England 1 Denmark 0: ‘Rooney and Sturridge need time to gel’

Roy Hodgson admits that Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge need more playing time together before forging a successful strike partnership for England.

Sturridge scored a late winner at Wembley as the Three Lions wrapped up a deserved friendly victory over Denmark on Wednesday.

Rooney and Sturridge were both deployed up front by Hodgson at Wembley, but the England boss concedes that the pair will need time to get used to each other’s games.

There is some work to do to make sure they gel

Roy Hodgson

“It is too hard to judge on one performance,” said Hodgson of Rooney and Sturridge. “If we want to use these players together, there is some work to do to make sure they gel.

“Our passing was a bit too slow in the first half and in the second half we got behind opposition a bit more and created the chance that led to the goal.”

Hodgson continued: “I’m pleased we showed as much energy as we were looking for. I’m pleased that players who don’t usually play for England grabbed that opportunity with both hands.

“I’m even more pleased we won it because 0-0 would have been disappointing with that level of dominance.

“Looking at performances, you would have to be a harsh critic to say anybody played poorly tonight. I’ve been very happy with the attitude and the desire to get on that plane and grab a shirt.”