The England (Inglaterra) vs Peru World Cup warm-up match at Wembley will take place on May 30, 2014 (12:00 PM Pacific), as England prepares to depart to Miami for two more friendlies in advance of their Group D showdown with the Italians.
Hodgson has until 2nd June to finalize his squad, but should all players come through the friendly unscathed, the stand-by players – who include Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe – are faced with the prospect of watching the campaign on TV.
England Team News
England have doubts over Phil Jones and Phil Jagielka for the last game on British shores before the summer showpiece, and Leighton Baines also missed an open training session, although this was for personal reasons. James Milner is the only other player not 100% as he struggles with a virus, but aside from these absentees, there is a potential wealth of talent for Roy Hodgson to pick from. It is likely we will see Rooney and Sturridge partnered upfront with Welbeck left on the bench, while there may also be a place for Lallana on the left wing, and Raheem Sterling on the right.
Gerrard will sit in front of the back four, with the potentially explosive young talent of Ross Barkley set to be given a run out ahead of Frank Lampard. For Hodgson, these friendlies against Peru, Ecuador and Honduras represent an opportunity to ensure he knows his best starting XI, and for the players it is a chance to gel and get used to the system the manager wishes to implement.
England will be set up to attack, with the squad Hodgson has selected there is really no other option available. It is a young squad and one that could potentially take a lot of experts by surprise in a potentially difficult group to get out of.
Peru Team News
This friendly represents manager Pablo Bengoecha’s first match in charge of Peru on a contract which last until December. To say he will be keen on his side putting on a convincing display would be to massively understate. Surprisingly, he has overlooked established Peruvians such as Claudio Pizarro and Jose Pablo Guerrero, in favour of inexperienced youth. Both Miguel Trauco and Jean Deza could start for the final visitors to Wembley before the World Cup.
England Doesn’t Expect
Despite performing in a manner less than appropriate for a country which hosts the most competitive league in the world, there is a sense in England that a new dawn has been heralded by the bold selections made by Hodgson. Anyone that overlooks England as being potential challengers when they possess natural winners like Rooney and Gerrard, combined with a fearless youth element is frankly misguided.
This tournament represents the first World Cup since 1982 where literally nothing is expected of the national side. This will be of great benefit to them, the weight of expectation lifted, England can go to the World Cup and express themselves without fear of vilification by the often vicious UK press.
England vs Peru Prediction
Hodgson will most likely start with a side very similar to that which will match up against Italy, and it’s impossible to see anything other than a convincing victory for the English. Peru won’t be easy, but with a feel-good factor running through the squad currently, the favourites should cruise to a victory with a goal apiece from Rooney and Sturridge.
Prediction: England 2 – 0 Peru
England vs Peru Television
The England vs Peru match will be televised on Fox Sports 2 USA and Fox Deportes on May 30 at 12:00 PM Pacific.
