England reaching the Euro 2016 may be a foregone conclusion

England reaching the Euro 2016 may be a foregone conclusion due to the team’s impeccable form in the qualification campaign.

However, former Liverpool midfielder JonjoShelveyhas revealed that manager Roy Hodgson has asked the players to step up their game. This is likely to be a response from the manager after seeing his team perform well in qualification campaigns only to disappoint in the actual tournaments. England have been very poor in the Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 – two tournaments that Hodgson was in charge. The upcoming Euro 2016 is widely believed to be Hodgson’s last opportunity to impress as a national team manager.

Even though the former Liverpool and West Brom manager has stated that he would love to remain in charge of the national team until the next World Cup, poor form is unlikely to see the England FA continue with him in the job. One of the big challenges for Hodgson will be to provide quick experience of a major tournament to the young guns within the England squad. They include the likes ofJonjoShelvey, who has made a major impact after making a permanent move to Swansea. He may be seen as the permanent successor to the injury prone Jack Wilshere at international level.

“The manager said we can either go one way, keep winning and stay the way we are, or we can go up another level in our performances.Because there’s no reason why the England team with the players we’ve got in this country can’t go to the European Championship and win it. That’s what Roy Hodgson wants us to do and what we want to do.It was quite an upbeat meeting. He wants us to win and I’m sure we can,” said the midfielder, who returned to international fold after a three-year absence.