Roy Hodgson may gamble with third loss

ROY Hodgson looks set to experiment with his side against Denmark in March, even though defeat would make him the only England manager ever to lose three successive home games.

Roy Hodgson. Picture: PA

Boos rang out at Wembley on Tuesday as Per Mertesacker’s goal condemned England to back-to-back home defeats for the first time since 1977. Hodgson fielded 25 players against Germany and Chile, with Jay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Fraser Forster making debuts.

Jordan Henderson and Kieran Gibbs returned after long absences, while Ross Barkley and Tom Cleverley were given an audition for Brazil. England have only one game – against the Danes in March – before Hodgson names a provisional 30-man World Cup squad on 13 May.

Hodgson said: “I might risk a third defeat, but, for the game against Denmark, it might be that we actually use players that we need to test out more and that we rest the players who we are 100 per cent certain of.

“That’s a possibility. It’s more likely than us going into that game, with just one and a half days’ preparation, thinking: ‘Let’s get our best XI out on the field’.

“That might not give me the answers I want for the squad,” added Hodgson.