With the 2014 World Cup arriving in less than 1 month, players and managers around the globe are preparing themselves for the worldwide tournament. Spain and Brazil are the favorites on winning it this time around. England has not managed on securing the trophy since 1966 and they still are considered underdogs.

Roy Hodgson has his work cut out for him as England was pitted in the same group alongside Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica which is one of the harder groups in the entire competition and it will be difficult enough for them to escape the group stages.

Despite the tough opponents that England has to face, Michael Owen is confident about the team and the managerial abilities that Roy Hodgson has to offer for the nation.

‘’I believe Roy Hodgson is an attack-minded manager. He certainly has been with England, as there are goals in every game nowadays. We have fantastic attacking players and, like Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool, you must play to your strengths’’.

‘’England has Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney, Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana, Ross Barkley and Steven Gerrard, and these players are able to score and create. We should try to outscore our opponents rather than play defensively and look to steal a win. I think Barkley is an exceptional talent. Young players like Barkley haven’t been scarred from previous experiences and they are full of confidence’’. Owen stated.

Michael Owen praised all the young talent that the England squad has to offer.

England has a number of friendly matches scheduled to play against Peru, Ecuador and Honduras just before the start of the 2014 World Cup and it will be a crucial time for Hodgson as he has to settle on which players and formation he is going to rely on for the tough mountain that lies ahead of him and the squad which starts on June 14 when they face off against Italy.