England - The Roaring Lions

Why England? They are my national team of course! Yes, we ain't the best are we? But nevertheless I'll always support them regardless if they win lose or draw. I decided to make this story it's the year of the World Cup and I wanted to see how I did in charge of England!

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Who else but him? The current England manager has really started to progress the team, making a new brand of ENGLISH football which is not a mix of different countries football. I believe that with Hodgson at the helm, England can become World Champions.

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England - A Background

I guess before you delve into my story, I should give you a bit of 'background history' on England. Don't worry, it won't keep you long due to little success for a nation with high expectations.

World Cup Success: 1966

Our ONLY World Cup success was the infamous 1966 final win against West Germany by 4 goals to 2. The England team included some all time greats such as Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst. Hurst holds the record for the only player ever to score a hat-trick in the World Cup Final.

West Germany took the lead as Helmut Halter hit a shot on target which Jackie Charlton and goalkeeper Gordon Banks failed to deal with the shot which went in making it 1–0 to West Germany.
However soon after, Wolfgang Overath conceded a free kick, which Moore took immediately, floating a cross into the West German area, where Geoff Hurst rose unchallenged and levelled the scores with a downward glancing header.

The teams were level at half-time, and after 77 minutes England won a corner. Alan Ball delivered the ball to Geoff Hurst whose deflected shot from the edge of the area found Martin Peters. He produced the final shot, beating the West German keeper from eight yards to make the score 2–1 to England.
Germany pressed for an equaliser in the closing moments, and in the 89th minute Jack Charlton conceded a free kick for climbing on Uwe Seeler as they both went up for a header. The kick was taken by Lothar Emmerich, who struck it into George Cohen in the wall; the rebound fell to Held, who shot across the face of goal and into the body of Karl-Heinz Schnellinger. The ball deflected across the England six-yard box, wrong-footing the England defence and allowing Wolfgang Weber to level the score at 2–2 and force the match into extra time.

England went on and scored a controversial goal as Hurst's shot hit the bottom of the crossbar and went past the line but West Germany protested it wasn't a goal, however the Swiss referee awarded the goal which left 400 million viewers debating if the goal should have stood.
Nevertheless England went on and scored the final goal of the match as Bobby Moore picked out the unmarked Geoff Hurst with a long pass, which Hurst carried forward while some spectators began streaming onto the field and Hurst scored moments later securing England their first ever World Cup Final victory.

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You've finished reading already?! Wow. Well, I hope you enjoy this story! It's very fun to write and I hope you also have fun watching me progress throughout!

Josh_MU.

Good Luck woy!

Championeees Championesss ole ole ole, Please.

Good luck!

England manager Roy Hodgson has told the press this morning that he believes the current England squad is 'capable of winning the World Cup'

Ahead of this years World Cup, speculation has been rising among the England fans on who will get their ticket to the plane to Brazil, will it be Southampton's England Trio of Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez? Or will Hodgson bring more international experience with him to Brazil?

This was one of the many questions asked at Hodgson's press conference who has Frank Lampard accompanying him due to captain Steven Gerrard having issues to sort out at his domestic club Liverpool.
The main focal point in this conference was about England's chances of winning the World Cup this year, with reporters from Sky Sports asking Roy the following question:

"Roy, how far do you reckon this squad can get in the World Cup?"

Roy Hodgson replied saying the following:

"I believe we have a very good chance of getting far in this World Cup. This squad is capable of winning the World Cup in my eyes and that's a very good sign due to the ability they have but also the depth in our squad. We have two or three players who can fill a position if it becomes vacant which will really help us. It will be very tough to decide who to take on the plane and that is why I have made no decisions as of yet, I will be visiting some games to keep an eye on some players who could possibly make the plane but I have a lot of time to decide and I won't rush into it."

England are currently ranked 12th in the FIFA World Rankings however they possess some very talented players in their squad, with the likes of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United who will offer lots of goals to this England team to the captain Steven Gerrard who has very good leadership traits and immense ability.

All we know is that it will be a very tough decision for Roy to make, and with only 23 slots available for the journey, Roy will have to choose which players he will leave out of the squad.

I always like England stories the most.

Good luck. It won't be easy.

@Denzy - Thank you! I'll try my best to do it like 1966!
@AAN - Thanks mate!
@Qwerty - They're great ain't they? Thanks for the comment!
@James - Thanks mate!

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has stated at 'Adam Lallana deserves a call up to the England squad.'

Speaking to the press about the upcoming Premier League season, Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has told the media that his star playmaker Adam Lallana deserves to be called up to the England squad as he possesses 'exceptional talent'.

Lallana, who is now 25, is one of the best playmakers in the Premier League according to Mauricio Pochettino as he offers a range of attributes such as finding that kill pass and finishing past the goalkeeper and needs to be called up to the England squad by Roy Hodgson or he will miss out on an exceptional player.

Hodgson already has selection issues and there are many players who could play any position in the England team however Adam Lallana looks odds on favourite to get called up for the upcoming friendly match against Spain with Hodgson looking at experimenting with new players and seeing what they can offer him.

Pochettino told the press the following about Adam Lallana:

"Adam is an exceptional player. He is undoubtedly one of the best playmakers in the league and needs to have a chance with England. Roy will miss out if he doesn't pick Adam as he offers a range of attributes which any manager would love their players to have. We also have Luke, Jay and Rickie who also deserve a call-up as have shown to me how good their ability is. I respect that he has many players to choose from but I really hope he chooses Adam as he deserves to player for England."

