Roy Hodgson was in the crowd that witnessed a fantastic 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Saturday and the England boss had some encouraging words for West Ham’s English stars.
Speaking to West Ham TV, Hodgson highlighted the English players in West Ham’s squad that he has identified:
“There are five English players and we know them well,” he stated.
“Carl Jenkinson has already played for us, of course, and Andy Carroll was an important part of our Euro 2012 team.
“In Tomkins, Cresswell and Mark Noble, there are good football players who are quite capable of playing for England, but they face competition because one or two others who have done well over the last few years.
“It’s all a question of competition and keeping an eye from my point of view to make sure I’m not missing any.”
Andy Carroll scored a fantastic header against Sweden in Euro 2012 for England and Hodgson will be encouraged by the number nine’s excellent winner against the Champions.
If the big striker can stay fit and carry on scoring goals like the one against Chelsea, there is no doubt that Carroll offers England something different in attack when he is selected.
Cresswell, Noble, Jenkinson and Tomkins all had good games on Saturday. The left-back assisted Carroll for the winner and James Tomkins produced one of his finest displays in a West Ham shirt.
It will be intriguing to see whether they have done enough to get selected for some of England’s upcoming friendlies against the likes of Spain, France and Germany.
Although Hodgson highlighted the fact that there are competition for places in the England squad, the fact that West Ham are sitting third in the table suggests that Bilic’s English players are certainly performing to a high standard.
Is it only a matter of time before West Ham players are selected for England or will Hodgson look elsewhere again?
noble carroll but they play for us so no chance ….. of playing for England again please do not pick as i need a break in Europe