Roy Hodgson would be no nearer knowing his squad for Brazil than he was a week ago after England's defeat to Germany at Wembley.

Whilst the match itself was played at a decent tempo as befits a clash between England and Germany, both sides were not a full strength so especially in the case of England Roy Hodgson wont be any nearer formulating his final squad in his mind than he was prior to this run of friendlies.

He will of course have the foundations of the squad in his mind, but after that there could be as many as ten places up fro grabs and this is good news for the Saints hopefuls, including the trio in the full squad this week.

Against the German's Adam Lallana started for the second game in succession, the only player to do so apart from Wayne Rooney, as I mentioned in the preview, the return of Andros Townsend meant a switching of wings for Adam and in the first half, like Jay Rodriguez against Chile he found himself isolated at times and forced to do most of his work on the back foot, struggling to get much of the ball going forward.

In the second half he picked up the tempo and again gave a decent account of himself before being replaced by Rickie Lambert late on, the Saints striker not having much time to get into the game.

But for both players and indeed Jay Rodriguez, the fact that few really have shone over the past week means that the path to Brazil for all three is still very much open, they have four months now before the next friendly in March to show the England boss that they are worthy of a place on the plane and that also has to be good news for Saints.

If they can all keep their form going between now and the rest of the season then a good showing in that friendly could line them up nicely for the last friendlies in May before the final's themselves.

As I said for Roy Hodgson the last week hasn't answered too many questions regarding his fringe players for Brazil, but for the Saints trio they are all a step nearer than they were a week ago and its now in their own hands.

Photo: Action Images

St_Guido added 08:19 - Nov 20 tut tut Nick, improper use of the apostrophe! "Against the German's Adam Lallana started.."
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SaintNick added 08:45 - Nov 20 They gave up the right to have proper apostrophe's after the war lol
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halftimeorange added 09:56 - Nov 20 I imagine that Lallana regrets being drafted into a national team which in most areas isn't good enough to grace the international stage. How Sturridge stayed on is beyond me when a creative player like Lambert was called for and Walker demonstrated once again that he is a liability in both the passing and tackling departments. The truth is that England's current defensive midfield core and the defence itself is woefully weak due to age and lack of talent. Hopefully, in a couple of years, the Saints will be able to bridge these shortcomings in most positions.

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stmichael added 15:10 - Nov 20 I know its sounds stupid but Saints are probably better than England! Clyne and Shaw or Walker and Cole? Schneiderlin and Wanyama or Gerrard and Cleverley? Lovren and Fonte or Smalling and Jagielka? Our players are fitter , more mobile and more comfortable on the ball in the above direct comparisons.
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thingummy added 15:17 - Nov 20 Saints would have beaten Germany let along England. England are still hamstrung by tactics from the 1980s. It's impossible to get the creative player to play in the final third if they have to all drop back to protect the fullbacks Morgan and VW would have permitted Adam, Rooney and Sturridge to use the ball in the right parts of the pitch. I do think Rooney should come play at Saints though. HIs work rate would fit in so well under MP

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