Adam Lallana has not responded to his managers comments however we expect that Hodgson will travel to the Saints opening fixture against Liverpool and take a good look at Lallana but also take a look at Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez from Southampton and from Liverpool he is expected to keep a close eye on Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling.

Good start and good luck

2014-03-28 17:10#166372 pompeyblue : Good start and good luck

Thanks mate!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=kp&v=Q_YiG7yN7PY
'Well Some of the crowd are on the pitch, they think it's all over, it is now!'
that is the music that will guide you to glory against San Mario and Brazil

Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge could be on the sidelines for up to two months with an ankle injury he got during Liverpool's pre-season campaign.

Daniel Sturridge could face up to two months on the sidelines with an ankle injury he sustained during Liverpool's pre-season, the club's twitter confirmed this morning.


Due to this injury Sturridge will miss the start of the Premier League season and miss the rest of England's qualifying games against Ukraine, Poland, San Marino and Montenegro, which comes as a disappointment to both Liverpool and England fans alike.

Sturridge started off his campaign with Liverpool in style last season after moving from Chelsea, scoring 10 goals in 14 appearances, and looked to be a key figure for the rest of England's qualifying games.
Luckily for England, they have enough depth to fill in for Sturridge, with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck looking favourites to fill Roy Hodgson's striker role.

Sturridge spoke to LFC TV saying:

"I am very disappointed with getting this injury so soon, as I'll miss out on the start of the league campaign and miss some vital games in England's qualifying group. I was devastated when the clubs physio told me that I'll be out for up to two months, however I will recover from this injury and come out fighting even more when it comes to Liverpool's season and hoping to impress Roy Hodgson and get picked to go on the plane to Brazil."

Sturridge had a good season with Liverpool after joining in January from arch rivals Chelsea.

Roy Hodgson has announced his 23 man squad to face Spain in an international friendly which will be held at Wembley.

Roy Hodgson has chosen his 23 man squad to face Spain at Wembley this Wednesday, with some surprise inclusions involved. Hodgson stated before naming his squad that he wanted to 'experiment' with new players and see how well new players can perform at International level.

No Sturridge? :o


EDIT: nevermind Injured..

Spain narrowly beat England 1-0 at Wembley with Fernando Llorente scoring the decisive goal.

Current World Cup Champions Spain headed to Wembley Stadium to face an England team full of new faces, with the highlights being Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez joining up with the England squad for their first time.

England XI vs Spain

(4-3-3) Hart, Johnson, Cahill, Jones, Baines, Gerrard(c), Wilshere, Lampard, Rodriguez, Lallana, Rooney.

Subs: Foster, Jagielka, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lambert, Walker, Walcott, Welbeck, Cole, Rodwell, Milner, Carrick, Ruddy

Spain XI vs England

(4-2-3-1) Casillas(c), Azpilicueta, Ramos, Pique, Moreno, Xavi, Martinez, Navas, Iniesta, Silva, Llorente

Subs: Valdes, Negredo, Pedro, Albiol, Muniain, Fabregas, Alba, Thiago, Illarramendi, Carvajal, Barta, de Gea


The match started with Spain dictating the tempo will Xavi pulling the strings in midfield, playing diagonal balls to the wide men Navas and Silva.
Spain created the first chance of the match when Iniesta received the ball from Navas, who cut inside and drilled the ball towards Llorente who was through on goal but Joe Hart ws able to smother the shot and keep the game level.

England struggled to create chances with the majority of their possession being in their own third, however Gerrard was able to play a chipped ball over the Spain back-line to set Rooney through on goal, however the linesman called for offside but the replays clearly showed that Rooney curved his run and was onside.

Spain then took the lead when Ramos played a long ball up to David Silva, who was given time and space to turn past Gerrard and lay it off to Navas on the right, Navas then was able to swing the ball in to find the head of Llorente who couldn't miss from 6 yards and gave Spain a well deserved lead.

However after the goal, England upped their tempo an started to stretch the Spain back-line, with Wilshere going on a long run to play the ball through into Lallana who was on the right, he was then able to swing the ball into the near post and Rooney met the ball and diverted it towards goal but Casillas was able to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Adam Lallana was one of England's bright sparks in the match as he evaded 3 challenges and laid the ball off to the onrushing Gerrard whose shot smashed the crossbar and bounced away towards Xavi who was able to clear the ball out of the box.

Spain then came out after half time and really put pressure on the England midfield, however Steven Gerrard was able to break down play numerous times to limit the amount of area and chances Spain had going forward.
However Iniesta was able to find an extra yard and fire a shot at goal which Joe Hart neatly held onto.

England only created few half chances which weren't able to be put away due to an in-form Casillas and the game then ended 1-0 to Spain, which was cruel on England as they really put pressure on Spain in the second half.

Roy Hodgson's Post Match Comments:

"I can't fault the lads today, they did us all proud, they put on a brave and passionate performance even after going 1-0 down and I am very impressed with the chances we created and the desire that was on the pitch tonight. Adam (Lallana) really impressed me as well as he created numerous chances and was able to challenge their left back tonight which was really pleasing. Overall the boys deserve a pat on the back for a performance like that."

Adam Lallana's Post Match Comments:

"I was really pleased to be picked for this game against such a reputable team like Spain. I wanted to impress the gaffer today and I really do hope my performance was good enough for him to consider myself as an option for the World Cup. All I can do is concentrate on my own performances and hope it is enough to get a place on the plane to Brazil."