PROBLEMS FOR ENGLAND

England manager Roy Hodgson will have a lot of problems in the match against Moldova and Ukraine due to the lack of fitness for a number of key players like Ashley Young. The Manchester United midfielder will be coming into the match against Moldova not having the best of pre-season, which has meant that he has not been at his best in the opening two matches.

He recently sustained an injury against Fulham and there has been a lot of question marks about the fitness of the players called up for the match against Moldova. The Chelsea defender John Terry has been included in the squad as well, despite the fact that he has not played for a week now due to the neck injury.

Even though he has started training recently, he is not expected to be at his best when England take on Moldova next week. There have always been fitness doubts regarding the players like Michael Carrick and Steven Gerrard, but they are expected to be amongst the first-team regulars in these two matches. Roy Hodgson could also springing a surprise by starting the Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who was one of the outstanding performers for England in the 2-1 win over Italy recently.

The major problem in the selection department for Roy Hodgson will come in the form of the attacking side of the pitch. Due to the fact that Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has played very little football in the last few weeks, it is highly unlikely that the former Liverpool manager will be going with the 23-year-old. As a result, he will be resorting to using the Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, who is not the best option when it comes to playing alone up front due to his physical stature.