England manager Roy Hodgson has said that he is extremely confident that the experienced players like Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard still have a lot to give for the England national team. The England manager decided to recall Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick, who missed out on the opportunity to play at the Euro 2012, for the friendly match against Italy. England managed to win the match quite convincingly 2-1, while they had earlier lost in the quarter-final match against the Euro 2012 finalist on penalties. Roy Hodgson has said that the return of both Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard was crucial in securing the victory.

Many have been predicting that the England manager will not be calling of the Chelsea midfielder and the Manchester United midfielder due to the age. Many expected Roy Hodgson to utilise a much younger squad in the hope of being prepared for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The 34-year-old Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is entering into the twilight of his career, but has not ruled out retiring from the international scene claiming that he still has a lot to offer for the national team. It proved to be the case after he was instrumental in the 2-1 win over Italy.

“We deserved victory over 90 minutes and there were some very good performances. When you miss players like Lampard and Carrick because they are not available you are maybe going to regret it because of the quality they bring. It is not about systems, it is about players. The three in midfield passed very well and our wide men worked very hard, but everyone played their part. I don’t think there was a great difference between what we did in the Euros and what we did tonight,” said the England manager Roy Hodgson.