Hodgson plans second Brazil trip to help assess England’s options

Concerns have been raised over the type of environment awaiting England in the June 14 fixture, with humidity levels there reaching over 80 per cent during the Brazilian winter.

While admitting it was still not an ideal place in which to prepare for and play such an important fixture, Hodgson is now more positive about taking his team to the Arena da Amazonia, which will host four matches.

A World Cup workshop for all competing nations is scheduled for February, but ahead of that both Hodgson and Club England managing director Adrian Bevington intend to visit Manaus to assess potential bases.

“We didn’t want to be based up in the north, but we have got one game up there in Manaus, which will be very interesting as it presents very different challenges to the games in Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo, but we will be ready for that,” said Hogdson.

“I shall make a visit there before we have the workshop in February – I will go early with Adrian Bevington and we will also spend a day or so in Miami to check on our potential camp there before we go to Rio (England’s main base for the tournament).

“We have decided that we will go with the team (to Manaus) two days before, not the usual one day before and we hope that acclimatisation, and the acclimatisation in Miami before, will stand us in good stead.”

Hodgson’s initial concerns created a great deal of publicity and prompted the mayor of the Amazonian city, Arthur Virgilio, to state he did not want England to come.

The England manager, though, can understand why the competition needs to be played all over the football loving nation.

“It is going to very hot in all of those northern cities,” Hodgson continued. “Whichever games you have been given in the north would have given you a different problem. I understand the Brazilians wanting to spread the World Cup around all of their major cities.”