The game of soccer is perhaps among the most competitive games in the world and everyone knows it. Specifically, there are some regions that score higher than others when it comes to securing your job residing on the top. England is one such State where life of soccer players and officials swing like a pendulum; they are on the top when their team is winning and thrown down to the bottom if they do not deliver. No one can deny rising cut throat competition in English Premier League and same situation is with national English soccer team. Though, English team enjoy the perks of being one of the dominating sides – if not in the field outside the field, but when it comes to sustaining over the top, this place in no less than a nightmare. Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has talked about the life of English managers especially when they are heading for a Word Cup. Formal mentor of English team says, it is always difficult to satisfy everyone while choosing your final list of world cup probables, and impressively, current boss Roy Hodgson did a great job picking a right balance for the Brazilian tour.
The 66-year-old Swedish has served the national English team as manager on two world cups and England team reached into the quarterfinal stage on both the occasions, hence his views matter the most in line with world cup pressure. If we look at what other teams think about the English side, no one, indeed, is taking them as a big challenge, but Hodgson thinks otherwise and hopeful they would not only reach into the second stage but also in the semis and prove the world why they have always been unpredictable.
Talking about the pressure Hodgson must have been passing through, Eriksson said, “Managing England at a major tournament is difficult, definitely. However, I must say that it’s a fantastic feeling to have the whole nation wanting you to do well and the players all definitely feel that support. That feeling will have started properly yesterday when the squad was named. They will all know that they are now almost there.
“I hope for all the players, and for the fans too, that England can get to the semifinal or the final. It will not be easy, of course, but he has picked a very young and fresh team. It’s an interesting selection, with some of the older players kept in and now joined by these new, younger players. I don’t get to follow every game in English football any more so it’s hard to comment, but I think it’s very exciting.”