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As the Premier League season winds down towards its conclusion, all eyes will be on Roy Hodgson on who he will name to the England squad for the upcoming World Cup. With the May 13th deadline for the announcement of a preliminary squad less than a month away, Hodgson has given a little hint in which direction he will go regarding his squad selection:
"When I'll announce the World Cup squad, I will call up more younger and less experienced players".
"That's all part of a natural transitions experienced by all football nations".
Its refreshing to see Hodgson embracing the youth as England moves away from the so-called "Golden Generation" era. Players like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand has retired from international football, while Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard will no longer play a key role let alone a certainty as starters in Brazil. In their place will be younger faces such as Gary Cahill, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Raheem Stering, Ross Barkley, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who will be England's future faces.
Hodgson was also quick to say that embracing youth does not necessarily means that he will lean completely on the youngsters, and also adds that England will go to the World Cup with the aim to win the tournament.
"But you have to be careful not to completely lean towards one direction. It's neither 'young is good and old is bad' nor is 'experience is everything, youth is bad'.
"If the players can access their top performances and we have some luck, we can win it".
While Hodgson's optimism is expected, there are obvious hurdles that England will need to overcome. In the group stage alone, Uruguay and Italy will present tough challenges for England's hope of qualifying for the knockout rounds. That being said, while winning the World Cup might be to soon for England's current batch of youngsters, it will give them the experiences and could serves as a platform for future successes whether in the European Championships in 2016, or the next World Cup in Russia in four years time.
England open their World Cup campaign against Italy on June 14th.