kid on a player who was so anxious to do well. 

His attitude was magnificent. He was putting in extra work in training because he was concerned he was behind the others having missed the first two games through suspension. "He was trying to do extra work and we were trying to put the brakes on. 

His desire to do well was enormous. "In the final game (against Italy) he, along with one or two other players, didn't play to the level he can but that's what football is about. 

If every player was a robot and played at the same level in every game then football would be a very simple game and we wouldn't need coaches. 

Aside from a promising opening 20 minutes in which Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck were unlucky not to score, England were vastly outplayed by Italy on Sunday and eventually succumbed to defeat in the dreaded penalty shootout. 

Maybe it (the quarter-final) was a bridge too far," Hodgson said. "We ran out of legs a bit in the final part and didn't keep the ball as well as we should have done but it was a valiant effort to take the game to penalties. 

There was a brief period in the first half when we showed what we could do but we couldn't keep that up. Getting to penalties was the best we could do. "I don't think we could have done much more. 

The players' focus couldn’t have been better, and the effort couldn't have been better. "In the first half that showed. 

At half-time I didn't see any reason to believe we couldn't win the game. But in the second half and extra-time it was obvious they were in the ascendancy and we were thankful for some magnificent defending to make sure we stayed in the game. 

There was no surrender. It was a great effort and I feel very proud of what the players did for me on the pitch. But there will always be recriminations if you don't get as far as you'd like, and achieve what you want to."

Read more »

Euro 2012: England fighting spirit against Sweden pleases Hodgson

England manager Roy Hodgson is pleased with the reaction of his players after they came from 2-1 down to beat Sweden 3-2 in their Group D clash at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev.

 Andy Carroll's superb first-half header allowed England to establish comfortable control - but poor defending allowed Olof Mellberg to score twice and put Sweden ahead before the hour.

 Theo Walcott turned the game back in England's favour with a spectacular equaliser before Danny Welbeck's deft winner 12 minutes from time.

 England now need a point to qualify for the quarter-finals of Euro 2012, but Hodgson is adamant England will have to give their all if they are to get a result against co-hosts Ukraine.

Read more »

Hodgson: England players believe they can beat France

England manager Roy Hodgson believes that his players will relish the opportunity of being the underdogs in Monday's Group D opener against France, and feels his men can overcome their rivals.

 Les Bleus have been in mercurial form under coach Laurent Blanc, having put together an astonishing 21-game unbeaten run heading into the tournament after a disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign saw them bow out amidst controversy in the group stages.

 The French beat England 2-1 at Wembley when the sides last met, but Hodgson insists his players will be fearless heading into the Donbass Arena. "The players think we can beat France, there's no question about that.

 There's no fear in that respect," he said. "In any league, 21 matches unbeaten is an achievement.

 But I don't get the feeling the players are cowed by the task. They're more motivated in a way. "It may be quite nice for them to go into a game where people are saying 'it will be tough and France are a better team than you'.

 "I would think they'll probably quite enjoy the fact that the 'favourite' position is now being taken from us and given to France. We know we can give them a good game, no question.

" The former Liverpool boss is under no illusions that England will be expected to qualify from Group D, despite him having been given just two warm-up matches to analyse his squad.

 And with the group's curtain-raiser rapidly approaching, Hodgson has confirmed that he is still yet to decide on whether he will adopt a more cautious approach with the inclusion of Stewart Downing and James Milner, or opt for the youthful exuberance of Arsenal duo Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

 "The choice of wide midfielders and the other centre-forward to partner Ashley Young, they're the ones I've had to give thought to," he revealed. "We do have competition in those places, and furthermore we don't necessarily have people - due to their experience - who are nailed on in those positions.

 "They're people holding their hand up and saying 'pick me'. The back four and two central midfielders are those that shout at me 'you've got to put me in the team'."

Read more »