Double-pronged threat to Hodgson and England World Cup ambitions

WIN tonight and all will be well with the world for England. Lose, however, and the prospect – at best – of a first appearance in the play-offs for well over a decade will home into view for the Three Lions.

The importance of the Group H qualifier in Montenegro cannot be overstated.

Roy Hodgson may talk of his biggest test since succeeding Fabio Capello being the opening game of Euro 2012 against France when the temperature gauge in Donetsk touched 35 degrees, but tonight the England manager will discover what his players are truly made of amid the white-hot atmosphere of Podgorica.

Just 12,000 will be present in a venue whose facilities are more akin to those which fans in this country expect in League One, but with so much at stake the locals are determined to make it as uncomfortable an evening as possible for the visitors.

Particularly given the presence of Wayne Rooney, who became so riled on England’s last visit that he managed to get himself sent off for a petulant kick at an opponent.

It is not just a passionate crowd that Hodgson’s men will have to tame, either, with Montenegro boasting two of the leading strikers in European football in Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic.

Jovetic, with 12 goals in 24 Serie A appearances for Fiorentina this season, has proved himself to be a handful for defences with club and country, while Vucinic plies his trade with Juventus and will next month be playing in the Champions League quarter-finals – a boast that none of the England line-up tonight can make.

Vucinic also happens to be Montenegro’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Clearly, therefore, there will be much to concern an England back-line that has been in the spotlight for much of the past week.

Rio Ferdinand’s about-turn after being offered a route back into the Three Lions’ fold by Hodgson has played a major part in that.

So, too, has the options left open to the England manager in the absence of not only Ferdinand but also John Terry, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka.

The consequence of these withdrawals, retirements and demanding fitness regimes is that England are tonight set to field two central defenders who are far from first choice with their respective clubs.

In the case of Joleon Lescott, he is so far down the pecking order at Manchester City that the summer seems set to bring a parting of the ways.

As fourth-choice centre-back at Eastlands, Lescott’s last start in the Premier League came on February 9 at Southampton and even then he was taken off midway through the second half as City slumped to a 3-1 defeat.

Since then, he has managed a one-minute cameo from the bench against Chelsea and a full game as Barnsley were swept aside in the FA Cup.

This lack of football is why Hodgson left Lescott out of his original squad to face San Marino and Montenegro in favour of Ferdinand.

Chris Smalling, Lescott’s partner tonight, has played more football lately but, even then, his last two appearances for Manchester United came at right-back due to manager Sir Alex Ferguson preferring to perm two from Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Jonny Evans in the centre.

Hardly an ideal situation for England to be facing ahead of a qualifying tie of this importance, as Vucinic was quick to seize upon at yesterday’s pre-match press conference.

The Juventus striker, who already has two goals in three appearances during the current qualifying campaign, said: “I certainly do see that as a source of weakness because, if they do not play for their own clubs, I don’t see why their national coach should pick them.

“I am sure the match would be better and more interesting if Ferdinand or Terry played because they are certainly among the best defenders in the world today.”

Manager Branko Brnovic was in equally bullish mood, though this time it was English arrogance in allegedly pencilling in friendlies against Germany and Argentina for November when the play-offs are scheduled to take place that has upset the 45-year-old.

“Perhaps they organised the friendlies before the start of the qualifiers, but perhaps after the game they will have to cancel them,” he said of the Football Association’s fixture planning before turning his attention to reported criticism of the pitch in Podgorica.

“I read in the press statements from some English players about the way the pitch will look,” added Brnovic. “As far as I know, it is the English who have always favoured long passes.

“This supports the idea that they are more scared of this game than we are.”

Describing England as “scared” may be pushing it, but Hodgson’s men will certainly be wary, not least because of the ramifications of defeat.

A five-point gap with four games to play would be hard to bridge, especially with England still having a potentially tricky trip to Ukraine to negotiate along with home games against Moldova, Montenegro and Poland.

As for the group leaders, Brnovic’s men face a trip to Poland along with the Wembley date plus home games against Ukraine and Moldova.

Of the others in Group H, Ukraine seem to have the best chance of forcing their way into the reckoning – even though they trail England by six points and Montenegro by eight at the moment.

A defeat for Hodgson’s men tonight would open the door for Ukraine, who have the six-point banker of two games against San Marino to come along with home games against England and Poland, the team they beat in Warsaw just four days ago.

All in all, therefore, a huge night awaits the Three Lions in Podgorica. Three points will not be enough to guarantee qualification, but defeat will undoubtedly be a serious blow to hopes of reaching next year’s finals in Brazil.