Hodgson to become first ever England boss to field three centurions when he …

By
Matt Barlow


PUBLISHED:

22:17 GMT, 9 September 2013


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UPDATED:

22:26 GMT, 9 September 2013

Roy Hodgson has 310 reasons for added comfort upon his return to Kyiv and they come in the form of the burgeoning cloth-cap collection of his three senior players.

Hodgson will award Frank Lampard his 100th cap on Tuesday night – and, in doing so, he will become the first England manager to ever field a team that features three centurions.

As Lampard reaches his own milestone, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole will both equal Billy Wright’s total of 105.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch England train ahead of Ukraine qualifier and listen to Steven Gerrard talk about centurion Frank Lampard

Roy Hodgson

Feat: England boss Roy Hodgson will become the first manager ever to filed three ceturions on Tuesday night

This clear-headed know-how will be vital amid the passion of Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium against a team Gerrard expects to start with great energy in an effort to put England on the back foot.

‘For me personally, it has been a God-send to have those types of people who have terrific experience of playing for England and have experienced the highs and the lows,’ said Hodgson.

‘They are such reliable and consistent players. I am not saying that they have never had a bad game, I am sure they have,’ he added, ‘but the fact is that you know perfectly well what those players bring to the team.

‘Most importantly, it gives a lie to the fact that the England team doesn’t matter to players and the Champions League has taken over once and for all, and the players are only interested in getting into the Champions League and getting a bigger contract and earning more money.

Frank Lampard

Milestone: Frank Lampard is expected to be awarded his 100th England cap against Ukraine

 


‘You look at those three – they are three players who have done it at the very top. They are all Champions League winners for a kick-off. They must have God knows how many CL games behind them.

‘They don’t need an extra England cap, and yet I know that there will be no prouder, willing England players than those three. It’s a great example to the younger players.

‘If I was a younger player coming into the team and I saw those three, then I think they would put me on the right track if I was wavering in any way.’

England are back in Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium for the first time since they were beaten on penalties by Italy in a Euro 2012 quarter-final, when Cole and Ashley Young missed from the spot.

Gerrard, who scored his penalty, knows the atmosphere will be very different tonight inside a 70,000 arena with only 2,000 tickets sold to England fans.

‘If you start sloppy and you don’t
concentrate, you make mistakes and play into their hands,’ said the
England captain, who was sent off against Ukraine at Wembley last year.

Steven Gerrard

Experienced: Captain Steven Gerrard knows England have to get off to a good start if they are to beat Ukraine

‘The crowd is going to get up and make a lot of noise, and then it becomes even more difficult,’ Gerrard added.

‘But if you can be solid, make very few mistakes and try to silence them, it has the reverse effect. They’ll start getting on Ukraine’s backs, then there is even more pressure on them.

The start of this game is key. And we’ll need 11 on the pitch, that’s for sure. I was disappointed to get the second yellow that night. Discipline will be very important.

‘We know a bit about Ukraine. They put a lot of energy into the first half-hour; they press high and use a lot of energy up. I’m sure it will be the same again. It is important we defend well in the early stages and the longer this game goes on, the better chance we have got of getting the win.’

Gerrard is a veteran of the famous 5-1
victory against Germany in Munich in 2001 and he knows every campaign
throws up its defining fixture, often an away game in fiery
surroundings, against a dangerous team. This is it for Hodgson and this
team.

Steven Gerrard

Defining fixture: Gerrard, pictued with Ashley Cole, scored in England’s famous 5-1 victory over Germany

Billy Wright

Acievement: Gerrard and Cole are both set to equal Billy Wright’s total of 105 England caps

 


It was not entirely the same, but there are echoes of the match against Italy in Rome in 1997.
Sixteen years ago, it was the final group game and Glenn Hoddle knew a point would be enough to reach the finals.

A point in Kyiv will keep England ahead of Ukraine but there will still be work to do in the final qualifiers, at home to Montenegro and Poland next month.

‘There are parallels,’ said Hodgson, who was at the game in Rome, working for Sky and stepped in to interpret Hoddle’s press conference for the Italian press.

‘It looked as if things weren’t necessarily going to go our way, but we stuck together and dug in extremely well to get a good result and find ourselves in France.

‘If we can do something similar, I will be as happy as I was leaving the Olympic Stadium in Rome that evening knowing England were there,’ Hodgson  added.

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