World Cup Verdict: Mark Hudson backs England to stifle Luis Suarez
Tuesday 17 June 2014 14:54, UK
Cardiff City defender Mark Hudson believes England’s defenders have enough knowledge and ability to be able to counteract Luis Suarez’s threat in their vital World Cup clash with Uruguay on Thursday.
Both sides lost their opening Group D match on Saturday, England playing well but eventually losing 2-1 to Italy and Uruguay suffering a humbling 3-1 defeat at the hands of supposed whipping boys Costa Rica.
Liverpool striker Suarez missed that game as he continued his recovery from knee surgery, but he is expected to feature in Sao Paulo and suggested on Tuesday that he was the man to take advantage of England’s ‘defensive woes’.
But Hudson told Sky Sports News' World Cup Verdict he feels England’s familiarity with Suarez, both as an opponent and team-mate, will help keep him quiet in a game where they must avoid defeat to keep their qualification hopes alive.
“Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka will be used to playing against him. They know his strengths but he feels maybe he can get in between them. I fancy Cahill and Jagielka, after the season they’ve had, to handle him,” Hudson said.
He’s so unpredictable, he can go either way and he can go in behind and come short. He can score from anywhere but that’s nothing new to Cahill and Jagielka. They’ll definitely have to be at the top of their game to handle him though.
“He’s so unpredictable, he can go either way and he can go in behind and come short. He can score from anywhere but that’s nothing new to Cahill and Jagielka. They’ll definitely have to be at the top of their game to handle him though.
“He’s small but he’s so strong and his centre of gravity is low. He’s creative and brings other people into the game as well. The year he’s had he’s going to be a threat at the World Cup.
“We had trouble dealing with Italy’s right hand side and you are looking at the selection of Rooney on the left where we caused ourselves trouble really. I think that’s where they will be looking. Leighton Baines had a great year but he needed more cover and they’ll look at that.”
Among those who will be up against Suarez is Anfield team-mate Glen Johnson and Hudson says his presence will also be of benefit to his fellow defenders, especially in light of his comments about England’s perceived lack of quality at the back.
“It’s him trying to build himself up for the game and Johnson knows him really well. I’m sure through the game they will be having little words in each other’s ears. That’s what happens in football – you’ve got friends but they will be focused,” Hudson added.
“I think Johnson will speak to Cahill and Jags and just make sure they keep away from him; let him play his game, don’t wind him up because maybe that will make him more aggressive in the way he plays.
“I think they will be able to handle him. He’s just one player but they have other good players to keep in mind like Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan. I think they come down the middle a little bit more and that will help us.”
England’s defence has changed a great deal over the last two years with Ashley Cole recently joining John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in international retirement, and Hudson feels it was a mistake not to take the Chelsea left-back to Brazil ahead of youngster Luke Shaw.
“I would have definitely taken him. Experience is what you need, especially at this level. He played towards the end of the year and he looked brilliant. The game the other day, you can say he might have had a bigger impact,” Hudson added.
“The manager can’t really have an impact on the game when it’s going wrong, and other teams have got a foothold, and you need a couple of leaders to sort out what’s going on. You could see the problems in the first 20 minutes against Italy and it looked like we needed to change something.”
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