Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson believes Roy Hodgson s side should easily qualify from their Euro 2012 group.
Eriksson feels that, even without the suspended Wayne Rooney, England should have no problem advancing from Group D, which also contains France, Sweden and co-hosts the Ukraine.
In his column for the Times of India, the Swede wrote: Despite Rooney’s unavailability, I would think that England should easily reach the knockout stage from the group and their real test should start from there.
However, how far England would progress in the competition would depend on whether their experienced midfield stays fit throughout the tournament and how soon Hodgson can put together a perfect combination on the field.
He gets two friendlies to work out what he wants to do in Ukraine and has already got off to a solid start with a victory against Norway on Saturday. I wish him the best for the tournament.
Eriksson feels Hodgson will be under more pressure to succeed given England s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 and the fact they have never won the competition.
I have been the manager of England at the World Cup in 2010 and I know the pressure the English team manager has to handle, he wrote.
The pressure would be all the more on Roy Hodgson, since England had failed to qualify for the last edition of the competition and the fans would be expecting that their star players would bring home the trophy that has eluded them since the start of the championship.
