Roy Hodgson has praised the performance of his England squad following their victory against Switzerland in their Euro 2016 qualifying match.
The squad took home the three points against the Swiss following a brace from Welbeck, showing significant signs of improvement over their recent friendly against Norway.
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Welbeck has now found himself the subject of much praise due, after the former Manchester United centre-forward signed to Arsenal on a long-term deal for £16 million. However, Hodgson was quick to sing the praises of the entirety of his notably young squad, telling Sky Sports: “I agree that this one had a special importance because we needed to play well and get a result against a team, strangely enough, ranked higher than us at the moment.
“We’ll take that with us, we’ll rejoice in that, but on the other hand, I’ll repeat it again, I think we have been building up to this type of performance over the course of two years.
“We have been changing our team and players over two years. We had the unfortunate kick in the teeth in Brazil, but it was no more than a kick in the teeth. We have been able to get over that, pick our teeth up, put them back in and go again.”
Speaking of his career as the England manager, he continued: “I think every win is important and every game as England manager is unbelievably important. I think it is a very honoured and privileged position and every time I lead an England team out or an England player puts a shirt on, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing Switzerland away or San Marino at home, it’s a big occasion.”
Hodgson has struggled to bring consistent performances out of the England squad, though much of that blame doesn’t rest solely at his feet as the players have routinely failed to perform at major tournaments. Following a disastrous World Cup campaign, which saw the squad fail to pick up a single win in Rio, Brazil, Hodgson and his team will be looking at Euro 2016 to prove themselves to their supporters.
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