England manager Roy Hodgson said he’ll use an “experimental” side in Tuesday’s Italy friendly.
Like Antonio Conte, Hodgson warned fringe players that this will be a great opportunity for them to prove their international credentials.
“We’ve got a tougher test ahead of us against Italy and we will be playing that game with players we wouldn’t normally rely upon,” the England manager told FA TV after a 4-0 drubbing of Lithuania.
England manager Roy Hodgson said he’ll use an “experimental” side in Tuesday’s Italy friendly.
Like Antonio Conte, Hodgson warned fringe players that this will be a great opportunity for them to prove their international credentials.
“We’ve got a tougher test ahead of us against Italy and we will be playing that game with players we wouldn’t normally rely upon,” the England manager told FA TV after a 4-0 drubbing of Lithuania.
“There are an awful lot of people in the squad I count on that we’ve lost, but what it means is for those who are still with us, many who are relatively untried, there will be a chance for them to show that my faith in selecting them for this squad was justified.”
Among those who pulled out due to injury are Danny Welbeck, Raheem Sterling, Leighton Baines and James Milner.
“There are a number of players who quite seriously believe they should be in the team and none of them will be in Italy.
“Italy and the next friendly with Ireland will be to some extent experimental and a chance to break in to what we think is our best XI.”
Hodgson is no stranger to playing in Turin thanks to his time at Inter and Udinese, though it will be his first since the new Juventus Stadium was unveiled.
“I didn’t have many happy moments in Turin. Juventus were clearly the best team in the country during my time with many, many star players.
“Apart from one cup victory which we had there, invariably we didn’t get the results we wanted. But I’m happy to be going back to Italy as a country and I’m happy to be playing Italy again.”