Danes get 2014 World Cup preparation under way

Wednesday see’s the 3 Lions first outing of 2014, the year of Rio, or Manuas if you’re English.

With just 3 months to go until it all kicks off in Brazil, it is the Danes that provide the first friendly opposition we have, along with Peru, Ecuador and Honduras before we meet Italy in the Amazonian heat.

In advance of what won’t be a sell-out Wembley fixture, there is some new blood in Luke Shaw, the Saint’s left-back and an older face in that of Jermaine Defoe soon to leave for Canada.

Luke Shaw gets call up

Denmark, along with their Nordic cousins Sweden, miss the festival of football in Brazil this summer but will still look to the test against England as part of their preparation for the Euro 2016 qualification campaign that kicks off in September.

Having a handful of players getting regular football in the Premier League, the best know being Daniel Agger, Nicklas Bendtner and Anders Lindegaard, the Danes have some experience of who they will be up against at Wembley.

Five players, including one potential midfield talent Andros Townsend, missed training on Monday.

It will be interesting to see who Hodgson picks to play up front for the 3 Lions, and how they perform on the night. We need to have two, in-form, natural goalscorers in the squad when announced in May, who will they be?

What will Wednesday night bring? A 2-0 win for the 3 Lions to start of another year of high expectations.